Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-07

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to draft a request for the papers I mistakenly left at the conference centre of your hotel. Our company's meeting was held on last Friday which is 17th August around 10 in the morning. Typically, I left the agreement papers of our company's new office which I was carrying with myself on that day.

Firstly, the moving out to a new place is suppose to happen next week and I have to handover the papers to the director of our company and it is pivotal for me to find out the papers before the inauguration of the office. Moreover, there is no identical copy of the papers and it is hard to draft a new one and get it signed and approved by the renter.

As far as I remember, it was left on the podium where the mic stand was placed. There are couple of papers with it and all our stacked in a black folder named,'Rental Agreement'. If it is feasible and accessible, please check the CCTV footage as if someone might have placed it elsewhere.

I hope that you find it at the earliest.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified the location of the papers (the podium), explained their significance (the upcoming office move and the difficulty of replacing signed documents), and provided a clear request for the manager to check the area and CCTV. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening sentence is more direct; phrases like 'draft a request' are slightly unnatural in this context. Overall, the response is well-developed and fully satisfies the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the letter to the details of the lost items and finally the requested action. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate these ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'As far as I remember' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words. Referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the meeting date and the location could be tightened for better flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning clearly. Phrases like 'pivotal', 'inauguration', and 'feasible' show an attempt to use more sophisticated language. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'Typically, I left' (which is misused here) and 'renter' (where 'landlord' or 'lessor' would be more precise). Despite these minor slips, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and does not impede communication. To improve, focus on using collocations more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'is suppose to happen' (should be 'is supposed to'), 'all our stacked' (should be 'all are stacked'), and 'as if someone might have placed it' (which is slightly awkward). These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading of verb forms and subject-verb agreement. Increasing the variety of complex structures while maintaining accuracy would help raise your score.

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

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