Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-30

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/Madam

I hope you are doing well i'm just left my nikkah documents somewhere in the room. the documents is very important for me it's my computries nikkah documents.

Ask housekepeer may be he saw it if not so please find it as soon as possible when you find it please send it to me.

i'm waiting for your reply please reply me as son as possible

Your Faithfully,

Aqib Khan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the central problem: you left your nikkah documents in the hotel room, and you ask the manager to check with housekeeping and send them to you. However, the task is addressed only minimally. The location is vague, the importance is explained only by saying they are your “nikkah documents,” and the request does not give a delivery address or explain how the hotel should contact you. The response also contains 72 words, so it falls well short of the required 150; this leaves little room to develop the three points. Add specific details about where you last saw the papers, why they matter, and the action and arrangements you want the manager to make.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The message follows a basic order: it introduces the missing papers, asks the hotel to look for them, and requests a reply. This gives the reader a simple overall path through the letter. However, the ideas are compressed into one paragraph, and the transitions are limited; “if not so” is unclear as a link between checking with housekeeping and searching further. The closing request is also repeated without adding information. Use separate paragraphs for the situation, the papers’ importance, and your requested action, and connect them with clear phrases such as “I believe” and “If they are not there.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary communicates the basic situation, using relevant terms such as “documents,” “room,” and “housekeeper.” The range is limited, though, and several spelling or word-choice problems make parts of the message difficult to understand, particularly “computries” and “housekepeer.” “I’m just left” also does not express the intended meaning naturally. Choose precise phrases such as “marriage certificate” or “marriage documents,” if accurate, and “I believe I left” to describe the situation. You could also use polite, task-appropriate expressions such as “locate the documents” and “arrange to return them.” Proofreading spelling and collocations would make your meaning clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response relies mainly on short, simple statements, with little variety in sentence structure. Several grammatical errors affect clarity: “I’m just left” has an incorrect verb form, “the documents is” has subject–verb disagreement, and “please reply me” uses an incorrect grammatical pattern. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in the lowercase “i’m” and the run-on sequence of requests. Practise accurate past-tense forms (“I left”), plural agreement (“the documents are”), and request structures (“please reply to me”). Breaking the message into complete sentences and checking each sentence’s subject and verb would improve control.

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

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