Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-13

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,

I am wriring this letter as a complain with the laptop that you sent me.I work from home so the laptop is very essential for me.

For the first few weeks it was working just fine, but after that its display started to get blurry.I restarted it so it might get better, It was evern worse after that. Also the numeric keys does not work sometimes, I had been using the extra keybord because of that.

My most of the work depends on the laptop.My supervisor had to finish all my assignment last week. I am about to get a permotion, but now I think it might not happen because of the submission of incomplete assignments.

I had bought both the guaranty and the warranty for the item. I would like you to send me a new laptop as soon as possible or give me a refund so I can buy an another one.

Kind regards

Peter

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all parts of the prompt. The letter clearly describes the problem with the equipment, specifically mentioning that the display started to get blurry and the numeric keys sometimes do not work. It also explains how this affects the writer's work by noting that assignments were delayed and a potential promotion is at risk. Finally, the response outlines what the shop or company should do, requesting either a replacement laptop or a full refund. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter, and all bullet points from the instructions are fully addressed. Therefore, the response comfortably earns a band score of 7.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The paragraphs are structured effectively, moving from the introduction of the problem to its consequences on work, and finally to the requested action. Cohesive devices such as 'For the first few weeks', 'after that', and 'Also' are used reasonably well to connect ideas, although referencing and transitions could be slightly smoother in places. Paragraphing is adequate, separating distinct points such as the technical issues and the professional impact. While there is minor room for improvement in cohesion management, the overall arrangement is coherent, earning a solid band score of 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'essential', 'display', 'assignments', 'promotion', 'guaranty', and 'refund'. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'wriring' for writing, 'complain' instead of complaint, 'evern' for even, 'keybord' for keyboard, 'guaranty' instead of guarantee, and 'an another' instead of another. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching higher bands. The lexical resource aligns best with the band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and subordinate clauses ('I work from home so the laptop is very essential for me' and 'I would like you to send me a new laptop as soon as possible or give me a refund so I can buy another one'). There are several grammatical and punctuation errors present, such as missing spaces after periods, subject-verb agreement issues ('the numeric keys does not work'), and awkward phrasing ('My most of the work depends on the laptop'). However, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear throughout, supporting a band score of 6.0.

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

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