General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to a Hotel Manager regarding lost property: IELTS formal letter sample

An IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 formal letter with a Band 8 sample answer, why it scores well and the phrases worth borrowing for your own letter writing.
  • 187 words
  • Formal letters
  • Request
  • 20 minutes
Write a letter, get a band free →Read the letter

The task

You have just spent a weekend staying at the Lilo Hotel in Adelaide. When you get home you find that you have left a bag at the hotel.

Write a letter to the hotel manager telling him. In your letter:

  • →what you left
  • →what was inside it
  • →how you will receive it

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

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8187 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to enquire about a personal item I inadvertently left behind in my room at the Lilo Hotel following my stay this past weekend, from the 12th to the 14th of May. I occupied room 402 and departed quite early on Sunday morning.

The item in question is a small, navy blue leather satchel. It is distinctive due to a silver metal clasp on the front flap. I am particularly concerned about its contents, as it contains my prescription spectacles in a protective hard case, a leather-bound notebook with my personal meeting notes, and a portable power bank.

Could you please arrange for a member of your housekeeping team to check if this bag was recovered during the room cleaning process? If found, I would be most grateful if you could arrange for it to be sent to my home address via a tracked courier service. I am happy to cover any shipping expenses incurred and can provide my credit card details over the phone if required.

Thank you for your time and assistance in resolving this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Thorne

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

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all three bullet points with specific, logical details while maintaining a consistently formal tone. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide enough detail about the items inside the bag, which makes the request for return seem vague and less professional.

  • →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.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

  • inadvertently

    happening by accident or without intending to

  • enquire

    to ask for information about something

  • distinctive

    having a special quality that makes something recognizable

  • recovered

    to find or get back something lost

  • incurred

    to become subject to as a result of action

  • satchel

    a bag with a strap, carried over the shoulder

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 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?+

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all three bullet points with specific, logical details while maintaining a consistently formal tone. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide enough detail about the items inside the bag, which makes the request for return seem vague and less professional.

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

Write a letter, get a band free