General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · request

Letter to a friend about a lost wallet

You have just spent a week with a friend on holiday. When you get home, you realize you have left your wallet there.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

thank your friend for the holiday
explain that you left your wallet in their house
give them instructions on how to send it back to you

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sarah,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you so much for having me over last week. I had such a wonderful time exploring the coast with you, and it was lovely to properly catch up after so long. The hike on Tuesday remains the highlight of my trip!

However, I am feeling incredibly scatterbrained. Upon unpacking my suitcase at home, I realised that my leather wallet is nowhere to be found. I am fairly certain I left it on the bedside table in the guest room, tucked behind the lamp. Could you please take a quick look to see if it is still there?

If you do find it, would you mind popping it in the post for me? There is no rush, but if you could send it via a tracked service, that would give me peace of mind. I am more than happy to cover the postage costs; please just let me know the total and I will transfer the money to your account immediately.

Thanks again for your hospitality and for being such a brilliant host.

Best wishes,

James

189 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by maintaining a consistently warm, informal tone while addressing all three bullet points with natural, specific details. A common Band 6 mistake is to include overly formal phrases like 'I am writing to inform you' or to fail to provide clear, actionable instructions for the return of the item.

Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.
Contractions, phrasal verbs and a warm opening line are expected; a stiff formal tone loses marks here.
Still cover every bullet in its own paragraph; friendly does not mean unstructured.

Useful phrases from the letter

scatterbrained: disorganized and lacking the ability to concentrate properly
tucked: pushed or folded into a small, safe space
popping: placing something somewhere quickly or casually
peace of mind: a state of being mentally calm and secure
hospitality: the friendly and generous reception of guests
brilliant: extremely good or excellent in a personal sense

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Informal. Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.