Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-09

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 request for looking for my lost bag in one of your taxi last evening, in city of the Barrie.

Yestarday evening I booked a taxi from north barrie to south barrie, which was approximately 15 mins ride. It was black honda civic. Unfortunately, I was in hurry for my meeting , so I forgot to take my bag. When i realized it was already too late.

For your reference, my bag is dark brown in color with gold handle on the top. I purchased this only last month. Apart from that it has my initial letter K on it. This bag contains my important documents and passport.

I really want to make a request to look into this matter. As it contains crucial things, i want that as soon as possible. Either you can deliver to at my place or i can pick it up from your office as per your convenience.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours Faithfully,

Alexa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter clearly addresses all three required points: it explains that you were in a hurry and left the bag in the taxi, describes its colour, gold handle and initial, and asks the manager to help locate it. Including the route, approximate journey time and the bag’s important contents also makes the situation specific and gives the company useful identifying details. The request for either delivery or collection is practical. To strengthen the response further, make the request more direct and develop the circumstances slightly—for example, mention the approximate time of the ride or any receipt or booking details that could help identify the taxi. Overall, the purpose and intended outcome remain clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression from the reason for writing, to the journey and loss, then the bag’s description and the requested action. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages, and phrases such as “For your reference” and “I am looking forward to hearing from you” support the letter format. Some links between ideas are less smooth: “When I realized it was already too late” does not explain what action was too late, and “Apart from that” is not the most precise link for adding the initial. The request paragraph also moves quickly from the bag’s contents to possible collection arrangements. Use clearer references and transitions to make these connections more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the situation, including “approximately,” “crucial,” “documents,” and “as per your convenience.” The description of the bag is specific enough to help identify it. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “request for looking for,” “in one of your taxi,” and “I want that as soon as possible.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “Yestarday” and “initial letter.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim to learn complete phrases used in formal requests, such as “I would be grateful if you could check whether the driver found it.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes both simple sentences and some longer structures, such as the sentence beginning “Yestarday evening I booked a taxi…” and the conditional-style request about delivery or collection. The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. Examples include “one of your taxi” (number agreement), “in city of the Barrie” (article and preposition pattern), and “When i realized it was already too late,” which is an incomplete clause in this context. Capitalisation is also inconsistent in “i” and “honda.” Improve control of articles, plurals and complete sentence structure, and check punctuation around clauses. More accurate complex sentences would make the formal letter sound clearer and more polished.

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

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