You travelled by plane last week and your suitcase was lost. You have still heard nothing from the airline company. Write to the airline. In your letter: - explain what happened - describe your suitcase and say what was in it - ask what the airline is going to do about it
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to inquire about my lost suitcase. I took a flight by the Saudia Airline from Singapore to London last week and the flight number was SK2547. Unfortunately, when I reached the London City Airport, I could not find my suitcase anywhere. I am hoping you would discover the suitcase and inform me once found. The suitcase is black, medium in size and made of pure leather. A small scratch is visible on the left side and it has three zippers. The handle is brown and made of metal. It contains some important documents, a fountain pen, a diary, and some clothing items. The business documents inside the suitcase are indispensable for me. Although I have registered the lost item ten days ago, I am yet to hear any update from the airline. I am disappointed with the customer service and hope that you would help me locate the suitcase urgently. Please update me about the whereabouts of the suitcase and oblige thereby. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Ayub Ali
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Make the opening concise Original: writing this letter Suggested revision: writing Why it matters: Letter is already clear from the format, so the shorter phrase is more direct.
- 2. Use the arrival collocation Original: reached the London City Airport Suggested revision: arrived at London City Airport Why it matters: Arrive at is the standard collocation for reaching an airport.
- 3. Use a compound adjective Original: medium in size Suggested revision: medium-sized Why it matters: Medium-sized is the concise adjective form in this description.
- 4. Use the standard material term Original: pure Suggested revision: genuine Why it matters: Genuine leather is the conventional phrase for describing this material.
- 5. Clarify the reference Original: the Suggested revision: its Why it matters: Its makes clear that the side belongs to the suitcase.
- 6. Use British vocabulary Original: zippers Suggested revision: zips Why it matters: Zips is the usual British English term.
- 7. Use natural wording Original: some clothing items Suggested revision: some clothes Why it matters: Clothes is more natural and concise than clothing items.
- 8. Use the natural phrase Original: indispensable for me Suggested revision: essential to me Why it matters: Essential to me is the natural expression for documents that are urgently needed.
- 9. Correct the update phrase Original: I am yet to hear any update Suggested revision: I have yet to receive an update Why it matters: The present perfect form and receive an update are required for the continuing delay.
- 10. Use the appropriate modal Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: Will is appropriate after hope for a requested future action.
- 11. Use a courteous timeframe Original: locate the suitcase urgently Suggested revision: locate the suitcase as soon as possible Why it matters: As soon as possible conveys urgency in a more conventional formal request.
- 12. Use the update collocation Original: about Suggested revision: on Why it matters: Update someone on is the standard collocation.
Suggested Rewrites
- writing this letter writing
- reached the London City Airport arrived at London City Airport
- medium in size medium-sized
- pure genuine
- the its
- zippers zips
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly explains the flight and missing-bag incident, provides several distinctive suitcase features and important contents, and requests urgent action after a lengthy delay. Its strongest feature is the practical identification detail, while the main limitation is dense single-paragraph presentation and some awkward formal expressions. The priority is to ask for a specific tracing update, expected resolution date, and compensation procedure while organising the incident, description, and request separately.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three requirements are fully addressed with flight information, a detailed suitcase description, valuable contents, and a clear request for urgent tracing and contact.
Ask the airline to provide a tracing reference, investigation status, delivery timeframe, and compensation process if the bag cannot be found.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically from the loss to the bag description and follow-up request, but one long paragraph reduces readability.
Use separate paragraphs for flight and loss details, the suitcase and contents, the previous report, and the action requested.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied and precise for luggage features and complaint handling, though several formal phrases are unnatural.
Replace 'registered the lost item', 'discover the suitcase', and 'oblige thereby' with 'reported the loss', 'locate the suitcase', and a direct polite request.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of structures communicates the complaint clearly, but tense, modal, article, and preposition errors recur.
Use accurate forms such as 'flew with Saudia', 'reported the loss ten days ago', and 'I hope you will locate it and contact me'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You travelled by plane last week and your suitcase was lost. You have still heard nothing from the airline company. Write to the airline. In your letter:
- explain what happened
- describe your suitcase and say what was in it
- ask what the airline is going to do about it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.