Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam

I hope you are doing okay. I am writing today to need your assistance with the mouse and keyboard of my laptop.

I am an Cyber Security Engineer and I work from home so you understand that the laptop and computer are the essential part of our job. As I mentioned earlier, yesterday evening when I was working, I noticed my mouse and keyboard suddenly stopped responding. I tried to investigate to fix it but nothing worked.

Luckily, I have extra portable mouse and keyboard so I was able to finished my task. But although it saves me to complete my duties, its inconvinient to use. Because i am not used to it and that slower my overall perfomance of my work, including my speed and focus.

Therefor, my manager provides your reference to report my issue to your shop and also told me that you are always managing technical problems and provide supplies since our company opened. I would highly appreciate if you could fixed or replaced my faulty device at your earliest convinence.

Yours faithfully

Rayn Jenson

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student has successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task. They clearly described the problem by stating that the mouse and keyboard suddenly stopped responding, explained the impact on their work by detailing how using a temporary replacement slows down performance and focus, and clearly stated the desired outcome by asking the company to fix or replace the faulty device. The tone is appropriate for a formal business letter and the purpose is clear throughout. Minor awkward phrasing in parts does not prevent full task coverage. Therefore, the response fulfills the requirements for a Band 7.0 under Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised into clear paragraphs with each covering a specific stage of the letter: introduction, problem description, impact on work, and call to action. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Luckily', 'Because', and 'Therefor', though some transitions are a bit basic. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, creating a clear logical progression throughout the text. Referencing is generally clear, helping the reader follow the narrative easily. This performance aligns well with the descriptors for a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'Cyber Security Engineer', 'investigate', and 'faulty device'. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'inconvinient' instead of 'inconvenient', 'slower' instead of 'slows', and 'Therefor' instead of 'Therefore'. Additionally, 'portable mouse' could be more naturally expressed as 'spare' or 'backup' mouse. While these errors are present, they do not impede communication. This fits the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative clauses ('when I was working, I noticed my mouse and keyboard suddenly stopped responding'). There are several grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the response, including punctuation issues like missing commas and apostrophes ('I am an Cyber Security Engineer', 'its inconvinient', 'could fixed'), as well as minor tense inconsistencies. However, these errors rarely impede communication and the intended meaning remains clear. This reflects the characteristics of a Band 6.0 performance.

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

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