Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-01

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 7.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to report a bag that I left in one of your taxis yesterday and to ask for your assistance in locating it.

Yesterday evening, I travelled by taxi from the city centre to my home at around 7:30 P.M. When i arrived home, I realized that I had left my bag on the back seat of the texi. Unfortunately, I do not remember the taxi's registration number, but I booked the journey through your compnay's app. Therefore, you may be able to identify the driver using my journey deatils.

The bag is medium-sized black leather backpack with a silver zip and a small blue keychain attached to one of the straps. It contains some important personal belongings, including my wallet, a pair of wireless earphones, some documents and a notebook. The documents are particularly important to me, so I am very keen to recover the bag as soon as possible.

I would extremely grateful if you could contact the driver and ask wether the bag has been found in the taxi. I would apreciate it if you could let me know as soon as possible if it has been handed it.

Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Hani Prajapati

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly explain how the bag was lost, provide a detailed description of the item, and make a polite request for assistance. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a company manager. The ideas are well-developed, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. You have successfully included all necessary information, such as the time of the journey and the method of booking, which helps the reader identify the specific trip. The response is well-structured and meets all the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the introduction to the details of the loss, the description of the bag, and finally the call to action. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Unfortunately', and 'In addition' are used appropriately to link sentences and ideas. The paragraphing is logical and helps the reader follow the narrative easily. The use of referencing is clear, and the overall flow of the letter is smooth and professional, which is essential for this type of formal correspondence.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for the context, such as 'locating', 'registration number', 'identify', and 'recover'. The description of the bag is precise and uses relevant adjectives. However, there are a few minor spelling errors, such as 'texi' (taxi), 'compnay's' (company's), 'deatils' (details), and 'wether' (whether). While these are noticeable, they do not impede communication or the professional tone of the letter. To reach a higher band, ensure you proofread for these small slips, as they detract slightly from the overall polish of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

You use a variety of sentence structures, including complex sentences with relative clauses and conditional structures. Most of your sentences are error-free, and the grammar is generally accurate. There are a few minor slips, such as 'I would extremely grateful' (missing 'be') and 'if it has been handed it' (incorrect preposition/structure). Despite these occasional errors, the control of grammar is strong, and the meaning is always clear. The punctuation is generally correct, and the formal tone is maintained throughout the letter, which is a key requirement for this task.

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.