Your car was hired from a company and while you were driving on holiday, you had a small accident. You will have to write a report to the company to explain it. Write a letter to the company. In your letter, you need to explain the following: - when and where you hired the car - describe how the accident happened - what kind of action you took after the accident
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I hired a Maruti Swift Car (Registration Number: MP07 5234) from your city centre outlet, Bangalore, on 12th September for a duration of four days. I am writing to apprise you of a minor accident that involved that car. I am hoping you would take the necessary actions regarding this. I have hired this car for a family holiday in Mysore, but unfortunately, the automobile was involved in a small accident yesterday. As it was dark and in the absence of a street light, I could not notice an open and large pothole on the road on time and applied the brake suddenly. Due to this, the car behind collided with my car. Although there was no major damage, only the light on the left-hand side was broken and had a small dent. Though I have got the light and dent fixed at a Maruti authorised service station, but the small scratches are still visible. Please accept my sincere apologies. I am willing to pay some extra charges as compensation if required. You can send me the final bill to my address and I shall clear all dues within next week. Please feel free to call me, in case any further information is required. Thank you in advance. Yours faithfully, Preeti Ghuraiya
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct the capitalisation Original: Car Suggested revision: car Why it matters: The common noun “car” does not need a capital letter here.
- 2. Use lower case Original: Registration Number Suggested revision: registration number Why it matters: These common nouns should not be capitalised within the parenthetical detail.
- 3. Add the location link Original: from your city centre outlet, Bangalore Suggested revision: from your city-centre outlet in Bangalore Why it matters: The preposition “in” is needed to connect the outlet to its location.
- 4. Refine the date style Original: 12th Suggested revision: 12 Why it matters: The cardinal form is the standard concise style for dates in formal letters.
- 5. Use concise wording Original: for a duration of four days Suggested revision: for four days Why it matters: The shorter phrase communicates the rental period more directly.
- 6. Correct the verb forms Original: I am hoping you would take Suggested revision: I hope you will take Why it matters: The simple present and future modal create the correct form for a current request.
- 7. Use the correct collocation Original: actions Suggested revision: action Why it matters: “Take the necessary action” is the standard uncountable expression in this context.
- 8. Use past simple Original: I have hired this car Suggested revision: I hired this car Why it matters: The completed rental occurred at a stated past time, so the past simple is required.
- 9. Keep wording natural Original: automobile Suggested revision: car Why it matters: “Car” is the natural and consistent term in this letter.
- 10. Clarify the result link Original: Due to this Suggested revision: As a result Why it matters: This connector more clearly introduces the consequence of the sudden braking.
- 11. Describe the impact naturally Original: the car behind collided with my car Suggested revision: the car behind struck mine Why it matters: This wording expresses one vehicle hitting the rear of the writer’s car more naturally.
- 12. Use formal wording Original: some extra charges Suggested revision: any additional charges Why it matters: “Any additional charges” is more precise and appropriately formal for compensation.
Suggested Rewrites
- Car car
- Registration Number registration number
- from your city centre outlet, Bangalore from your city-centre outlet in Bangalore
- 12th 12
- for a duration of four days for four days
- I am hoping you would take I hope you will take
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter gives precise hire details, clearly explains how poor visibility and sudden braking led to a rear-end collision, and documents the repairs, remaining scratches, apology, and willingness to pay. Its strongest feature is comprehensive, responsible reporting. The main limitation is grammatical control in several complex sentences, particularly tense consistency and double conjunctions; prioritise a clean chronological account with unambiguous descriptions of the damage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All required points are fully developed with specific rental details, a clear accident sequence, and extensive follow-up actions.
Clarify that the left light was broken and the car body was dented, and state whether the other driver or police provided any report.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically from hiring details to the accident, damage, repairs, compensation, and contact arrangements.
Use separate paragraphs for rental information, the accident sequence, and actions taken to make the report easier for the company to process.
Lexical Resource
A good range of formal accident and payment vocabulary is used, despite a few awkward or imprecise combinations.
Use 'inform you', 'a large pothole', 'braked suddenly', 'authorised repair centre', and 'outstanding balance'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied structures communicate the report clearly, but tense shifts, conjunction errors, articles, and some clause constructions are not consistently controlled.
Correct forms such as 'I hired the car', 'Although the damage was minor, the left light was broken', and 'Although I had the damage repaired, scratches remain'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your car was hired from a company and while you were driving on holiday, you had a small accident. You will have to write a report to the company to explain it. Write a letter to the company. In your letter, you need to explain the following:
- when and where you hired the car
- describe how the accident happened
- what kind of action you took after the accident
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.