Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-12

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)

To manager

Babulal company

Dear sir today morning I booked taxi of your company for traveling office to my home, I spend 4 hours in your company taxi and enjoy my road trip .

Company taxi driver also nice person and drive very well , after some time of I reach my home, when I need mobile phone I search my bag but bag couldn't find any were in house.

The bag is yellow colour with dimond coated costly bag however this bag is my favourite bag . i forget this bag may be in back seat of your taxi when I was listening music

So I requested you to help me with immediate effect to find my bag and return me with geniune condition. It is my foult whenever I left from your taxi I will not checked properly.

I appreciate your work as well as your company policy for searching my bag thank you

Your faithfuly

Baba

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: explaining how the bag was lost, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. However, the development of these points is quite basic. For instance, the description of the bag as 'yellow colour with dimond coated' is somewhat vague and lacks the detail expected for a formal request. The tone is inconsistent; while it attempts a formal structure, the language used is often informal or grammatically awkward, which impacts the overall effectiveness of the communication. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific details about the journey and the bag, and ensure the tone remains consistently professional throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and often mechanical. Transitions between ideas are abrupt, such as the jump from describing the bag to asking for help. There is a lack of logical flow between sentences, and the referencing (e.g., 'this bag') is sometimes repetitive. To improve, you should use a wider variety of linking words and phrases (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition') to connect your ideas more smoothly and create a more cohesive piece of writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple words like 'nice', 'costly', and 'favourite'. There are also several errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'dimond' (diamond), 'any were' (anywhere), 'geniune' (genuine), and 'foult' (fault). These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly unclear. To improve, you should focus on learning more precise adjectives and nouns related to travel and lost property, and pay closer attention to the spelling of common words. Expanding your vocabulary will help you express your ideas with more precision and style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tense ('I spend 4 hours', 'I reach my home'), missing articles ('booked taxi', 'in back seat'), and sentence fragments or run-on sentences. These errors are noticeable and sometimes require the reader to re-read to understand the intended meaning. To improve, you should practice using a mix of simple and complex sentence structures and focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with verb tenses and the correct use of articles and prepositions.

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

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