Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-23

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 5.0)

Dear sir,

I hope you are doing well, yesterday i book a texi from my office to home texi number is BFY34345 and texi come with time and driver is very jolly. we taling about road trafics and road condition with talking with driver i forget to get bag from texi when he droped me at home it was Big backpack with 7-8 zips there is water botel in my bag on zip holder there is a keyring its a Nike brand it have 3 small pockets under in small pocket there is wallet net also my wallet in my bag inside wallet my impoted ids and cards and there ia a laptop section my laptop is in my bag please help me to find the bag the driver name is honey Singh as i taling with his he was woring at your company from 3 years i am very thankful to you

Gaurav Kumar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points: explaining how the bag was lost, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, although the lack of paragraphing and punctuation makes the flow somewhat disjointed. To improve, ensure you clearly separate the introduction, the body paragraphs (one for the incident, one for the description, one for the request), and the closing. While the content is relevant, the lack of structure makes it harder for the reader to follow the sequence of events. Expanding slightly on the urgency of the situation would also help reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks paragraphing, which is essential for a formal letter. Ideas are presented in a single block of text, making it difficult to distinguish between the narrative of the journey and the description of the bag. There is a lack of cohesive devices; sentences are mostly linked by 'and' or run-on structures. To improve, use transition words such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition' to connect your ideas. Organizing the information into distinct paragraphs for each bullet point would significantly improve the logical flow and readability of your response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic details of the situation, such as 'backpack', 'keyring', and 'laptop section'. However, there are several spelling errors ('texi' instead of 'taxi', 'taling' instead of 'talking', 'impoted' instead of 'important') and some awkward phrasing. The range of vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. To achieve a higher score, try to use more precise adjectives to describe your bag and avoid repeating basic words. Focus on accurate spelling and using collocations correctly, such as 'left my bag behind' rather than 'forget to get bag'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding verb tense consistency and sentence structure. For example, you shift between past and present tense ('i book a texi', 'texi come', 'i forget'). There is also a lack of punctuation, with many run-on sentences that make the text difficult to parse. To improve, focus on using the past tense consistently when describing the journey. Practice using full stops to separate independent clauses and ensure that subjects and verbs agree. The current reliance on simple, error-prone sentences limits your ability to demonstrate a wider range of grammatical structures.

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

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