General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to a Hotel Manager Regarding Lost Documents

You recently attended a meeting at a hotel. When you returned home, you found you had left some important papers at the hotel.

Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter:

say where you think you left the papers
explain why they are so important
tell the manager what you want him/her to do

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to report that I inadvertently left a collection of important documents behind following the business meeting I attended at your hotel yesterday afternoon.

I believe the papers were left in the conference suite, specifically on the mahogany table in the Oak Room. I was seated at the far end of the table during the presentation, and in my haste to reach my train, I failed to gather all my materials before departing the premises.

These documents constitute the finalized draft of a confidential merger agreement, which is essential for a high-stakes board meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning. Replacing these files is not feasible within this timeframe, and their security is of the utmost importance to my firm.

Could you please arrange for a member of your housekeeping team to check the Oak Room for a blue leather folder? If located, I would be most grateful if you could hold them securely at the reception desk. I am happy to arrange a courier to collect them at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your urgent assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all three bullet points with a professional tone and logical flow. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to specify exactly where the items were left or providing a vague explanation of the documents' importance, which weakens the request's urgency.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

inadvertently: happening by accident or without intending to do so
premises: a building or land occupied by a business
constitute: to be considered to be something
high-stakes: involving serious risks or significant potential rewards
feasible: possible and easy to do in practice
courier: a person or company that transports commercial packages

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?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

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.