General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to airline regarding lost hand luggage

Last Wednesday you flew from London to Vancouver. When you arrived home, you discovered that you had left your hand luggage on the plane.

Write a letter to the airline. In your letter:

where and when you lost your bag
what your bag looks like
what its contents were

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Customer Service Team,

I am writing to report an item of hand luggage that I inadvertently left on board flight BA852 from London Heathrow to Vancouver last Wednesday, 15th May. Upon arriving home, I realised my bag was missing and believe it remained in the overhead locker at seat 14A.

The item is a dark navy blue Samsonite hard-shell cabin suitcase with four wheels and a distinctive silver luggage tag featuring my initials, J.D. It is small in size and has a noticeable scuff mark on the bottom right corner from recent travel.

Inside the suitcase, there are several essential personal belongings. These include a grey leather laptop sleeve containing my MacBook Pro, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and a small pouch of prescribed medication. I also have some important documents, including my passport and a printed itinerary for my trip.

I would be extremely grateful if you could check the aircraft cabin and assist me in recovering these items as soon as possible. Please contact me via email or phone at your earliest convenience to arrange for its return.

Yours faithfully,

James Dawson

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

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response achieves all requirements by providing specific details for every bullet point while maintaining a consistently professional tone. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide enough specific descriptive details about the bag, which makes it difficult for the airline to assist effectively.

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: without intention; accidentally or by mistake
hard-shell: made of a rigid, protective outer material
distinctive: characteristic of one person or thing specifically
prescribed: medication officially ordered by a doctor
itinerary: a planned route or journey of travel
earliest convenience: as soon as it is possible for you

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.