Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-04

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 5.5)

Dear Manager ,

I just wanted to write a quick letter as i had stayed yesterday in your hotel .Today,when i leave the room i forgot my important documents in the room . The papers are very important for me as it is the contract of the company so it needs to be with me .I just need help from you that you can ask your staff when they cleaned the room then they pick the documents and hand it to the receptionist and please make them safe .Tomorrow,i will come back to grab the documents so in the meantime can u please take care of that documents .I will be really appreciated from bottom of my heart.I really trust you and hope you helped me in this situation .I never forgot your kindness . Tomorrow morning ,i look forward to catching up with you soon to collect my documents.

With kind regards

Manjot kaur .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state where the papers were left, explain their importance as company contracts, and provide instructions for the manager. However, the development of these points is quite basic. The tone is somewhat inconsistent; while it attempts to be formal, phrases like 'grab the documents' and 'I will be really appreciated' are slightly informal or grammatically awkward for a professional request. To improve, ensure that your explanation of why the documents are important is more detailed and that the tone remains consistently formal throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized, moving from the situation to the request and finally the closing. However, the paragraphing is non-existent, which makes the text appear as a single block. Using paragraphs to separate the introduction, the body (the problem and request), and the conclusion would significantly improve the flow. Additionally, the use of cohesive devices is limited. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures and lack transition words or phrases (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition') to connect your ideas smoothly. The progression of ideas is clear, but the mechanical nature of the writing hinders a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You use repetitive phrasing, such as 'important' and 'documents', multiple times. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'I will be really appreciated' (which should be 'I would really appreciate your help') and 'grab the documents' (which is too informal for a letter to a hotel manager). To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise vocabulary and avoid repeating the same words. Using a wider variety of professional synonyms would demonstrate a stronger command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, particularly with verb tenses and sentence structure. For example, 'i had stayed yesterday' should be 'I stayed yesterday', and 'when i leave the room i forgot' should be 'when I left the room, I forgot'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction and tense usage prevents a higher score. You should focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage in past and future contexts.

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

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