Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You rode in a taxi yesterday. When you got home, you realized you had left your bag in the taxi.

Write a letter to the manager of the taxi company. In your letter
• explain how you lost your bag.
• describe your bag.
• ask the manager to help you find it.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

dear sir,

I am writing this letter to inform you that i travelled to home through your taxi yesterday.At that time i was so tired as im coming after attending a function so i think that i forgot my blue bag in your taxi.

It is very important bag for me as i have lot of important document in that bag regardig my business.It is blue handbag which have an elephant sticker on its left.moreover it have zara Logo on the other side

It is huge request to taxi manager,kindly pay attention in finding bag firstly,as i mention that i have lot of important document as well as my regular clothes in it.

your regardlessely

rahul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the main situation by explaining that you travelled in the company’s taxi and believe you left your bag there, and you give identifying details: it is blue, has an elephant sticker, and bears a Zara logo. You also ask the manager to look for it. However, the explanation and request are brief, and the letter does not clearly specify how the bag was left behind beyond saying you were tired. The response is 34 words below the required minimum, so the three points are not developed sufficiently. Add practical details such as your journey time, pickup and drop-off locations, and a phone number or other way to contact you, and make the request more specific.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a generally sensible order: you introduce the lost property, describe the bag, and then ask the manager to help. The paragraph breaks also separate these main points, and linking expressions such as “moreover” and “as” show an attempt to connect ideas. This gives the letter an overall coherent structure. To make the progression clearer and more natural, use a separate paragraph for each purpose and avoid joining several ideas with commas. For example, the request paragraph could explain what action you want the company to take and how it can contact you. The closing should also be clearly separated from the body.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the basic situation and identify the item, including “blue bag,” “elephant sticker,” “business,” and “regular clothes.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “travelled to home through your taxi,” “important bag,” and “huge request.” Spelling and word-form errors, including “regardig” and “regardlessely,” also reduce clarity and the professional tone expected in a letter to a company. Aim for precise, natural phrases for reporting lost property and describing its contents. Proofreading spelling and choosing standard expressions will make your message easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with an attempt at a longer explanation beginning “At that time I was so tired…” This communicates the general meaning, but complex sentences are often faulty and errors occur frequently. Examples include “I think that I forgot” where the past event would be clearer as “I think I left,” and “which have” / “it have,” where the verb does not agree with the singular noun. Articles and plurals also need attention in “a lot of important document.” Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, including lowercase “i” and missing spaces after full stops. Practise accurate past-tense sentences and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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