Letter to a friend about a lost wallet

The task

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 ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8189 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

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

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.

Write a letter, get a band free →

Examiner's view

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.

6 phrases

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

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 many words 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.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More request letters

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy