Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-22

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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to express my disappointment regarding a problem with my headphones that I had bought from your shop last week. The headphones are of the brand- Sony and your customer service representative guaranteed that I will not face any issue for the next two years. However, they have become faulty and are causing audio interference while I am in a meeting.

At first, only the audio was breaking in and out so, I tried rebooting it several times and it had fixed the problem temporarily. While I attending a meeting the other day, it had stopped completely and kicked me out of the meeting. I felt very frustrated because it is affecting my work and my manager gave me a warning that if I don't get the problem fixed, he will suspend me for 1 week. I cannot afford that because I have many responsibilities to fulfill.

I would like you to replace the headphones for the new ones or if you provide me the full refund of the price that I paid, I would be happy to return this faulty headphones at your shop.

Thank you for kind consideration of my urgent request!

Yours sincerely,

Max White

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly describe the technical issue with the headphones, explain the negative impact on your professional meetings and job security, and state your desired resolution (replacement or refund). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the explanation of how the equipment failure is affecting your work. The letter follows the required structure and maintains a consistent, professional perspective throughout, meeting all the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which aids readability. You use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'At first', and 'Therefore' (implied) to connect ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions could be more sophisticated to reach the highest band. For instance, the connection between the technical problem and the manager's warning is clear, but the paragraphing could be slightly more refined to ensure a seamless progression of ideas. Overall, the information is presented in a coherent manner.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal complaint, such as 'audio interference', 'faulty', and 'consideration'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'replace the headphones for the new ones' (should be 'with') and 'provide me the full refund' (should be 'provide me with'). Despite these small slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and precisely. You successfully use topic-specific language related to the equipment and the professional context, which shows a good level of lexical control for this task type.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'that I had bought' (past simple 'bought' is sufficient), 'While I attending' (missing 'was'), and 'return this faulty headphones' (should be 'these'). However, these errors are non-systematic and do not impede communication. The majority of your sentences are clear and error-free. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex structures, such as conditional sentences or relative clauses, are punctuated correctly.

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

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