You have received a letter from your bank, asking you to acknowledge receipt of a new bank card. However, the card was missing from the envelope. Write a letter to the bank's head office. In your letter: - explain why you are writing - express concern about the missing card - ask them what they intend to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to inform you that I have recently received a letter from your bank andbank, and an envelopeenvelop which was supposed to contain my new bank card. Unfortunately, no card was enclosed in the envelope when I opened it. I am hoping that you would issue me another card and hold the delivered one to stop any misuse. I have held a savings accounthave been maintaining a savings bank account with your Deportaire branch since 2018 and my account number is SA25874210. Immediately after discovering the card was missingImmediately after the occurrence, I telephoned the bank to explain the problem, but I could not get through to the right department, even though I waited in line for over half an hour, which was very frustratingextremely annoying. In the letter, you asked me to acknowledge receiptacknowledge the receipt of the card, but obviously, I cannot do this as I have not received it. I am now worried because the lost card might cause trouble. What if the card is misused? Will the bank be responsible for that? You should cancel or hold this card so no one else can use it. Please also send me a new card by secure means. I hope to hear from you soon. Yours faithfully, Beck Turner
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear formal purpose and covers the missing card, the resulting security concern, and the action expected from the bank in useful detail. The main limitation is presentation and precision: the response is not visibly paragraphed, and a few word choices are inaccurate or more confrontational than necessary. Prioritise a calm, professional request and organise the complaint into distinct paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully addressed with relevant account details, explicit concern, and clear requests for cancellation and replacement.
Maintain a consistently measured formal tone by replacing the rhetorical questions and "extremely annoying" with a concise statement of concern.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a clear sequence, but the absence of paragraphing weakens the visual organisation of the letter.
Separate the opening explanation, attempted contact and concern, and requested action into distinct paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of appropriate banking and security vocabulary, despite a few inaccurate choices and a spelling error.
Use precise forms such as "envelope," "cancel the missing card," and "issue a replacement" rather than "hold the delivered one".
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures are varied and mostly well controlled, with only occasional non-impeding errors in articles and phrasing.
Refine article and clause control in expressions such as "received a letter from your bank, and an envelope" and "I am hoping that you would issue".
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have received a letter from your bank, asking you to acknowledge receipt of a new bank card. However, the card was missing from the envelope. Write a letter to the bank's head office. In your letter:
- explain why you are writing
- express concern about the missing card
- ask them what they intend to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.