Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-14

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 5.0)

Dear Sir ,

I am writing this letter because i forget my letter at your hotel. Yesterday i was there with my all team mambers. We had the company event which is from khan and son's foundations. I forget my some vital letter in my room which was 209 bedside table..

Firstly, I rember very carefully i forget my papers on the table. They are important study documents.If I want replacing them would be difficult.

Secondly, Ask the housekeeping staff to check the room. Request that the papers be kept safely until you can collect them.

I hope you understand my concern and issue . Thank you so much for your time. I really appericate it.

Kind Regards,

Gagandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions: the student states where the papers were left, explains their importance, and tells the manager what action to take. However, the ideas are relatively brief and undeveloped. Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the response contains only 119 words, falling significantly short of the 150-word minimum requirement. This negative constraint violation restricts the final score for Task Achievement. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the lack of sufficient length and development prevents it from achieving a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter attempts to use paragraphing to structure the message, separating the opening, body points, and closing. However, the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, and the third bullet point is framed as direct instructions ('Ask the housekeeping staff...') rather than polite epistolary requests appropriate for a formal business letter. Cohesive devices are basic and occasionally awkward, such as starting paragraphs with 'Firstly' and 'Secondly' without smooth integration into the text. Referencing is also sometimes unclear, for example, 'I forget my some vital letter'. Overall organization is present, but cohesion is mechanical and faulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with noticeable errors in word choice and form that impact the quality of the writing. Examples include 'forget' instead of 'forgot', 'team mambers', and 'vital letter' when referring to study documents. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'appreicate', spelling and collocation inaccuracies are present ('replacing them would be difficult' instead of 'replacing them would be difficult'). The lexical range is minimally adequate for the task, but errors in word selection and spelling are noticeable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at complex structures are often faulty or unnatural, such as 'which is from khan and son's foundations' and 'I rember very carefully i forget my papers'. There are frequent errors in tense usage ('i forget' instead of 'I forgot'), capitalization ('i', 'khan and son's'), and punctuation. These persistent errors can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar firmly in the Band 5 category.

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

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