Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-03

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,

I am writing this letter to inform you my bag had left in your taxi.Yesterday i rode a taxi from your company.I was go to home.Then suddenly my phone was ringing.My best friend was calling me. I was talking with my friend on the phone.Then i was arrrived at home . The driver told me sir i was arrive.

Moreover,i was reached the home.Then i saw my one bag missing .I am finding inside and out side but the bag was lost . I remember that my bag had left in taxi.My bag colors in black.In my bag my important documents . My humble request to you please find my bag.

i shall be thank you.

I hope you consider my request and help me for find my bag.

Yours Sincerely,

Ram

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main situation and include the three requested points: you explain that you were distracted by a phone call, describe the bag as black and containing important documents, and ask the manager to find it. However, the explanation is brief and some details are unclear, such as “The driver told me sir i was arrive.” The bag description is also limited, and the request could specify how the company should contact you if it is found. The response contains 134 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 150. Add relevant details—such as the journey time, pickup or drop-off location, and identifying features of the bag—to develop the letter more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The events are presented in a broadly understandable order: you describe the taxi journey, arriving home, noticing the bag was missing, and asking for help. This gives the reader a basic progression. However, the letter is written as one continuous block, and several short statements repeat the same point, including “I was reached the home” and “Then i saw my one bag missing.” The connectors “Moreover” and “Then” do not always show the relationship between ideas naturally. Use separate paragraphs for the journey and loss, the bag’s description, and your request. Clearer sequencing and fewer repeated statements would make the message easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the central problem, including “bag,” “taxi,” “phone,” and “important documents.” There are also attempts at more formal language, such as “My humble request” and “I hope you consider my request.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or combinations are unnatural, for example “my bag colors in black” and “help me for find my bag.” Spelling errors such as “arrrived” and “out side” also reduce accuracy. Use more precise terms to identify the item and explain the circumstances, such as “black shoulder bag,” “left behind,” or “belongings,” while checking spelling and natural phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response relies mainly on short, simple sentences, with little variety in sentence structure. Frequent errors in verb forms and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “I was go to home” should be “I was going home,” while “I was arrived at home” could be “I arrived home.” The sentence “The driver told me sir i was arrive” is especially unclear and needs to be rewritten. There are also problems with articles, capitalization, and punctuation, as in “My bag colors in black” and the lowercase “i.” Practise accurate past-tense forms and combine related ideas into clear sentences before attempting more complex structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.