You have just spent a week with a friend on holiday. When you got home, you realised you had left your wallet there. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - Thank you friend for the holiday - Explain that you left your wallet in their house. - Give them instructions on how to send it back to you.
Sample Response
Dear Abc,
Firstly this letter of mine is to thank you for the warm stay of mine at your place. Indeed I made so many good memories and ill always cherish this holiday spent with you and your family.
Between all the fun and the making of memories, I didn’t realise until I reached home that I forgot my wallet at your place in the side drawer of the room. It is a Coach’s wallet and it should be on the right-hand side supporting drawer. I have all my ID’s in the wallet as well as the debit and credit cards. With the growing age, I have started forgetting things.
I request you to please mail me the wallet as soon as you can, if possible please double seal the package for safety. As of now I know I don’t have my driving license with me I cannot come there to pick it up. You’re most welcome to drop by if you have some time from your busy schedule. please let me know if what you are preferring to do so that I make further plans accordingly. Waiting to hear from you soon. Give my warm regards to your family. Thank you again for the lovely vacation.
Regards
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use direct friendly wording Original: Firstly this letter of mine is to thank you Suggested revision: First, I would like to thank you Why it matters: The revision sounds natural and suits a letter to a friend.
- 2. Use a natural phrase Original: warm stay of mine Suggested revision: warm welcome Why it matters: Warm welcome is the appropriate collocation for thanking a host.
- 3. Add an introductory comma Original: Indeed I made Suggested revision: Indeed, I made Why it matters: A comma should follow the introductory adverb.
- 4. Correct the contraction Original: ill Suggested revision: I’ll Why it matters: The subject and auxiliary require the contraction I’ll.
- 5. Choose the right preposition Original: Between Suggested revision: Amid Why it matters: Amid naturally means during or surrounded by these enjoyable activities.
- 6. Use a concise gerund Original: the making of memories Suggested revision: making memories Why it matters: The gerund phrase expresses the activity directly without unnecessary nouns.
- 7. Show the earlier action Original: I forgot my wallet Suggested revision: I had left my wallet Why it matters: Past perfect shows that leaving the wallet happened before arriving home and realising it.
- 8. Clarify the location Original: right-hand side supporting drawer Suggested revision: right-hand drawer Why it matters: Supporting drawer is not a clear or natural location description.
- 9. Remove the apostrophe Original: ID’s Suggested revision: IDs Why it matters: A plural abbreviation does not take an apostrophe.
- 10. Use the possessive determiner Original: the Suggested revision: my Why it matters: The cards belong to the writer, so my is the appropriate determiner.
- 11. Use natural wording Original: With the growing age Suggested revision: As I get older Why it matters: The original phrase is not idiomatic in this context.
- 12. Use British spelling Original: license Suggested revision: licence Why it matters: Licence is the British English noun form appropriate here.
Suggested Rewrites
- Firstly this letter of mine is to thank you First, I would like to thank you
- warm stay of mine warm welcome
- Indeed I made Indeed, I made
- ill I’ll
- Between Amid
- the making of memories making memories
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter covers the holiday, identifies the wallet and its location, and gives a workable return request in a warm, mostly suitable tone. The main limitation is recurring awkward phrasing and weak sentence control, particularly in the final paragraph, which makes some instructions less direct. Prioritize concise, natural wording and clearly state one preferred mailing method with any necessary address or packaging details.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed with relevant detail, and the friendly purpose and tone remain clear throughout.
Make the return instructions more precise by naming the preferred delivery method and supplying the practical details needed to send the wallet.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter follows a sensible sequence and uses clear topic-based paragraphs, though the crowded final paragraph weakens flow.
Separate the mailing request, explanation, and optional visit into shorter sentences arranged in a clearer order of preference.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient vocabulary for the situation, but awkward combinations such as warm stay of mine and supporting drawer reduce naturalness.
Replace forced expressions with familiar wording such as thank you for having me and the right-hand bedside drawer.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response attempts varied structures, but punctuation, capitalization, contractions, sentence boundaries, and verb forms contain recurring errors.
Correct run-on sentences and fragments, and proofread forms such as I will, driving licence, and what you would prefer to do.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have just spent a week with a friend on holiday. When you got home, you realised you had left your wallet there. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- Thank you friend for the holiday
- Explain that you left your wallet in their house.
- Give them instructions on how to send it back to you.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.