General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to College Principal Requesting Duplicate Course Certificate

Your company has sent you to an English-speaking country to do a course. You have finished it and got a certificate which unfortunately you have lost.

Write a letter to the college principal to issue a duplicate certificate. In your letter:

an explanation of how you lost that certificate
tell him why the certificate is important to you
what you want them to do

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Dr. Aris,

I am writing to formally request a replacement certificate for the 'Advanced Business Communication' course I completed at your institution last month, as I have unfortunately misplaced my original copy.

During my return flight to London, I accidentally left my briefcase in the airport departure lounge. Although I contacted the airline’s lost property department immediately, they were unable to recover the item. Consequently, my original certificate, which was stored inside, is now permanently lost.

This document is essential for my professional development, as my employer requires physical evidence of course completion to finalise my internal promotion and salary review. Without the certificate, I am unable to meet the administrative requirements for this career progression, which is a significant concern for me.

Could you please arrange for a duplicate certificate to be issued? I am happy to pay any administrative fees associated with this process. Please let me know if you require me to provide my student identification number or any further documentation to verify my identity. I would appreciate it if the document could be posted to my office address.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Sterling

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

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with logical, specific details while maintaining a professional and consistent formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to explain why the certificate is needed for professional reasons, instead providing vague or irrelevant excuses for the loss.

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

misplaced: lost something by putting it in wrong place
consequently: as a result of the situation described previously
essential: absolutely necessary and extremely important for success
finalise: complete the last parts of a formal arrangement
progression: the process of moving forward to a higher level
administrative: relating to the running of a business or organisation

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.