Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-12

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 7.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to complaint you for the keyboard which I recently purchased from Dell on 4th August 2026.

There are multiple keys that are not working efficiently as required. For instance, enter key needs to be pressed very hard in order to use it. This delays my typing speed and sometimes I end up re-writing long paragraphs. Adding to it, the backlight of the keyboard is also not functional due to which I am not able to work at night. These issues hampers my overall productivity and pace.

I believe there would be some wiring error in the keyboard hence, I would like to return it and get a full-refund or I expect it to be exchanged with a brand new keyboard which would be fully functional and tested. Please make sure to exchange or refund within a week as I need new keyboard as soon as possible for my important projects to work on.

Hoping to have your immediate attention and fast actions to the complaint.

Yours sincerely,

Krupa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly describe the technical issues with the keyboard, explain the negative impact on your work productivity, and state your desired resolution (refund or exchange). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. To reach a higher band, ensure that the closing statement is more naturally integrated into the letter's structure, as the current final sentence feels slightly abrupt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each serving a specific purpose. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the purchase details to the specific problems, their impact, and finally the requested action. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'Adding to it', and 'hence' to link your ideas. However, the transition between the problem description and the impact could be smoother. The use of paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the overall structure is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'purchased from', 'functional', and 'productivity' are used correctly. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'complaint you' (should be 'complain to you') and 'wiring error' (which is a bit imprecise). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, incorporating more precise terminology or collocations related to technical equipment would enhance the quality of your writing and help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips. For example, 'I am writing to complaint you' contains a verb form error, and 'These issues hampers' shows a subject-verb agreement error. Additionally, 'I need new keyboard' is missing an article ('a new keyboard'). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these are frequent minor errors that prevent the writing from being fully accurate.

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

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