Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-25

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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter about my bag which I have left in a taxi (taxi number AL5955) which is hired by your company.It happened yesterday when I was travelling Ludhiana to Chandigarh.

My bag was in black colour. It is large back and I mentioned my home address on it because I went to Srinagar by air. After getting taxi I left it by mistake because I was in hurry. My imporatnt documents and some important things are in it. Besides, it is tosho company bag and is is brand new bag. I was so worried when I lost my bag in a taxi because I never know the cantact number of the taxi driver.

I would be glad if you will help me to find out the bag. I have a humble request that you could find my bag because you know the taxi driver. I need i

Thank you.

Yours Faithfully,

Grace thomas

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you explain that you left the bag behind while travelling from Ludhiana to Chandigarh, describe its colour, size, brand and contents, and ask the manager to help locate it. The taxi number and the fact that your home address is on the bag are useful identifying details. This covers the task well, though some information is unclear or not fully developed—for example, “I mentioned my home address on it” does not clearly explain how the address appears on the bag, and the final request ends abruptly at “I need i”. To strengthen the letter further, state precisely what action you want the manager to take, such as contacting the driver and arranging a return of the bag.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a sensible overall order: you introduce the problem, give details about the journey and bag, then make a request and close politely. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages. However, some links between ideas are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “Besides” introduces the brand detail awkwardly, while “After getting taxi I left it by mistake” does not make the sequence of events easy to follow. The sentence about travelling to Srinagar also interrupts the description without clearly showing its relevance. Use clearer sequencing and reference, such as explaining that you placed the bag in the taxi and noticed it was missing after arriving home. Complete the final sentence so the request leads smoothly to the closing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main situation and provide relevant details, including “taxi driver,” “documents,” “brand new” and “home address.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making details difficult to understand. “My bag was in black colour” is not natural English, and “large back” appears to be an incorrect word choice for describing the bag. “I was in hurry” and “find out the bag” also need more natural phrasing. Spelling errors such as “imporatnt” and “cantact” further reduce precision. Build a small set of accurate phrases for describing belongings and requesting assistance, and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the reader can generally understand the main events. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, verb forms and sentence construction. For example, “which is hired by your company” does not fit the past event clearly; “After getting taxi I left it” needs an article and a clearer structure; and “I would be glad if you will help me” uses an unsuitable verb form after “if.” There are also agreement and punctuation problems in “it is tosho company bag and is is brand new bag,” while “I need i” is incomplete. Practise accurate conditional requests and past-tense descriptions, and proofread sentence boundaries and repeated words.

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