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,Dear Sir,
I am writing to inform you that I have recently received a letter from your bank, together with an envelope thatand an envelope which was supposed to contain my new bank card. Unfortunately, there was no card in the envelope when I opened it. I hope you will investigate the missing cardlook into this issue.
Regarding my accountFirst and foremost, my savingssaving account is linked to this cardpertains to this card, and my account number is ANBCJHH. Immediately after this occurrence, I telephoned customer care to explain this problem, but I could not get through to the right department, even though I was waiting in line for half an hour that I was extremely annoying.
Why this response received Band 5.5
The letter clearly identifies the missing card and gives relevant account and contact details, with some effective formal vocabulary and several controlled sentences. However, it is substantially under length, ends abruptly, and does not adequately express the security concern or ask what action the bank intends to take. The priority is to complete every bullet point in a properly concluded letter, then proofread the final long sentence for clarity.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The reason for writing is clear, but the short, unfinished letter gives limited concern and does not directly ask what action the bank intends to take.
Add a developed security concern, request specific information about the bank's next steps, and finish with an appropriate closing.
Coherence and Cohesion
The two paragraphs follow a broadly logical sequence, but the response is too brief to sustain progression and the final sentence becomes poorly connected.
Use separate paragraphs for the problem, security concern, and requested action, with a concise closing paragraph.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient formal vocabulary for the topic, but choices such as 'my saving account pertains to this card' and 'I was extremely annoying' are inaccurate.
Choose precise natural expressions such as 'the card is linked to my savings account' and 'the wait was extremely frustrating.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Several complex sentences are accurate, but the final sentence contains faulty clause linkage and a form that distorts the intended meaning.
Split the final sentence and write, for example, that the half-hour wait was extremely annoying rather than describing yourself as annoying.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
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.