On a recent holiday, you lost a valuable item. Fortunately, you have travel insurance to cover the cost of anything lost. Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter - Describe the item you lost - Explain how you lost it - Tell the insurance company what you would like them to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter to your insurance company, to bring into notice that I lost my precious watch on my trip to Singapore.
It was a goldgolden Rolex watch valued at 200 dollarsworth 200 dollars. The model number of the watchThe model number of watch is M2K53A.
I was wearing the watch on the morning of 11st August. I went to the marketwent to market with my wife, andwith my wife and a few hours laterafter some hours, my wife noticed that the watchnoticed that watch was missing from my wrist. I searched the area for the watchtried to look around for the watch and went backand also went back to the places that I had visited that morningthe places that I visited since morning but could not find itbut in vain.
I would like your company to give the value of the watch or give me assurance to reimburse if I buy a similar watch myself. You can also suggest if there are any other possible ways to compensate, as per the policy.
Please let me know if you require any further details from meif any other details are required. I expect to hear from you as soon as possiblehear from you soonest.
Yours sincerelySincerely,
Rahul Dhawan
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter clearly covers every bullet point, using a logical paragraph structure and enough concrete detail about the watch, its loss, and the requested compensation. Its main weakness is uneven language control, especially awkward collocations and missing articles, which sometimes make otherwise clear requests sound unnatural. Prioritise accurate article use and more idiomatic formal phrasing, particularly when stating the claim and desired settlement.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are addressed, and the loss and desired compensation are supported with relevant details.
State one precise preferred settlement and explain what evidence can be provided to make the claim more decisive.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically through the claim, item description, circumstances, and requested resolution, with effective functional paragraphing.
Use a slightly wider range of cohesive phrasing and avoid repeatedly joining details with simple coordination.
Lexical Resource
The response uses some effective topic-specific vocabulary, including language for reimbursement and compensation, but several collocations are unnatural.
Replace phrases such as bringing something into notice and giving the value with idiomatic formal claims language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex forms keeps meaning clear, although article omissions and awkward clause construction recur.
Proofread noun phrases for articles and determiners, especially references to the watch, market, and insurance company.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
On a recent holiday, you lost a valuable item. Fortunately, you have travel insurance to cover the cost of anything lost. Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter
- Describe the item you lost
- Explain how you lost it
- Tell the insurance company what you would like them to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.