Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-19

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, I hope you're doing well.

I am reaching out to tell you about some very important papers I left at your hotel, precisely on the desk next to the bed, I think they're beside the lamp or maybe inside the second drawer alongside some coins I left there.

Please note that the papers are crucial and contain lot of information about my private life, as well as a job description I recently received + my rights and responsibilities inside the company that offered me the job, there are also many certificates such as my bachelor's degree as well as my highschool degree and my Google digital marketing professional Certificate.

If it's possible we can meet when it's convenient for you and you can hand it over or maybe you can just mail the papers to me, I can send you my home address if you chose the second option.

kind regards,

Youcef

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You clearly stated where you think you left the papers, mentioning 'precisely on the desk next to the bed' and inside the second drawer. You explained why they are crucial by listing important documents, such as your job description, certificates, and your bachelor's degree. Finally, you told the manager what action to take by suggesting a meeting or mailing the papers. The tone is appropriate for a semi-formal or formal letter to a manager. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, demonstrating a clear purpose and understanding of the communication task. Therefore, this fulfills the criteria for a solid score in task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement, allowing the reader to follow the narrative from the missing items to the proposed solutions. However, the cohesion relies heavily on very long, run-on sentences, particularly in the third paragraph where multiple ideas are linked by commas and coordinating conjunctions rather than appropriate conjunctions or full stops. Paragraphing is also slightly weak, as the body of the letter is compressed into overly dense blocks of text. While logical progression is present and basic cohesive devices are utilised, the management of paragraphing and sentence boundaries prevents the text from achieving higher bands.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'crucial', 'certificates', and 'convenient'. There are attempts at less common lexical items, such as 'professional Certificate' and 'job description'. However, there are some minor lexical and grammatical slips in word choice, such as writing 'contain lot of information' instead of 'a lot of information', and using informal punctuation choices like a plus sign ('+'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly without impeding communication, fitting comfortably into the band six descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional structures ('If it's possible we can meet...'). There are, however, several run-on sentences and comma splices, notably in the second and third paragraphs where multiple clauses are joined incorrectly with commas (e.g., '...left at your hotel, precisely on the desk...'). Punctuation is occasionally weak, and the use of the '+' symbol is inappropriate for formal letter writing. While errors in grammar and punctuation do occur, they rarely impede communication, and you maintain control over basic grammatical structures throughout the letter.

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

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