Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to tell you that I left my bag last night in one of your taxies which I booked from airport road.

As I always prefer your taxi service for every trip in or outside of the city, I booked your taxi for last night also from airport to my home. I remember that around 10 pm I took the cab and at 11pm I reached home. The time I set in the cab I had my bag with me. But the time I reacheh, I was on call. The driver helped me to take out my bags and in hurry,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 111 words long and remains unfinished. Consequently, the task is not fully addressed. While you have attempted to explain how the bag was lost and mentioned the taxi service, the description of the bag is entirely missing, and the request for help is incomplete due to the abrupt ending. To improve, you must ensure all bullet points are addressed with sufficient detail and that the letter reaches the required length to allow for full development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks a clear structure due to its incomplete nature. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction and a logical flow in the initial sentences, the lack of paragraphing and the abrupt termination of the text significantly hinder coherence. The use of cohesive devices is minimal, and the text does not progress to a conclusion. To achieve a higher band, you should organize your letter into distinct paragraphs for each bullet point and ensure the text flows logically from the introduction to the final request.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic. Phrases such as 'I hope you are doing well' and 'I am writing to tell you' are standard but repetitive. There are some minor errors, such as 'taxies' (should be 'taxis') and 'reacheh' (a spelling error for 'reached'). The range of vocabulary is limited, which prevents a more precise description of the situation or the missing item. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and using more formal business terminology would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are noticeable errors that affect the quality of the writing. For example, 'the time I set in the cab' is grammatically awkward, and 'in hurry' is missing an article ('in a hurry'). There are also punctuation and spelling issues, such as 'reacheh'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors and the lack of complex sentence variety limit the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is essential.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.