Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-10

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,

I'm writing this email to you because I recently bought a printer from your shop and it is not working properly. I just bought it around two weeks ago but all of sudden the paper is being stuck in its tray which is stopping the printouts to come out after printing. As, I work from home 3 days a week it is giving me really hard time to complete my work on time. Being a regular customer, I believe that your company is absolutely good because I was using your company's printer before this one and I never had any issue with it. Please do not take it as a complaint, but i want to request you to repair or exchange my printer as soon as possible so my work will not get affected by this issue any further. I will hope for your quick response.

Best regards

komal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt: it describes the printer's technical issue (paper jamming), explains the impact on the user's work-from-home schedule, and clearly requests a repair or replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal business letter, and the purpose is clear from the outset. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the task requirements. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific details, such as the printer model or a reference number, to make the request feel more authentic and professional.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the introduction of the problem to the impact and finally the desired resolution. However, the response is written as a single block of text. For a formal letter, it is essential to use paragraphing to separate the introduction, the body (problem and impact), and the conclusion (call to action). While the use of cohesive devices like 'As' and 'because' is present, the lack of paragraph breaks makes the text feel slightly cluttered and less professional. Improving the structure through clear paragraphing would significantly enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate the issue clearly. Phrases like 'working properly' and 'regular customer' are natural. However, the range is somewhat limited and relies on basic phrasing. For instance, 'giving me really hard time' is slightly informal and imprecise. To improve, the student should aim for more precise collocations and a slightly more formal register. The spelling is generally accurate, and the word choice does not impede communication, but there is a lack of less common or sophisticated vocabulary that would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'all of sudden' (should be 'all of a sudden') and 'stopping the printouts to come out' (should be 'preventing the printouts from coming out'). Additionally, the sentence 'I will hope for your quick response' is slightly unnatural; 'I look forward to your prompt response' would be more standard. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the message. Increasing the variety of complex structures and refining the accuracy of prepositions would improve the score.

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

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