General Training Writing Task 1 · semi-formal · apology

Letter to teacher returning a borrowed textbook

You Recently Completed a Course and Borrowed a Book from Your Teacher that You Couldn't Return in Time. You Would Like to Return the Book Now.

Write a Letter to Your Teacher and Say. In your letter:

what Book Was It?
how Helpful Was the Book?
explain Why You Couldn't Return It in Time

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 hope you are having a productive week. I am writing to sincerely apologise for failing to return the textbook I borrowed from you at the conclusion of our Business Communications course last month.

The book in question is 'Effective Professional Writing' by Dr. Alan Thorne. It has been sitting on my desk, and I am keen to get it back to you as soon as possible.

I found the chapters on persuasive report writing particularly insightful. The practical exercises significantly improved my ability to structure complex proposals, and I have already successfully applied these techniques in my current role at the marketing firm.

Unfortunately, I was unexpectedly sent on a two-week business trip to our regional office in Manchester just as the course ended. Between the heavy workload and the travel, the book completely slipped my mind until I returned home yesterday. I am truly sorry for this oversight and any inconvenience my delay has caused regarding your teaching materials.

I would be happy to drop the book off at the faculty office tomorrow morning if that is convenient for you. Please let me know if this works.

Best wishes,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with specific, natural details while maintaining a respectful semi-formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a logical reason for the delay or using overly casual language that does not suit a student-teacher relationship.

Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.
Polite and friendly at once: a few contractions are fine, slang is not. Close with Yours sincerely or Kind regards.
State the purpose in the first two sentences; small talk costs words you need for the bullets.

Useful phrases from the letter

concluded: brought something to an end or finished it
insightful: providing a deep and clear understanding of something
oversight: a failure to notice or do something important
inconvenience: a state of trouble or difficulty caused to someone
faculty office: the administrative office of a school or department
productive: achieving a significant amount of work or results

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?

Semi-formal. Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.

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.