Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-27

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 Or Madam,

I am writing to inform about the bag I lost while using your taxi services on 15 of October. The taxi number plate was 3378sw.

I booked the taxi from Calgary airport to city centre. I clearly remember, I had two bags and I put one of my large bag in the car trunk. However, I forgot to took back that bag after reaching my destination. I tried to call the driver, unfortunately, he did not respond. Moreover, the colour of bag is tan brown and 2 feet in height and width. Also, it has a name tag of my name, and it is locked with the alphabetic number lock. I would therefore request that you contact your emplyoee and enquire about my bag. If you need any further information regarding my bag and car booking, please let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your faithfully,

Manish Thakur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You successfully covered all parts of the task prompt. You explained how the bag was lost by detailing your taxi journey from Calgary airport on October 15 and forgetting it in the car trunk. You described the bag well, mentioning its tan brown colour, size of two feet, name tag, and combination lock. Finally, you clearly asked the manager for assistance by requesting that they contact the driver. The purpose of the letter is immediately clear, and the tone is appropriate for a formal complaint or inquiry to a company manager.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your letter has a clear logical progression and is divided into appropriate paragraphs. You start with the context of the journey, move into the details of the loss and the description of the bag, and conclude with a call to action and sign-off. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However' and 'Moreover', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The sign-off contains a minor slip ('Your faithfully' instead of 'Yours faithfully'), but overall the letter is easy to follow and structured correctly for a formal correspondence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You used an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating functional phrases like 'inform about the bag', 'destination', and 'further information'. However, there are some lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'forgot to took back' (should be 'take back') and 'emplyoee' (spelling error). While you attempt less common items like 'number plate' and 'combination lock', the occasional errors in collocation and spelling prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrated a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional sentence 'If you need any further information...'. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For example, 'I am writing to inform about the bag' misses the object pronoun 'you', 'I put one of my large bag' has a singular/plural agreement error, and 'forgot to took back' uses the wrong verb form after 'to'. Despite these errors, meaning is never obscured, and communication remains clear.

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

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