Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-18

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter

• say where you think you left the papers
• explain why they are so important
• tell the manager what you want him/her to do

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 7.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to report a lost of an item while my stay at your hotel. My name is John Smith. I stayed at your hotel on 15th to 18th August, my room number was 201.

I checked out from your hotel thinking I have packed everything. Unfortunately, when I was unpacking, I noticed my documents were not there. I think I left it under the pillow. I was reviewing it a night before my checkout and I felt so tired to get up and keep it back. Therefore, I kept it under the cushion, and next morning I was getting late and forgot to take it back.

I came there for my official trip and those documents are very crucial for my organization. It contains important information of our next tender. It can jeopardize my job if I lost the papers.

I request you to check with your hotel room service staff or the lost and found department. If they have found the papers. Please send them back on the below mentioned address at earliest.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

John Smith

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly state where the papers were left (under the pillow/cushion in room 201), explain their importance regarding a tender and your job security, and provide a clear request for the manager to check with staff and return the items. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a hotel manager. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and all requirements are met with sufficient detail to be convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task. Cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'Therefore', and 'However' (implied) are used to link ideas. While the flow is generally good, some transitions could be smoother; for instance, the jump between the room number and the checkout process is slightly abrupt. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different requirements of the task, which helps the reader follow the narrative easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message clearly. Phrases like 'jeopardize my job' and 'official trip' are used correctly. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'report a lost of an item' (should be 'report the loss of an item') and 'keep it back' (should be 'put it back'). These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band. Using more precise collocations would improve the overall quality.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'while my stay' (should be 'during my stay') and 'I felt so tired to get up' (should be 'I was too tired to get up'). Additionally, 'If they have found the papers. Please send them' is a fragmented sentence structure that should be joined. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the errors do not cause confusion for the reader. A greater variety of complex sentence structures would help achieve a higher score.

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

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