Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-25

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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I have a major flaw with the equipment you provided to me for work. I have been trying my absolute best to get this laptop started but unfortunately this laptop is consecutively powering off and its the fifth time this incident has occured within the past one hour of writing this report.

I have worked for this company for half a decade now and never did i once have done faulty or incomplete work. But with this faulty equipement at hand, I cant tend to focus on my work and due to this equipement having flcutuations in its performance. My work tends to slow down and stays incomplete which really annoys me and messes with my tasks. After all I have done work for this company with loyalty and modest effort, but with this equipment at hand, it makes my work really hard and and makes my work go overtime due to its weak and slow performance.

I kindly request this laptop to be replaced as soon as possible, and I request for a laptop with atleast minimal requirements to run basic work-related tasks.

sincerely,

Your Loyal Worker

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The problem with the equipment is clearly described ('laptop is consecutively powering off'), the impact on work is explained ('My work tends to slow down and stays incomplete'), and the desired action is explicitly stated ('I kindly request this laptop to be replaced'). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter, although the context seems slightly confused with an employee-employer relationship rather than a customer-shop relationship (mentioning 'company' and 'Your Loyal Worker'). However, all prompt requirements are fully covered with well-developed ideas, earning a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is organised into three logical paragraphs that correspond roughly to the introduction of the problem, the personal impact, and the requested action. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'unfortunately', 'and', 'due to this', and 'After all'. However, paragraphing is somewhat informal and the second paragraph is a very long, run-on block of text that links multiple ideas together with repetitive conjunctions like 'and'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the transition into the second paragraph. Overall organisation is clear enough to follow, but cohesion can be mechanical and repetitive at times.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'consecutively powering off', 'half a decade', and 'minimal requirements'. However, there are noticeable word choice errors, spelling mistakes, and awkward collocations. For example, 'major flaw' is used instead of 'major issue', 'equipement' is misspelled, 'flcutuations' is misspelled, and phrases like 'modest effort' feel slightly unnatural in this context. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional or causal clauses introduced by 'due to this' and 'After all'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the response. Examples include sentence fragments and run-on sentences in the second paragraph ('with this faulty equipement at hand, I cant tend to focus on my work and due to this equipement having flcutuations in its performance'), missing apostrophes ('its', 'cant'), and punctuation errors in salutations and sign-offs. While communication is not heavily impeded, these persistent errors prevent the grammar score from reaching a higher band.

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

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