Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-11

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to inform you about my bag that I left in the taxi which I booked yesterday.

Recently, I booked taxi from your company. I was going from my home to near city to see my family. I already got late to leave my home in morning, then there was too much traffic on the way. Once I reached there I tried to rush leaving the taxi so I forgot my bag inside it.

Actually, my bag is quite expensive and it has several marks on it. It is coloured green. Moreover, it had my wallet, cards and some money. I would like to request you to find my valuable bag. It was close to me because my mother gifted it to me on my eleventh birthday. I humbly request to find my bag as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for your help.

Yours sincerely

Lovepreet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three required points: it explains that you rushed out of the taxi and left the bag behind, describes it as green and marked, and asks the manager to help locate it. The personal detail that your mother gave it to you adds a clear reason for wanting it returned, and the polite opening and closing suit a formal enquiry. The request is understandable, though it could be more specific about what action you want the manager to take—for example, checking with the driver or contacting you if the bag is found. The description would also be more useful if it included the bag’s size, style, or another identifying feature. Overall, the task is fully addressed, with some details that could be developed further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible order: you explain the journey and how the bag was left behind, then describe the item and make your request. The paragraphs help distinguish the background from the description, and linking expressions such as “then” and “Moreover” make relationships between ideas clear. The progression is coherent overall, but some connections feel mechanical or imprecise. For instance, “Recently” does not add much after saying the taxi was booked yesterday, and the description and request are combined in one paragraph. A separate paragraph for the request, with a clear transition such as “I would therefore be grateful if…”, would make the letter easier to follow and show more flexible cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation and the bag’s importance, including “traffic,” “several marks,” “valuable,” and “gifted.” The wording is generally understandable, but the range is limited and some choices are unnatural or repetitive. “I booked taxi” and “near city” are not idiomatic, while “find my bag” is repeated rather than varied. “It has several marks on it” is also vague as a description; a more precise phrase could identify the marks or their location. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the letter, but more accurate collocations and specific descriptive vocabulary would make it more natural and effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes both simple sentences and longer structures, such as “Once I reached there I tried to rush leaving the taxi so I forgot my bag inside it.” Most ideas remain clear, and you use past forms to describe the journey and present forms to describe the bag. Some grammatical errors remain: “I booked taxi” needs an article, “in morning” needs a determiner, and “I humbly request to find my bag” lacks a clear object for the request. The long sentence about arriving and rushing would also benefit from punctuation or restructuring to clarify the sequence. Continue practising articles and sentence boundaries, while varying sentence patterns; this would improve accuracy without sacrificing the clear meaning.

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

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