Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-05

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 am writing this to inform you regarding my lost bag in one of your taxis yesterday. I took the ride from 6 flora ride to the Kennedy station. It was a black Honda CRV with the license plate number CZX612. I lost my lether bag in that car.

It was a small brown lether bag with an emblem of the brand Aldo emposed at the middle of the bag with two golden straps . It have pink colour umbrella, my credit cards, driving license as well as some accessories and wet tissues. I strongly believe, the bag was there just before reaching the station, because I took some wet tissues from that bag.

I am requesting you to inform me if you could find that bag from that taxi. I can be reached [redacted phone] or [redacted email].

I appreciate your time and understanding

Looking forward for your prompt response

Sincerely,

Neethy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explained how the bag was lost, provided a detailed description of the item, and included a polite request for assistance. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The information is well-organized, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning. To reach a higher band, ensure that all details are fully developed; for instance, you could have mentioned the approximate time of the ride to help the manager narrow down the search more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with a clear progression from the incident to the description and finally the request for help. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited. While the flow is easy to follow, the letter relies on simple sentence structures rather than a variety of linking words or transition phrases. Improving the use of cohesive devices, such as 'consequently' or 'furthermore', would help the text flow more naturally and demonstrate a higher level of control.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message clearly, such as 'emposed' (though misspelled) and 'accessories'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'lether' instead of 'leather' and 'emposed' instead of 'embossed'. These errors are noticeable but do not impede the overall meaning. To improve, focus on the spelling of common descriptive words and try to incorporate more precise collocations, such as 'left behind' instead of just 'lost'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'It have pink colour umbrella' (should be 'It contains a pink umbrella') and 'I am requesting you to inform me if you could find that bag from that taxi' (should be 'find the bag in the taxi'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation issues, such as missing spaces after commas. Increasing the frequency of error-free sentences and refining subject-verb agreement will help improve your score in this area.

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

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