Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-25

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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to ask for assistance in locating my important documents that I unfortunately forgot in your hotel room 20.

I stayed at your hotel last week and may have kept a file of papers in the left drawer, which was placed beside the bed. I thought I would surely pick them before checking out, accidentally left them.

These documents are extremely essential for me because these are all original copies of educational certificates from primary school to university and a file has my previous and current occupational certificate as well. As for growing in life and providing academic and professional knowledge to employers, these papers play a vital role and applying for new ones is time-consuming and exceptional difficult.

I would be grateful if you could coordinate with your housekeeping staff and contact the lost-and-found department whether the papers have been handed in. If they are found, please contact me as soon as possible and I would be happy to arrange and pay for a courier service to have them returned to me securely.

Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Harjit Lehar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified the location of the papers (left drawer, room 20), explained their significance (original educational and professional certificates), and provided a clear request for action (coordinating with housekeeping and arranging a courier). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a hotel manager. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is immediately clear to the reader. You have maintained a consistent and professional tone throughout the response, which is essential for this task type.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is well-organized with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the statement of the problem to the explanation of importance, and finally to the proposed solution. You have used cohesive devices such as 'As for', 'If they are found', and 'In addition' (implied) effectively to link your sentences. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the transition between the introduction, body, and conclusion is smooth. The use of referencing is clear, ensuring the reader can easily follow the narrative of the lost items.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal business context. Phrases like 'coordinate with your housekeeping staff', 'courier service', and 'time-consuming' are used accurately. There are a few minor word choice issues, such as 'kept a file' (should be 'left a file') and 'exceptional difficult' (should be 'exceptionally difficult'). However, these do not impede communication. You have successfully used topic-specific vocabulary related to hotel services and document importance, which shows a solid command of the language required for this task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are error-free, and your control of grammar is generally strong. There are a few minor slips, such as 'I thought I would surely pick them before checking out, accidentally left them' (which is missing a subject 'I' in the second clause) and the previously mentioned adverb error 'exceptional difficult'. Despite these occasional slips, the meaning is always clear, and the grammatical errors do not interfere with the reader's understanding of your request.

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.