Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-04

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 manager,

I'm writing this letter to concern about my missing bag. Last week, I took a ride from airport to the hotel. The driver dropped me off at the hotel around 5'o clock in the evening. I came with 4 bags and he unloaded only 3 bags while he drops me. He was in hurry and looking to catch another passengers as we got late due to the traffic on the way. Due to this, he forgot to drop one more bag.

That bag is more important for me. I have my personal documents in that bag. The bag was of brown leather with steel Gucci symbol in the middle. It looks like a 7 kg bag. It has two zip compartments on the outside and has 3 small pockets and 2 tiny compartments inside.

I kindly request you to please help me in finding out. I will stay at the hotel for 3 more days. I would greatly appreciate receiving my bag back within this time. Also, please let me know if you need any additional details to track my bag.

Best Regards,

Ketul patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: explaining the loss, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, although the opening 'Dear manager' is slightly informal compared to the requested 'Dear Sir or Madam'. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, though the explanation of the incident could be more concise. The student successfully conveys the necessary information to the taxi company, fulfilling the communicative purpose of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the task. The progression of ideas is easy to follow, moving from the incident to the description and finally the request for help. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Due to this' and 'Also', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The use of paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall readability of the letter. The structure is sound and supports the reader's understanding throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task, allowing the student to describe the bag in detail (e.g., 'zip compartments', 'leather', 'steel symbol'). However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'I'm writing this letter to concern about' (should be 'express my concern') and 'he drops me' (tense inconsistency). While the range is adequate to convey the message clearly, it lacks the more sophisticated collocations or precise vocabulary that would elevate the score to a higher band. The language is functional but somewhat basic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and subject-verb agreement, such as 'he drops me' instead of 'he dropped me' and 'he was in hurry' instead of 'he was in a hurry'. Additionally, '5'o clock' is non-standard punctuation. While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. A greater focus on consistent tense usage and article placement would improve the accuracy significantly.

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

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