Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-28

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 Madam,

I am writing this letter to report a complain regarding the delayed response of the mouse along with its left switch not working properly of the laptop given by the company.

Since last few days, I have been facing problem with the response of the mouse. It is not responding as quickly as it was doing before. In addition to this, the left button of the mouse is also not working.

As a result, it is impacting my work to a great extent. One of the consequences is delaying in the submission of my work before the deadline. Furthermore, as the left key is not working, I am unable to use its function and henceforth, my work is full of errors. As an employee, I like my work perfect and error-free.

Hereby, I am requesting either to replace the device with new one as it is also outdated or repair the mouse part of the computer.

Your Sincerely,

Chloe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you describe the mouse’s slow response and faulty left button, explain that this delays submissions and contributes to errors, and request a replacement or repair. The purpose and your dissatisfaction are clear throughout, and the consequences make the complaint relevant to your work. To strengthen the response further, develop the requested action more precisely: for example, say whether you prefer replacement or repair, and ask when the company can arrange it. The claim that the device is “outdated” is not supported with details, so explaining why replacement is necessary would make this point more convincing. Overall, the key task requirements are covered with relevant supporting detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear progression from the complaint, to the equipment problems, to their effect on your work and the action you want. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these stages, and linking expressions such as “In addition to this,” “As a result,” and “Furthermore” make the relationships between ideas clear. Some connections are slightly mechanical, particularly the repeated use of explicit transitions, and “Hereby” makes the request sound less natural than a direct transition such as “I would therefore ask you to…”. The opening also combines two faults in a long sentence, which could be easier to follow if divided. Overall, the organisation is logical and the message is easy to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “delayed response,” “submission,” “deadline,” and “replace.” These choices communicate the problem and its impact, and the reader can understand your meaning. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “report a complain” should be “make a complaint,” “delaying in the submission” could be “delays in submitting,” and “left key” is less precise than “left mouse button.” “My work perfect and error-free” also sounds awkward in this context. Aim for natural, precise phrases rather than formal-sounding expressions such as “Hereby.” These occasional inaccuracies limit the precision of an otherwise sufficient vocabulary range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the cause-and-effect sentence beginning “As a result” and the clause “as the left key is not working.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “Since last few days” needs an article and a more suitable tense (“For the last few days, I have been…”), while “I am facing problem” needs an article. In “the mouse … not working properly of the laptop,” the sentence structure is difficult to control; a clearer version would be “the laptop’s mouse is not working properly.” The request also needs articles in “a new one” and “the mouse part.” Greater accuracy in these patterns would improve control.

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

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