Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-11

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 sir,

I am writing this letter in connection to the ride I took yesterday .I took the ride from my work to reach home.while I was about to drop off from the taxi,I got mine friends call and I got distracted .I reached home and realised I had left my bag in the taxi.

The bag was a black coach handbag with white pearls on top .There was a keychain of letter N on it.It was a medium sized bag.

I Apologise for the mistake that I made,But I need your Assistance to find my bag because I had my important documents in the bag.I would be really grateful if you could help me finding the bag.

yours faithfully

navjot kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover all three required points: you explain that a phone call distracted you as you were getting out, describe the black Coach handbag with white pearls and an “N” keychain, and ask the manager to help locate it. These details make the letter relevant and give the company useful identifying information. However, the request could be developed further—for example, ask staff to check the vehicle or contact you if the bag is found—and the importance of the documents is mentioned without specifying what action you need. The response is also 28 words below the required minimum, so there is limited space to develop these points. Adding a polite closing request and contact details would make the purpose more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: the first paragraph explains the journey and how the bag was left behind, the second describes it, and the final paragraph requests assistance. This sequence is easy to follow, and the paragraphs separate the main purposes effectively. Some links between ideas are less smooth, however: “I took the ride from my work to reach home” is followed by several events joined in a long run-on sequence, while the description and request paragraphs are very brief. Use sentence boundaries and linking phrases to make the progression clearer, such as “Unfortunately, I became distracted…” and “To help identify it…”. The salutation and sign-off should also follow consistent formal-letter conventions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation and identify the item, including “distracted,” “handbag,” “white pearls,” and “important documents.” The specific description is useful and shows some range beyond very basic terms. At times, word choice and collocation are awkward or imprecise: “in connection to the ride” is less natural than “regarding my journey,” and “help me finding the bag” does not use the usual verb pattern. “Mine friends call” also makes the meaning less clear. Aim for natural phrases suited to a formal request, and check spelling and capitalization, including “apologise” and “assistance.” These improvements would make the message more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate the main events using a mix of simple and more complex forms, including “while I was about to drop off from the taxi” and “I would be really grateful if…”. The sequence of past events is generally understandable. Some errors in sentence structure, punctuation, and grammatical forms remain. For example, “yesterday .I” has incorrect spacing and punctuation, and the first paragraph joins several clauses without clear sentence boundaries. In “I would be really grateful if you could help me finding the bag,” the verb pattern should be “help me find” or “help me to find.” Capitalization is also inconsistent within sentences. Separating the events into complete sentences and proofreading these patterns would improve accuracy.

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

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