Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-30

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently bought a jacket, but when you got home, you discovered it was
damaged. When you took it back to the store, you were told that merchandise
cannot be returned.

Write a letter to the store manager. In your letter:
• describe the problem with the jacket.
• explain what happened when you tried to return it.
• say what you would like the manager to do.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Manager,

I am writing regarding my recent purchase from your store, which I found was damaged later.

Five days ago, I bought a eyecatching beigh-colored winter coat with pearl buttons your store beside the cinema in downtown. When I came home, I thought of showing it to my mother , which is when I found there is a small yellowish stain on the lower border of the coat and a hole under the right arm.

Yesterday, I went back to the store to return it I was highly unsatisfied with the product. Instead of, talking to me politely and listening to my problem, your staff was rude with me. He said that I have to be more careful while buying and there is no return policy so to take my stuff and get out of the shop.

Therefore, I want you to take sometime and talk to your staff about how they are suppose to treat the customers. Besides this, I request you to consider my issue and offer some discount on my next purchase or some partial refund on this one, if possible.

Yours faithfully,

Customer

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three required points: you describe the coat’s stain and hole, explain that a staff member refused the return and spoke rudely, and request both staff guidance and compensation. The purpose is clear from the opening, and the specific details make the complaint credible. Your requested remedies are understandable, although asking for either a partial refund or a discount leaves the preferred outcome somewhat open; a direct request for a refund or replacement would make your position more decisive. The response also maintains an appropriately formal complaint-letter purpose overall. To strengthen it further, state the remedy you most want and briefly explain why it is fair, given that the damage was discovered after purchase.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information follows a clear sequence: purchase and discovery of the damage, the attempted return, and the action requested from the manager. Separate paragraphs help the reader identify these stages, while phrases such as “When I came home,” “Yesterday,” and “Therefore” guide the progression. The main weakness is that some links are awkward or insufficiently punctuated, particularly “Yesterday, I went back to the store to return it I was highly unsatisfied,” where two ideas run together. “Besides this” also introduces the second request rather mechanically. Use a full stop or a linking conjunction between complete ideas, and vary transitions so the letter’s organisation remains clear without drawing attention to the connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a complaint, including “damaged,” “stain,” “partial refund,” and “return policy.” Details such as “yellowish stain” and “hole under the right arm” communicate the problem clearly. There are, however, some spelling and word-choice or collocation inaccuracies that limit precision: “beigh-colored” should be “beige-coloured,” “eyecatching” is not a natural description in this context, and “rude with me” is less idiomatic than “rude to me.” “Take sometime” also does not express the intended meaning naturally. Choose conventional terms for describing clothing and customer service, and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The letter attempts a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the clause beginning “When I came home” and the request introduced by “Besides this.” Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. For example, “I bought a … coat … your store” needs a clearer prepositional phrase, and “I went back to the store to return it I was highly unsatisfied” joins two independent clauses without appropriate punctuation or a conjunction. There are also errors in “I found there is” and “your staff … He said that I have to,” where tense and reference could be made more consistent. Review articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries, then proofread for spaces before punctuation.

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