Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-17

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)

Writing Task-1

Dear Sir,

Yesterday, I travelled throw one of your taxi and I forget my bag in the car. I vividly remember that I was with my bag when I took a taxi and after getting into the car. I placed it aside on the right seat. Unfortunatelly, I forget it the car.

The bag was pink in colour and it was a sling bag which contains my ID's and some of my makeup products. Additionally, there was around $100 in the bag.

Furthermore, the taxi was in yellow and black colour with the number plate DMT 307. I hope this information help you

to find my belongings. As they are very important to me kindly help me as soon as possible. I will be very thankful to you.

Kind Regards,

Navneet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: explaining the loss, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which limits the development of ideas. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, but the brevity prevents a full exploration of the situation. To improve, you should expand on the circumstances of the journey or provide more specific details about the contents of the bag to ensure the response meets the length requirement and demonstrates a more thorough engagement with the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic and repetitive. While there is an attempt to use transition words like 'Additionally' and 'Furthermore', the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. The paragraphing is sufficient for a short letter, but the overall progression could be smoother if you used a wider variety of linking phrases to connect your ideas more naturally. The structure is clear, but it lacks the sophistication required for a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite simple. There are some spelling errors, such as 'throw' instead of 'through' and 'Unfortunatelly' instead of 'Unfortunately'. Additionally, the phrase 'I forget my bag' uses the incorrect tense; it should be 'forgot'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message, it lacks the range and precision needed for a higher score. You should focus on using more descriptive adjectives and ensuring correct word forms to enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains several grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of the writing. For example, 'I travelled throw one of your taxi' should be 'I travelled in one of your taxis', and 'the taxi was in yellow and black colour' is better phrased as 'the taxi was yellow and black'. There are also issues with verb tense consistency, such as 'I forget' instead of 'I forgot'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of basic sentence structure and tense usage.

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

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