Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-03

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 6.5)

Dear sir,

I am writing this letter to complain about a recent laptop which I recently bought from you.

Last night, I was working on a laptop and suddenly it stops working and turned off. I was doing the important work and this incident totally disturbed me and my work and I am truely disappointed because I bought this laptop recently.

Furthermore, without a laptop it is not possible for me to make projects which I have to submit at weekends.

Without a laptop I can't even do my daily attendence which will effect my salary as it is important for me because company privides me salary on the basis of my attendence.

As I know, I have warranty on this laptop and I request you to send an expert who can repair or replace my laptop as soon as possible or you can refund my money, so that I can buy a new laptop from different company.

I hope you will take serious intention and help me in this situation.

Yours faithfully,

Tarun

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter clearly addresses all three requirements: you describe the laptop shutting down, explain that this prevents you from completing projects and recording attendance, and request repair, replacement, or a refund. The practical consequences make the complaint relevant and give the reader a clear reason to act. The request is also explicit in “send an expert who can repair or replace my laptop.” To strengthen the response further, provide a little more precise information about the fault, such as whether the laptop will restart or whether you have tried any troubleshooting. You could also make the requested remedy more decisive by stating which option you prefer and giving a reasonable timeframe for a response. Overall, the purpose and desired outcome are clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible order: you introduce the complaint, describe the incident, explain its effects, and then state what you want the company to do. Connectors such as “Furthermore” and “As I know” help signal movement between points, and the closing is appropriate for a formal letter. The two consequences of the fault are understandable, although the repeated opening “Without a laptop” makes the middle section feel somewhat repetitive. The letter would be easier to scan if the problem, its effects, and your requested action were separated into clear paragraphs. Some linking is also mechanical; instead of adding another connector, you could show the relationship directly, for example, that the shutdown prevents you from completing work and recording attendance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its consequences, including “warranty,” “repair,” “replace,” and “refund.” However, several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems limit precision and naturalness. “Recent laptop” is unclear in this context, “doing the important work” is vague, and “take serious intention” does not express the intended request naturally. There are also spelling errors in “truely,” “attendence,” and “privides.” Aim for accurate, conventional phrases used in formal complaints, such as “recently purchased laptop,” “urgent work,” and “take this matter seriously.” This would make the letter sound more professional while preserving its clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The letter includes both simple statements and longer sentences with reasons and conditions, as in the sentence explaining that attendance affects your salary. The main message remains understandable, but errors in verb forms and sentence construction occur in several places. For example, “it stops working and turned off” shifts tense and needs a consistent past form, while “I was doing the important work and this incident totally disturbed me” joins ideas awkwardly. The sentence beginning “As I know” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between the warranty and your request. Practise keeping past events in the past tense and dividing long explanations into complete, well-punctuated sentences. More accurate control of these patterns would make your request easier to follow.

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

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