Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear sir/ or Madam ,

I am writing about I lost my bag yesterday in taxi during traveling. Actually during traveling yesterday evening at 7.30 pm I talked with my family on phone call because in India my father suffer from serious disease at that time i was depressed that is why happened this mistakes.

I explained about my bag its made from leather and in front of the bag golden colour zip and its appearance is eye catching and in this bag has my all important cards like credit, debit and key of my house .

I would be very grateful if you could help me to find out my bag please let me if you kindly reach out the taxi driver and if anything to do my side i would like to do and help me as soon as possible to find my bag. i appreciate to you for helping me .

Your faithfully,

Amanjot kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: explaining the loss, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of how the bag was lost is clear, but the description of the bag is basic, focusing only on the material and the zip. The request for help is present but phrased in a repetitive and slightly informal manner. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific details, such as the time of the ride, the taxi number, or the route taken, which would make the request more effective and realistic for a formal letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into three paragraphs, which is appropriate for this task. However, the flow between ideas is often mechanical. You rely on simple sentence structures and lack a variety of cohesive devices to link your thoughts smoothly. For example, the transition between the explanation of the loss and the description of the bag is abrupt. While the overall progression is logical, the use of referencing (e.g., 'this mistakes') is sometimes unclear, and the lack of linking words makes the writing feel disjointed. Improving the use of transition signals would significantly enhance the readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message, but it is quite limited and repetitive. You use basic terms like 'important' and 'help' multiple times. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'talked with my family on phone call' instead of 'spoke to my family on the phone'. While the meaning is clear, there is little attempt to use less common or more precise vocabulary. To improve, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives and formal business terminology suitable for a letter to a manager.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tense ('I am writing about I lost my bag'), subject-verb agreement ('my father suffer'), and article usage. Sentence structures are predominantly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and the opening salutation. While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to cause some difficulty and indicate a need for more careful proofreading and practice with sentence variety.

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

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