Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-09

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

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 hope this letter finds you well. I am reaching out to complain about the deskptop I purchased last week. I ordered it online through your website. I saw the add of your digital tools on promotion, then I hurrily ordered for the desktop. I received the product next day and opened it enthusiastically, but soon I was disappointed when I joined it with my processor. The product was faulty, display was dim, and it was not synchronising with other gadgets. I was just taken aback. I am a distant worker in arenowned company. I have to finish a lot of official assignments and important tasks. Therefore, I request you to exchange this piece of desk top with another one. Please make the replacement as soon as possible to streamline my office work.

I hope you will consider my problem and would take action promptly.

Yours sincerely,

Sobia.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three required points: you identify a faulty desktop, explain that it is disrupting your work on official assignments, and request an exchange. The specific faults—“display was dim” and failure to synchronise with other gadgets—make the complaint relevant and understandable. This meets the task well, but some points are less fully developed than others: the effect on your work is stated generally, without explaining what tasks you cannot complete or how the delay affects your job. The requested remedy is clear, though you could also specify how the company should arrange the exchange or whether you expect collection of the faulty item. Developing these practical details would make the letter more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible sequence: you explain how you bought and received the desktop, describe the faults, outline their effect, and make a request. Linking expressions such as “but,” “Therefore,” and “I hope” help the reader follow the progression. However, the information is presented in one dense paragraph, so the shift from describing the product to explaining its impact and requesting action is not clearly signposted. Some connections are also abrupt, particularly “I was just taken aback” followed by your employment details. Use separate paragraphs for the complaint, its effect, and the requested solution, and make transitions between these points more explicit. Overall, the organisation is coherent, although cohesion is not consistently smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some appropriate language for a formal complaint, including “faulty,” “replacement,” “promptly,” and “streamline my office work.” These choices communicate the main message, and the reader can understand the equipment problems. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “deskptop,” “add,” “hurrily,” and “arenowned.” Some expressions are also unnatural or unclear: “joined it with my processor” does not clearly explain how the desktop was connected, and “distant worker” is less idiomatic than a standard term for working remotely. Aim for accurate spelling and conventional collocations, especially when describing technical faults. More precise vocabulary would make the complaint sound clearer and more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mixture of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “I received the product next day … but soon I was disappointed” and the cause-and-result link introduced by “Therefore.” Most of the message remains understandable, and errors do not prevent the reader from following your request. Some grammatical issues remain, however. For example, “I ordered for the desktop” uses an unnecessary preposition, and “display was dim” needs an article. The sentence “The product was faulty, display was dim, and it was not synchronising” also joins the list of faults awkwardly. Review articles, prepositions, and punctuation when combining clauses. Greater control of these patterns, alongside your existing sentence variety, would improve accuracy.

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

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