You recently sent some documents by post but they did not arrive. Write a letter to the post manager. In your letter: - Give details of the situation - Describe the documents - Say what action you want the post office to take.
Sample Response
Dear Sir,
I am writing this letter to express my concern with the courier that I have recently sent through the post. The documents enclosed in the envelope had to be delivered by last week on Tuesday as per the tracking information. However, it has still not been handed over to the third party.
The important documents include letters to Canada Council for an immigration visa. There was a deadline to apply for it. Owing to the delay, Canada Council has penalized extra money to compensate for exceeding the deadline by five days. These documents are crucial for the migration process, so I encased them meticulously with all the relevant information.
I am requesting your help with the latest tracking update and the details of the agent who was responsible for getting it delivered on priority. Kindly guide me with the approach to retrieve my package if it is lost in transit and who can help me with the claim.
I am hoping to receive a response from your end immediately on this urgent matter.
Yours sincerely,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Wrong preposition Original: with Suggested revision: about Why it matters: The noun 'concern' takes 'about' when identifying the subject of worry.
- 2. Wrong item word Original: the courier Suggested revision: a parcel Why it matters: A courier is a delivery person or company, whereas the writer sent a parcel.
- 3. Use simple past Original: have recently sent Suggested revision: recently sent Why it matters: The completed act of posting the documents requires the simple past here.
- 4. Unnatural time phrase Original: by last week on Tuesday Suggested revision: by last Tuesday Why it matters: 'By last Tuesday' states the delivery deadline naturally and precisely.
- 5. Fix pronoun agreement Original: it has still not been handed over Suggested revision: they have still not been handed over Why it matters: The pronoun and verb must agree with the plural noun 'documents'.
- 6. Clarify recipient Original: the third party Suggested revision: the intended recipient Why it matters: This phrase identifies the person awaiting the documents more clearly.
- 7. Clarify documents Original: letters to Canada Council for an immigration visa Suggested revision: documents for a Canadian immigration visa application Why it matters: This revision describes the documents' purpose without the unclear phrase 'letters to Canada Council'.
- 8. Fix verb pattern Original: Canada Council has penalized extra money Suggested revision: the council has charged me an additional fee Why it matters: An organisation charges a person a fee rather than 'penalizing extra money'.
- 9. State cause clearly Original: to compensate for exceeding the deadline by five days Suggested revision: because I missed the deadline by five days Why it matters: The revision expresses the reason for the fee directly and naturally.
- 10. Use natural wording Original: encased them meticulously Suggested revision: packaged them carefully Why it matters: This collocation is clearer and more appropriate for documents sent by post.
- 11. Improve collocation Original: update Suggested revision: information Why it matters: 'Tracking information' is the more natural expression for a parcel's current status.
- 12. Clarify responsibility Original: the agent who was responsible for getting it delivered on priority Suggested revision: the employee responsible for ensuring its prompt delivery Why it matters: The revision removes an unnatural delivery expression and identifies the responsible person clearly.
Suggested Rewrites
- with about
- the courier a parcel
- have recently sent recently sent
- by last week on Tuesday by last Tuesday
- it has still not been handed over they have still not been handed over
- the third party the intended recipient
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter has a clear formal purpose and covers the missing delivery, the immigration documents, and the action requested with relevant detail. Its main weakness is recurrently awkward or inaccurate wording, which sometimes makes relationships between people, documents, and actions less precise; the highest-priority improvement is to use natural collocations and consistently clear pronoun reference.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are addressed, and the formal tone is generally appropriate.
Clarify exactly who imposed the charge and specify the preferred resolution more directly.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically divided by function and progresses clearly from the problem to the requested action.
Use more precise referencing so pronouns such as it consistently point to the correct document or package.
Lexical Resource
There is a useful range of formal vocabulary, but several collocations are unnatural or inaccurate.
Replace phrases such as penalized extra money and encased them meticulously with natural, context-appropriate wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the message clearly despite several errors in agreement, articles, and prepositions.
Check agreement and reference carefully, especially when switching between the plural documents and the singular package.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently sent some documents by post but they did not arrive. Write a letter to the post manager. In your letter:
- Give details of the situation
- Describe the documents
- Say what action you want the post office to take.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.