Last week you were on a flight to London. When you left the plane, you left a bag and did not remember it until you reached your hotel. Write a letter to the airline. In your letter: - explain what happened - describe the bag and its contents - say what you would like the airline to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing regarding a bag that I left on one of your flightsplanes last week. On 2424th November, I travelled to London on flight FRC- 2547-A from Sydney. My ticket shows thatAccording to my ticket, my seat wasseat number was D-5A. The bag contains some important documents which I need immediately. I hope you can help meI am hoping you would help me locate the missing bagfind the lost bag. WhenAfter I reached my hotel in London, I realised I had left my bag on the plane under the seat in front of me. I felt quite embarrassedpretty silly about the mistake. My bag is smallsmall in size and is made of brown leather with a zip acrosson the top. Inside the bag, I had packedI have put a credit card, a debit card, a book I was reading, titleda book that I was reading titled "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, some car keys, my mobile phone and some important business documents. I need these documents within a few days because they are essentialand they are very important to me. I, therefore, request you to have your lost property department check and see if they have my bag and contact me as soon as possible. I can be reached on my mobile phone at +029940546484 or on my email at [email address]. ThankThanking you in advance for your assistanceyour kind cooperation. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Sharon Mond
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter communicates the loss clearly and provides particularly useful identifying details about the flight, bag, contents, and requested search. Its main weakness is presentation: the response is effectively one long block, repeats the urgency of the documents, and creates a practical inconsistency by listing the mobile phone inside the lost bag while giving that number as a contact. Prioritise clear paragraphing and logically consistent contact details.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All bullet points are fully covered with specific details and an appropriate request, though the proposed mobile contact conflicts with the phone being inside the missing bag.
Provide a reachable alternative telephone number or rely on email, ensuring every practical detail supports the airline's recovery efforts.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a clear chronological and functional sequence, but the single-block presentation and repeated references to the important documents weaken organisation.
Divide the response into paragraphs for the incident, bag description and contents, and requested action, removing repeated statements of urgency.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and suitably specific for a lost-property report, although a few phrases such as 'small in size' and 'on my email' are unnatural.
Use more concise natural phrasing, such as 'a small brown leather bag' and 'by email', while retaining the precise identifying details.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most sentences are accurate and varied, with only occasional problems in tense choice, modal phrasing, and the fragment 'Thanking you in advance'.
Use consistent present forms for the bag's contents and complete closing sentences, for example 'Thank you in advance for your assistance'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Last week you were on a flight to London. When you left the plane, you left a bag and did not remember it until you reached your hotel. Write a letter to the airline. In your letter:
- explain what happened
- describe the bag and its contents
- say what you would like the airline to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.