Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-05

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,

I hope you are doing well!

I am writing this letter to inform you that yesterday I was travelling in a Dufferin taxi around 5:30 pm on Main Street near McDonald's. While travelling, I just received a call from my roommate, who said to me on the call, "There is an emergency; please come home soon." While on talk, I had reached my destination and forgot to take a bag with me.

The bag is so precious to me, gifted by my brother. It was a brown-colored Coach tote bag with big stripes. There was an initial on the keyring, which indicated my name. It was an expensive bag that cost around $400.

I am requesting that you ask all the employees working at the same time that my bag was lost. I would be very thankful to you if you could reply to me to this letter as soon as you get an update.

Kind Regards,

Charu

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You explained how the bag was lost, provided a clear description of the item, and included a request for assistance. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a company manager. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands the situation clearly. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific details about the taxi, such as the taxi number or the exact time of arrival, which would make the request more practical and realistic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for the details, and a concluding request. Each paragraph has a central focus. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'While travelling' and 'While on talk', though the latter is slightly unnatural. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. To improve, you could use a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases to connect your sentences more fluidly, as some transitions currently feel a bit mechanical or repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'precious', 'indicated', and 'emergency'. However, there are some minor issues with collocation and word choice. For example, 'While on talk' is not standard English; 'While I was on the phone' would be more natural. Additionally, 'big stripes' is a bit simplistic. Using more precise descriptive language would enhance your score. Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate your message clearly without any significant misunderstanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'While on talk, I had reached my destination' (which should be 'While I was talking, I reached my destination') and 'reply to me to this letter' (which should be 'reply to this letter'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. To move to a higher band, focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and using more accurate prepositional phrases. The majority of your sentences are understandable, which is a positive sign.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.