Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-20

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 4.0)

Dear sir.

Hey it's about 15 mins ago I was traveling in your taxi. I came home and suddenly I remembered that I forgot my bag in your taxi.

My bag was of red color it's was a tote bag I have carried in my bag I have many important things specially my credit cards and my money. Now I'm requesting you to please check your all taxis that I you will find my bag I'm be very thankful to you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response touches upon the three bullet points by mentioning how the bag was lost (leaving it in the taxi), describing the bag (red tote bag containing credit cards and money), and asking for help. However, the task achievement is heavily compromised because the response contains only 81 words, severely falling short of the required 150-word minimum. Furthermore, the tone is entirely inappropriate for a formal letter to a manager, beginning with 'Dear sir. Hey...' and lacking the necessary formal register required for a general training correspondence task. Due to the significant under-length and inadequate format, this is awarded a band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The text lacks proper paragraphing, presented instead as a brief, run-on block of sentences. Cohesive devices are largely absent, with abrupt transitions between ideas, such as jumping immediately from the loss of the bag to its description and then straight to the request for assistance without any linking phrases. Referencing is also problematic, as seen in the confusing phrase 'that I you will find my bag'. Because the structure is underdeveloped and lacks organisational flow, it aligns closely with the band 4 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying on everyday words such as 'bag', 'taxi', 'money', and 'things'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'I have carried in my bag I have many important things' and 'check your all taxis'. There are no attempts at less common or sophisticated lexical items suitable for a formal business context. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic situation, but remains restricted, fitting a band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of simple and poorly controlled compound sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including incorrect salutations ('Dear sir.'), missing periods, run-on structures ('...that I forgot my bag in your taxi. My bag was of red color it's was a tote bag...'), and distorted verb phrases ('I'm be very thankful'). These errors frequently impede communication and strain the reader, which is characteristic of a band 4.0 performance.

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

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