Letter to airline reporting lost hand luggage

The task

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:

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

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

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8184 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Customer Service Team,

I am writing to report an item I inadvertently left behind on flight AC855 from London Heathrow to Vancouver last Wednesday, 14th August. I was seated in 14A and disembarked the aircraft shortly after arrival at 19:30, unfortunately leaving my hand luggage in the overhead locker.

The bag is a medium-sized, charcoal grey Samsonite carry-on suitcase with four multidirectional spinner wheels. It features a distinct neon-yellow luggage tag attached to the retractable handle, which displays my contact details, and has a small scratch on the bottom right corner of the hard-shell casing.

Inside the suitcase, there are several essential personal items. These include my noise-cancelling headphones, a leather-bound notebook containing private research notes, and a prescription glasses case. Given the sensitive nature of the documents inside, I am quite anxious to recover the bag as soon as possible.

Could you please let me know the procedure for retrieving lost property? I am happy to provide further identification if required to facilitate the return of my belongings. I look forward to your prompt assistance in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

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.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by fully addressing all bullet points with specific, natural details while maintaining a consistently professional tone. A common mistake for Band 6 candidates is failing to provide enough descriptive detail about the bag's appearance or contents, leading to an underdeveloped response.

→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
without intentional purpose or by simple mistake
disembarked
the act of leaving a ship or aircraft
multidirectional
capable of moving or facing in various directions
retractable
able to be drawn back or pulled inside
sensitive
requiring care or caution to avoid disclosure
facilitate
to make an action or process much easier

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?+

Keep practising

More giving information letters

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