Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-13

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 sir,

Hope this letter find you well.My concern regarding this letter is that last week , on Friday I stayed at your hotel room number 121 .During the time of checkout I forgot to take my important papers to take with me.as I was getting late .

I am not sure but still I think I forgot this papers on the side table of the bed.

This is the written report of my upcoming project. So ,it is very important business documents and I need to submit it to my boss next week.

I want to request you that please could ask one of your employee to go to that room and check it.More over,if you find them there .could you please keep them on a safe place so that tomorrow I will come to pick them up. Hope you will help me in this regard.

Your sincerely

Hardip Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. First, the location of the lost papers is clearly stated as being on the side table of the bed in room number 121. Second, the importance of the documents is explained by stating they are written reports for an upcoming project that need to be submitted to a boss. Third, a clear request is made to the manager to have an employee check the room and store the papers safely until collection. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. Although the opening salutation contains minor issues, all task requirements are covered well, earning a band score of 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear purpose established in the opening paragraphs. Ideas are logically sequenced, moving from the context of the stay and the location of the papers to their importance and finally the requested action. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak; the letter is broken into multiple very short paragraphs or fragmented lines that interrupt the flow. Cohesive devices are basic, such as 'More over' and 'So', which are slightly mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, but punctuation errors around conjunctions affect the overall organizational smoothness, placing this text firmly at a band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to successfully communicate their situation. There are attempts at less common phrasing such as 'upcoming project' and 'business documents'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'My concern regarding this letter' instead of 'The purpose of this letter', and 'keep them on a safe place' instead of 'keep them in a safe place'. Spelling and punctuation errors occur around capitalization, spacing, and commas. Because the vocabulary adequately conveys the message despite these errors, a band score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional-style request 'if you find them there .could you please keep them'. However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Hope this letter find you well'), capitalization errors ('My', 'During', 'I am', 'I want', 'More over'), missing articles ('forgot this papers'), and incorrect prepositions ('on the side table' vs 'in the room'). Punctuation is particularly weak, with inconsistent spacing and periods used incorrectly before commas or capital letters. These errors occasionally distract the reader, supporting a band score of 5.0.

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

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