Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-17

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 Manager,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter about my important documents that I have lost at your hotel. I was staying at your hotel for my important meeting on the October 15 to 16. I think I have left the papers on the bed side desk. can you please let your staff know that It is very crucial for me so when they find it just keep it safe. Those documents have the fundamental details of my upcoming project. Can you please check and keep it in safe place. I will come tomorrow and grab the documents from you. Thank you for helping me.

Yours sincerely,

M

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the three main points: you identify the bedside desk as the likely location, explain that the papers contain details of an upcoming project, and ask the hotel to check and keep them safe. However, the explanation of their importance and the request are brief, so these parts are less fully developed than the location. The response also falls 37 words short of the required minimum, which limits the opportunity to give useful details. Expand by describing the project’s significance and asking the manager to contact you if the papers are found. Follow the required opening, “Dear Sir or Madam,” rather than “Dear Manager,” and make the collection arrangement more specific.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally sensible order: you explain why you are writing, give the likely location, describe the papers, and state what you would like the hotel to do. This makes the main message understandable. However, the response is presented as one paragraph, and the requests to “keep it safe” and “check and keep it in safe place” repeat the same idea. The shift from asking staff to look for the papers to saying you will collect them tomorrow could be linked more clearly. Use separate paragraphs for the situation and the requested action, and connect the collection plan directly to the request for the manager to contact you.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for this letter, including “important documents,” “fundamental details,” and “upcoming project,” which communicate the subject and significance of the papers. Some choices are less natural or precise in this context: “grab the documents” is informal, while “fundamental details” is not the most idiomatic way to describe project papers. “Lost” may also suggest that you do not know where the papers are, although you give a likely location. These choices do not prevent understanding, but more precise collocations and a consistently polite register would strengthen the letter. For example, use “collect” rather than “grab,” and describe the papers as containing “essential information.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple sentences and a more complex request, and the message remains clear despite some grammatical and punctuation errors. For example, “I was staying at your hotel for my important meeting on the October 15 to 16” has an awkward tense and date construction; “I stayed at your hotel from October 15 to 16” would be clearer. In “I think I have left the papers,” the tense is less suitable than “I think I left the papers.” Capitalisation and sentence boundaries also need attention: “can” should begin with a capital, and the sentence after “desk” should not start with lowercase “can.” Review tense choice, articles, and punctuation while retaining your varied sentence forms.

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

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