Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-30

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 to inform you about a problem with a piece of equipment that I recently purchased from your company.

I have recently purchased a pair of headset from your company on July 5. The model number was XBYZ123 black color. The headset did work properly for first few weeks but later on there were several problems with the equipment. Firstly, the main reason to order that specific model was because of its long lasting battery life, however after using for couple of weeks the battery life reduce significantly. Secondly, there was Bluetooth connectivity issue since the day of purchase.

Having this many problems it is affecting my work significantly in many ways. I need to keep on charging headphones while using it. In addition to that, due to Bluetooth issue the calls suddenly drop which affect my job responsibilities .

Therefore, I kindly request to replace this headphones with new ones or give a complete refund as it is still under the warranty period.

I am looking forward for your prompt response.

Kind regards,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt effectively. The student successfully describes the problem by stating that 'the battery life reduce significantly' and that 'there was Bluetooth connectivity issue'. They explain the negative impact on their work by noting that 'due to Bluetooth issue the calls suddenly drop which affect my job responsibilities'. Finally, they clearly state what they want the company to do: 'I kindly request to replace this headphones with new ones or give a complete refund'. The tone is consistently polite and appropriate for a formal business complaint letter. All parts of the task are fully addressed, warranting a solid score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall progression, moving logically from the statement of purchase and description of the issues to the impact on work and the final request for action. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the body details, the impact, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Firstly', 'however', 'In addition to that', and 'Therefore', though some referencing is slightly clunky, as seen in 'this headphones' instead of 'these headphones'. Overall, the organization is logical and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to online shopping and electronics, such as 'model number', 'battery life', 'Bluetooth connectivity', 'warranty period', and 'complete refund'. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and word choice inaccuracies, such as writing 'a pair of headset' instead of 'a pair of headsets' or 'a headset', and the grammatical error 'the battery life reduce' instead of 'reduced'. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the message clearly and effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The main reason to order that specific model was because of its long lasting battery life, however after using for couple of weeks the battery life reduce significantly.' There are several grammatical errors present, including tense and agreement issues like 'The headset did work properly for first few weeks', missing articles ('for couple of weeks'), and pluralization errors ('replace this headphones'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear to the reader.

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