Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work at home and have a problem with a piece of equipment that you use for your job.

Write a letter to the shop or company which supplied the equipment. In your letter

• describe the problem with the equipment
• explain how this problem is affecting your work
• say what you want the shop or company 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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a laptop that I purchased Dell Inspiron Model 7 from your company last month, which has recently developed a serious problem.

Let me explain my situation, laptop unexpectedly shuts down while I am working, which result in a waste of time and disappointment while I am in the middle of meeting. In addition, the battery does not last very long due to which I have to keep my laptop plugged in most of the time. As I work remotely, this issue has significantly affected my productivity. I have missed deadlines and experienced difficulties attending virtual meetings .

I would kindly request that you could arrange a replacement as soon as possible. Alternatively, I would be grateful if you could provide a full refund.

I look forward to your prompt response. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Anuj

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly describe the technical problem with the Dell Inspiron, explain the negative impact on your remote work (missed deadlines and meeting disruptions), and state your desired outcome (replacement or refund). The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands the urgency of the situation. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more specific details about the purchase date or the exact nature of the 'serious problem' to add further professional weight to your request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the problem description from the proposed solution. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition' and 'Alternatively' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally slightly mechanical. To improve, ensure that transitions between sentences are smoother. For example, the transition between the laptop shutting down and the battery issue could be more fluid. Overall, the message is easy to follow, and the progression of ideas is logical throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'productivity', and 'prompt response'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'which result in a waste of time' (should be 'results') and 'due to which' (which is slightly awkward in this context). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the variety and precision of more advanced lexical choices. Incorporating more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic professional expressions would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical slips that affect accuracy. For instance, 'laptop unexpectedly shuts down' is missing an article ('the laptop'), and 'which result in' contains a subject-verb agreement error. Additionally, the phrase 'due to which I have to keep my laptop plugged in' is a bit clunky. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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