You missed a flight due to a problem at the airport. Write a letter to the airline. In your letter: - describe what happened that caused you to miss the flight - explain how missing your flight affected you make it clear - what you would like the airline to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to inform you that I missed my international flight to London on 17th January for a reason which was beyond my control and which actually transpired due to a problem at the airport. My flight was scheduled at 12:30 pm and I had arrived at the airport well in advance. Suddenly, I felt that I needed to eat something at the airport, and so I went to one of the upscale restaurants at the airport where some security personnel of the airport asked everyone to stay there until further notice. I guess it was a security issue, which eventually forced me to abandon my flight. Anyway, missing the fight caused me to miss an important seminar on launching a new product. So, since I missed the flight because of a reason, which was beyond my control and had something to do with the airport authority, I would truly appreciate it if you give me a full refund for my ticket. I am attaching the ticket with this letter for your convenience. Yours faithfully, Le Nhan Tong
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Improve transition Original: Suddenly Suggested revision: At that point Why it matters: The meal was a deliberate action, so 'Suddenly' does not express the sequence accurately.
- 2. Remove irrelevant detail Original: upscale Suggested revision: nearby Why it matters: The restaurant's prestige does not help explain why the flight was missed.
- 3. Use natural noun phrase Original: some security personnel of the airport Suggested revision: airport security personnel Why it matters: This is the concise, idiomatic term for the staff involved.
- 4. Use formal tone Original: guess Suggested revision: understand Why it matters: 'I guess' sounds too conversational and uncertain in a formal complaint.
- 5. Correct collocation Original: abandon Suggested revision: miss Why it matters: Passengers miss a flight; they do not normally 'abandon' it in this situation.
- 6. Link consequence formally Original: Anyway Suggested revision: As a result Why it matters: This transition clearly connects the airport delay to its consequence.
- 7. Correct typo Original: fight Suggested revision: flight Why it matters: 'Fight' is a spelling error that changes the meaning.
- 8. Use concise phrase Original: seminar on launching a new product Suggested revision: product-launch seminar Why it matters: The compound phrase expresses the event's purpose more concisely.
- 9. Remove redundant link Original: So, since Suggested revision: Since Why it matters: Using both connectors together is redundant.
- 10. Avoid wordy phrasing Original: because of a reason Suggested revision: for reasons Why it matters: This is the natural and concise expression.
- 11. State cause directly Original: had something to do with Suggested revision: was caused by Why it matters: The original phrase is vague and too informal for a refund request.
- 12. Use plural body Original: authority Suggested revision: authorities Why it matters: The plural form is conventional when referring to the responsible administrative body.
Suggested Rewrites
- Suddenly At that point
- upscale nearby
- some security personnel of the airport airport security personnel
- guess understand
- abandon miss
- Anyway As a result
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear formal purpose, covers every bullet point, and uses a suitably courteous request for reimbursement. Its main limitation is that the airport incident and the consequences of missing the seminar are only briefly explained, while some wording and linking are repetitive or awkward. The highest-priority improvement is to develop the disruption more specifically and organise the content into distinct, smoothly connected paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, the tone is suitably formal, and all three bullet points are addressed, though the incident and its impact receive limited development.
Explain the security restriction and the practical consequences of missing the seminar in more concrete detail.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from the flight circumstances to the consequence and requested remedy, but it appears as one block and uses some mechanical transitions.
Use distinct paragraphs for the incident, its impact, and the refund request, with less reliance on transitions such as 'Anyway' and 'So'.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a good range of generally precise formal vocabulary, although repetition and awkward choices such as 'because of a reason' reduce naturalness.
Replace repeated wording about the airport and lack of control with more concise, idiomatic expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is handled with generally good control, and the few errors do not impede meaning.
Polish conditional and relative-clause structures, particularly the refund request, for consistently accurate formal expression.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You missed a flight due to a problem at the airport. Write a letter to the airline. In your letter:
- describe what happened that caused you to miss the flight
- explain how missing your flight affected you make it clear
- what you would like the airline to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.