You are a university student in the UK and have recently lost your university ID card. Write to the local police station. In your letter: - give details of who you are - explain what happened - ask the police to record your details so that you can apply for a new ID card
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am Sherin Emma, a second-year student at the University of Liverpool and my major is Economics. I am writing to report a lost identification card that I was provided by my university. I respectfully state that on 21st December, I went to the local stadium to enjoy a music concert and had been there from 4.00 pm to 7:00 pm. After I returned to my room, at around 7:44 in the evening, I could not find my University ID. I am positive that I had it with me when I entered the stadium. I must have missed it during the concert. I immediately notified the occurrence to the university dean and he suggested that I should report it to the police station and have a copy of the report to apply for a new ID card. I waited two days hoping that someone might find it and return it to the university but unfortunately it did not happen. Now I would like you to officially record the incidence of my lost ID card so that I can collect a copy and apply for a new one. The ID has my name - Sherin Emma and number LUA-45874E, inscribed on it and is valid until 30th November 2023. I would be much obliged if you kindly register my lost ID case and provide me with a copy of that to help me get a new one. Yours faithfully, Sherin Emma
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix the passive form Original: that I was provided by Suggested revision: issued by Why it matters: The card, not the writer, is the thing issued by the university.
- 2. Use natural formality Original: I respectfully state that Suggested revision: I would like to explain that Why it matters: The revision is appropriately formal without sounding legalistic.
- 3. Use simple past Original: had been there from Suggested revision: stayed there from Why it matters: Simple past is appropriate for this completed event in the chronological account.
- 4. Use the correct verb Original: missed Suggested revision: lost Why it matters: "Lost" expresses that the card went missing, while "missed" does not fit this meaning.
- 5. Correct the collocation Original: notified the occurrence to Suggested revision: reported the loss to Why it matters: A loss is "reported to" someone rather than an occurrence being "notified to" them.
- 6. Use a precise verb Original: have Suggested revision: obtain Why it matters: "Obtain" clearly expresses the action needed before applying for a replacement.
- 7. Add a comma Original: university but unfortunately Suggested revision: university, but unfortunately Why it matters: A comma is needed before "but" when it joins two independent clauses.
- 8. Use the correct noun Original: incidence Suggested revision: incident Why it matters: "Incident" means an event, whereas "incidence" refers to a rate or frequency.
- 9. Lowercase the subject Original: Economics Suggested revision: economics Why it matters: Names of academic subjects are lowercase unless they contain a proper noun.
- 10. Specify the card Original: lost identification card Suggested revision: lost university identification card Why it matters: Adding "university" identifies the missing card immediately and precisely.
- 11. Use formal date style Original: 21st Suggested revision: 21 Why it matters: Formal British correspondence normally omits the ordinal suffix in a written date.
- 12. Format times consistently Original: 4.00 pm to 7:00 pm Suggested revision: 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Why it matters: Both times should use the same punctuation format.
Suggested Rewrites
- that I was provided by issued by
- I respectfully state that I would like to explain that
- had been there from stayed there from
- missed lost
- notified the occurrence to reported the loss to
- have obtain
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter achieves its formal purpose very effectively, supplying clear personal details, a coherent account of the loss, and an explicit request for an official record. Its principal weakness is presentation and lexical naturalness: all content appears in one paragraph, and several official-sounding expressions are awkward or imprecise. The priority is to paragraph the letter by function and replace forced formal phrases with standard, concise wording.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The response fully covers the writer's identity, the circumstances of the loss, and the request needed to obtain a replacement, using an appropriate formal tone.
Trim minor incidental details, such as the exact return time, to make the request even more direct.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence from identification to the loss and subsequent request is clear, with effective sentence-level links, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens the overall organisation.
Use separate paragraphs for personal details, the incident, and the requested police action.
Lexical Resource
There is a wide range of suitably formal vocabulary, but expressions such as "record the incidence" and "register my lost ID case" are inaccurate or unnatural.
Use standard official collocations such as "record the incident," "file a report," and "issue a copy."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a broad range of complex structures with generally strong accuracy, despite a few awkward modifiers, unnecessary tense choices, and punctuation lapses.
Simplify the sentence describing the card's inscription and validity so each detail has a clear grammatical relationship.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are a university student in the UK and have recently lost your university ID card. Write to the local police station. In your letter:
- give details of who you are
- explain what happened
- ask the police to record your details so that you can apply for a new ID card
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.