Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-06

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 am writing to inform you that yesterday I had booked a ride with you. Unfortunately, I left my bag in your taxi.

Actually, When I was travelling through the route of my home I was on the phone call and it was an important discussion going on. Hence, rather than paying attention toward my belongings I was more focused on the phone call that is the reason that I lost my bag in the taxi.

It is a big handbag of the brand Michael Korbs, it is black classy bag. Moreover, it contains lot of essentials such as my banking cards, passport and approximately five hundred dollars. I am more concerned about my identity in it.

I am requesting you to help me to find my bag because it is very valuable for me. I would really appreciate to help me in finding my bad as soon as possible.

Thankyou for your time and consideration. I am waiting for your prompt response.

Your faithfully,

Divya.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: explaining how the bag was lost, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The ideas are clearly presented, although the description of the bag could have been slightly more detailed to ensure a higher level of specificity. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and the request for help is explicitly stated. Overall, the response successfully fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each serving a clear purpose. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Hence', and 'Actually' are used to link sentences, although the use of 'Actually' at the start of the second paragraph is slightly informal for this context. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the introduction, the explanation, the description, and the closing request. The referencing is generally clear, and the flow of information is consistent throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, though there are some minor inaccuracies and spelling errors. For instance, 'Michael Korbs' is likely a misspelling of 'Michael Kors', and 'bad' is used instead of 'bag' in the final paragraph. While the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message, it lacks the sophistication or precision that would characterize a higher band. The use of 'classy' is slightly informal, and 'lot of essentials' would be better phrased as 'a lot of essential items'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'I had booked a ride' (past simple 'booked' would be more natural) and 'Your faithfully' (should be 'Yours faithfully'). The sentence 'I was travelling through the route of my home' is slightly awkward in its phrasing. However, these errors do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout. The punctuation is generally functional, though the closing salutation contains a minor error.

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.