Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-22

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 to request your assistance in locating some critical document that I believe I accidentally left behind your hotel during my recent stay. I checked out room 306 morning of June 20th.

I am certain that the papers were left in desk drawer in my room, that was where I was working on my laptop the evening prior to my departure. Moreover, there is small chance they might have slipped between the cushions of the chair in the receptionist lounge while I was waiting for my airport taxi.

There documents are of most important because some very importance cuntain original, signed contracts for a major commercial property acquisition my company is finalizing this week. Furthermore, they include sensitive financial projections and proprietary data that cannot be easily replicated or reissued without causing significant legal delays to our upcoming project launch.

I would be extremely grateful if you could instruct your housekeeping or lost-and-found team to thoroughly inspect room 306 and the lounge area.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.

Your faithfully,

Sanket suthar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, the writer specifies where the papers were left, mentioning both the 'desk drawer in my room' (room 306) and the possibility of them slipping between cushions in the receptionist lounge. Second, the importance of the documents is clearly explained, highlighting that they contain original signed contracts for a major commercial property acquisition and sensitive financial projections. Third, the manager is explicitly told what action to take: to instruct the housekeeping or lost-and-found team to thoroughly inspect room 306 and the lounge area. The purpose of the letter is consistently clear and the tone is appropriate for a formal complaint or request to a hotel manager. All parts of the prompt are well developed, earning a solid Band 7.0 for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear and logical organisation from beginning to end. It opens with a standard formal greeting, moves smoothly through the explanation of the problem, details the importance of the documents, requests action, and closes with an appropriate sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the location of the papers, their significance, and the requested action. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'that was where' are employed to link ideas, although there are minor mechanical referencing issues, such as 'There documents' instead of 'These documents'. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow, supporting a Band 7.0 score for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, attempting less common lexical items such as 'critical document', 'commercial property acquisition', and 'proprietary data'. However, there are several noticeable vocabulary and grammar slip-ups regarding word forms and collocation, such as writing 'critical document' instead of 'critical documents', 'behind your hotel' instead of 'in your hotel', and 'There documents are of most important' instead of 'These documents are of the utmost importance'. Despite these occasional inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the message clearly without impeding the reader's understanding, fitting the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('that I believe I accidentally left') and conditional or temporal framing ('while I was waiting for my airport taxi'). There are, however, a number of grammatical errors and missing articles throughout the text. Examples include 'leave behind your hotel' (missing preposition/noun), 'room 306 morning of June 20th' (missing article), 'there is small chance' (missing article), and the sign-off 'Your faithfully' instead of 'Yours faithfully'. While these errors occur with some frequency, the majority of sentences remain understandable and communication is not impeded, which aligns well with the Band 6.0 criteria.

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

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