You have missed some important papers accidentally on a bus. Write a letter to the manager of the Taxi company. In your letter: - Give the details of your journey - Explain why those papers are important for you - Suggest what can the manager do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter regards to, the documents I lost in between the journey from Mysuru to Cochin on 21/09/2021. I had an important meeting in Mysuru on the previous day, and after bust schedule and routine traveling, I was very tired. In between meeting breaks, I booked my return trip with the travel agent, and they booked my trip with Veh No- KA-Bt-8989 Scania bus. I have stayed at upper birth number B-12.
I kept my belongings safe and near to me. The journey was quite impartial and serene. I slept after few hours, and while I opened my eyes, I did not realize that I had reached my final destination. In between hurry burry, I forgot to kept my documents with me. All the papers are important, and it contains secrecy related to our business.
I kindly request you to collect all the documents and courier them to my personal address. Additionally, please contact me if you require any additional information. I can include my direct number below this letter.
I am looking for your adequate action.
Yours sincerely,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use past simple Original: have stayed Suggested revision: was seated Why it matters: The completed journey requires the past simple rather than the present perfect.
- 2. Correct travel term Original: birth Suggested revision: berth Why it matters: A sleeping or seating place on a bus is a berth, not a birth.
- 3. Choose accurate adjective Original: impartial Suggested revision: uneventful Why it matters: Impartial describes fairness, whereas uneventful conveys that the journey was ordinary.
- 4. Add required article Original: after few hours Suggested revision: after a few hours Why it matters: The countable expression few hours requires the article a here.
- 5. Use natural time clause Original: while I opened my eyes Suggested revision: when I woke up Why it matters: When correctly introduces the single moment at which the writer woke.
- 6. Fix intended meaning Original: did not realize Suggested revision: realized Why it matters: The context indicates that waking made the writer aware of reaching the destination.
- 7. Use standard expression Original: In between hurry burry Suggested revision: In my hurry Why it matters: Hurry burry is not a standard expression for acting hastily.
- 8. Use infinitive form Original: kept Suggested revision: keep Why it matters: The verb after forgot to must be in its base form.
- 9. Fix agreement and wording Original: it contains secrecy related to our business Suggested revision: they contain confidential business information Why it matters: The plural noun papers requires they, and confidential information expresses the meaning naturally.
- 10. Request a practical search Original: collect all the documents Suggested revision: locate and collect all the documents Why it matters: Adding locate makes the requested action clear to the transport manager.
- 11. Use natural collocation Original: personal Suggested revision: home Why it matters: Home address is the usual phrase for the place where documents should be sent.
- 12. Avoid close repetition Original: additional Suggested revision: further Why it matters: Further avoids repeating additional from the start of the same sentence.
Suggested Rewrites
- have stayed was seated
- birth berth
- impartial uneventful
- after few hours after a few hours
- while I opened my eyes when I woke up
- did not realize realized
Why this response received Band 6.0
The letter has a clear practical purpose, supplies identifiable journey details, and makes a direct request for the papers to be returned. Its main weakness is frequent inaccurate wording and grammar, which makes several details awkward or briefly confusing despite the logical overall sequence. The highest-priority improvement is to use straightforward, natural expressions and check verb forms, articles, and agreement throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed, but the importance of the papers is only briefly explained and some journey details are unclear or unnecessary.
Explain more specifically why the confidential business papers matter and state the requested search and return procedure more precisely.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a generally logical order and uses paragraphs appropriately, although some links within sentences are awkward or imprecise.
Organise the journey account chronologically and use simple, accurate transitions to connect each event.
Lexical Resource
There is enough vocabulary to communicate the message, but frequent collocational errors such as "journey was quite impartial" and "adequate action" reduce precision.
Prefer common natural phrases, such as "an uneventful journey" and "prompt action," and verify unfamiliar word choices.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response attempts both simple and complex sentences, but recurring errors in verb forms, articles, prepositions, and agreement weaken accuracy.
Prioritise accurate basic patterns, especially past-tense narration and forms such as "forgot to take" and "the papers contain."
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have missed some important papers accidentally on a bus. Write a letter to the manager of the Taxi company. In your letter:
- Give the details of your journey
- Explain why those papers are important for you
- Suggest what can the manager do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.