Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-13

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 or Madam,

I am writing to complain about a laptop which I bought from your electronic store for doing my office work and other purposes.

Last month, I had purchased a laptop from you because one of my friends receommended me about your shop and your services. At the time of buying, I explained everthing that I need laptop with good processor and memory storage. From that time, everything was going perfectly and I did not face any issue till yesterday. Unfortunaltely, it stopped working and now it is not switching on.

Next week, I have to submit my important presentation in the office meeting. All of my team members have done their part of assigment which I also need to prepare before our meeting schdeule. Therefore,without laptop I cannot finish it on time and it effects on my job duties and performance as well.

In addition, I would like to request you for the replacement of my device because I bought it only one month ago and it is still under warranty. Alternatively, I would also agree for the full refund, if your company unable to replace it.

Yours sincerely,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

You address all three points clearly: the laptop has stopped working and will not switch on, this prevents you from preparing a presentation for next week’s meeting, and you request a replacement or, alternatively, a refund. The explanation that the laptop was bought only a month ago and remains under warranty supports your request, while the opening and closing are appropriate for a formal complaint. To make the response more fully developed, specify what action or timeframe you expect from the company—for example, arranging a prompt repair or replacement before the meeting. The purpose and requested outcome are clear throughout, and the work-related consequences are relevant and explained.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: you introduce the complaint, describe the fault, explain its effect on your work, and state the remedy you want. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages, and linking expressions such as “Therefore” and “In addition” make the relationships between ideas clear. Some connections could be more precise and less formulaic. For instance, “From that time” is an unclear transition from the purchase to the laptop’s previous reliability; “Since then” would make the timeline easier to follow. The sentence about your team members’ work also contains several ideas at once, so dividing it would improve the flow. Overall, organisation is logical, with some room for more flexible cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its consequences, including “presentation,” “warranty,” “replacement,” and “full refund.” However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “receommended,” “everthing,” “Unfortunaltely,” “assigment,” and “schdeule.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “explained everything that I need laptop” and “it effects on my job duties.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, but they limit the accuracy and naturalness of the vocabulary. Aim to check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for complaints and workplace impact, rather than relying on broad phrases such as “other purposes.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause (“because one of my friends…”) and a conditional request (“if your company unable to replace it”). Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “I need laptop” needs an article, and “if your company unable to replace it” needs a verb such as “is.” The past perfect in “I had purchased” is unnecessary with “Last month,” and “it effects on my job duties” has an incorrect grammatical pattern. There is also a punctuation gap after “Therefore.” To improve, check articles, auxiliary verbs, tense choices, and sentence boundaries while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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

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