Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-20

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 manager,

I hope your are doing well,i am writing this letter regarding my important document that i left at your hotel in room 402.

To explain,i stayed at place on 21 august 2026,it was a bussuness meeting that lasts for two hours and when i had done i checked-out and flew back to winnipeg but next day i realised that i left my ds-160 form in hotel room and it is very cruisel document for my Usa appointment that is next month 23 june.

I reqest you,if you can send me that thorough the email or canada post then i can attend my upcomming interview,otherwise it will lose of time and visa fee for me that i waited and spent.So i will be thankfull if you help me by prviding my documents back.

i hope that you will think about my problem.

your sinceirely

gurbachan singh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all bullet points required by the task prompt: mentioning where the papers were left in room 402, explaining their importance as a crucial DS-160 form for an upcoming US appointment, and stating what action is desired (sending them via email or Canada post). However, the word count is 147 words, falling slightly short of the 150-word minimum requirement. This minor under-length penalty prevents the response from achieving a higher score. Despite this, the purpose of the letter is clear and all communicative requirements are met satisfactorily. The tone is somewhat inconsistent with formal letter-writing conventions, but the message is successfully conveyed to the hotel manager.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, as most of the text is combined into a single long block, and the opening salutation and closing sign-off are poorly formatted. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes misused, such as comma splices linking independent clauses (e.g., "i hope your are doing well,i am writing...", "stayed at place on 21 august 2026,it was a bussuness meeting..."). Although there is a chronological progression from the stay to the realization of the missing documents and finally the requested action, the mechanical cohesion and lack of clear paragraph breaks significantly hinder the flow of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, using functional terms such as "document", "checked-out", "appointment", and "interview". However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the response, including "bussuness" instead of business, "cruisel" instead of crucial, "reqest" instead of request, and "upcomming" instead of upcoming. Furthermore, some collocations are awkward, such as "it will lose of time" instead of "it will be a waste of time". The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate, meeting the requirements for a Band 5 evaluation due to the frequency of spelling slips and lexical inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing relies heavily on simple and compound sentences linked incorrectly with commas rather than conjunctions or full stops (e.g., "when i had done i checked-out and flew back..."). There are several punctuation and capitalization errors, notably the consistent lowercase "i" instead of "I". Verb tense control is generally understandable but marred by errors like "i hope your are doing well" (your instead of you're). Complex structures are attempted with conditional forms ("if you can send me... then i can attend..."), but overall grammatical accuracy is low, with frequent errors that cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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