Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-13

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 this letter to inform you about the problem I am facing with the equipment that I brought from your shop last week.

I purchased new brand laptop from your store for the purpose of my job related work. It worked well for two days without any issues, but later it started working slow and freezing sometimes. Now, it is completely shut down, nothing is working despite number of attempts to turn on.

I am working as a website designer. It is significantly affecting my work. Currently, I am not able to work as it is not working at all. Additionally, it is giving me hard time since I brought it. I am encountering new problem each day as I explained earlier and it kept interfering my work. Due to my hectic work schedule, I did not get chance to inform about the condition. As you know, it puts me in the trouble as I can not do anything right now.

I want to request for replacement and give me the new piece of laptop. I purchased completely new, but it does not seem like new product.

I hope you understand my situation and replace it as early as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Mitali

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You described the laptop's technical issues, explained the impact on your work as a website designer, and clearly stated your request for a replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. To improve, ensure you provide more specific details about the purchase, such as a receipt number or model name, to make the letter more realistic. Overall, the response is well-structured and fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Additionally', 'Now', and 'Due to' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is clearer. For instance, in the second paragraph, the transition between the laptop's performance and its current state is a bit abrupt. Improving the use of cohesive devices would help the text flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use relevant terms like 'website designer', 'hectic work schedule', and 'replacement'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'brought' instead of 'bought' and 'new brand laptop' instead of 'brand-new laptop'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to technical faults or consumer rights, and be careful with common word-choice errors that slightly impact the professional tone of the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as 'it kept interfering my work' (should be 'interfering with my work') and 'give me the new piece of laptop' (which is slightly unnatural phrasing). There are also some issues with article usage and verb tense consistency. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and preposition usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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