Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-30

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 6.0)

Dear Manager,

I am writing this letter to inform you about leaving my bag in the taxi while I was travelling back from work yesterday night.

Yesterday, when I was taking the taxi I got a call from an old friend. I was so concentrated at the call I just left my bag in the taxi and never noticed.

To help you identify it, it was a grey colour mini bag with multiple shiny patches and a golden chain. It had important documents like passport and driving license but also it carried an emotional significance as it was gifted to me by my father.

Additionally,I want to know if you could file a formal complain to track the taxi details and help me get my bag.

It will be great help if you can provide me the drivers contact .

Looking forward for a positive response.

Kind regards,

Maqbool Shaik

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The letter explains how the bag was lost by mentioning a phone call while taking a taxi yesterday night. It then provides a clear and vivid description of the bag, noting it was a grey mini bag with multiple shiny patches, a golden chain, and containing a passport, driving license, and sentimental items. Finally, the response asks the manager for help by requesting a formal complaint to track taxi details and asking for the driver's contact information. The tone is appropriately formal for a business communication, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. The response meets all task requirements efficiently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. The response is divided into logical paragraphs for the introduction, the incident explanation, the bag description, the call to action, and the sign-off, which represents sufficient and appropriate paragraphing. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as transitional phrases like 'Additionally', though referencing and transitions could be slightly smoother. For instance, the paragraphing around the requests is a bit fragmented with single-line sentences, which is common in letters but slightly limits advanced cohesion. Overall, the ideas flow logically and the structure is coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating specific descriptive terms such as 'shiny patches', 'golden chain', and 'emotional significance'. There are a few vocabulary and collocation slips, such as 'yesterday night' instead of 'last night' and 'formal complain' instead of 'formal complaint' (spelling slip). The phrase 'I was so concentrated at the call' would be more natural as 'I was so focused on the call'. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the lexical resource is fully sufficient to communicate the necessary details clearly and accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. Examples of complex structures include 'I am writing this letter to inform you about leaving my bag...' and 'It had important documents like passport and driving license but also it carried an emotional significance as it was gifted to me by my father.' There are some minor grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, such as the missing space after the comma in 'Additionally,I want to know', the misspelling of 'complain' instead of 'complaint', and an missing article in 'provide me the drivers contact' (driver's contact). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences are accurate.

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