Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-24

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 hope you are doing well and pleased to ride in a taxi yesterday with your company.

I booked ride from Grand River Hospital to my home, and as soon as I stepped in my home, I realized that I left my bag in your one of the taxi. Hoping to get it back. I am illustrating visual aspects of my bag so you can recognized it well. My bag is red in colour with brand name Nike on it. It is carry on bag like school bags, and also it has laptop inside with some documents. My cab driver name was Hiren Patel, who picked me up from the hospital and dropped me of at my home address. I tried to connect with him using your booking application but did not go well. I am requesting you to look for my bag because it is very important for day to day routine.

If you get any information about my bag please connect with me, I will pick up it from your office.

Thank you,

Kamil Ghori.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: explaining the loss, describing the bag, and requesting assistance. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, although the opening sentence is slightly awkward. The ideas are relevant and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific details about the time of the journey or the exact contents of the bag to assist the manager in locating it more effectively. Overall, the task is fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. There is a clear progression from the incident to the description and finally the request for help. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic and occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between describing the bag and mentioning the driver is abrupt. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the flow and coherence of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey the necessary information clearly. There are some instances of unnatural phrasing, such as 'illustrating visual aspects' and 'did not go well'. While the student attempts to use specific terms like 'carry on bag', the range is somewhat limited. To improve, the student should focus on more natural collocations and avoid overly formal or slightly misused academic phrasing in a functional letter context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I booked ride' (missing article), 'in your one of the taxi' (incorrect word order), and 'dropped me of' (spelling error). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede the overall meaning of the letter. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to demonstrate better control over articles, prepositions, and verb tense consistency, as well as reducing the frequency of minor errors.

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

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