IELTS Formal Letter: Letter to newspaper editor regarding unreceived competition prize

The task

You Have Not Received the Prize Which You Have Won at A Newspaper.

Write a Letter to The Editor of The Newspaper with Below Details. In your letter:

→details of How You Won the Prize?
→what Is the Prize Given to You?
→what Actions Do You Expect to Be Taken?

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

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8198 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Editor,

I am contacting you regarding the outcome of the 'Summer Literary Challenge' hosted in the August 15th edition of your newspaper. Having been notified via email on September 1st that my short story entry was selected as the first-place winner, I am concerned that I have yet to receive the promised reward.

My submission, titled 'Echoes of the Valley', was chosen by your editorial panel from over five hundred entries. The confirmation email explicitly stated that the selection process was rigorous and that I had been unanimously voted the winner by the judges, which was a significant achievement for me.

The prize, as advertised in the competition guidelines, consists of a high-end digital camera and a cash voucher valued at five hundred pounds. Despite my follow-up email sent last week, I have received no information regarding the dispatch or collection of these items.

I would appreciate it if you could investigate this delay and provide me with a definitive delivery date by the end of the week. Please confirm if any further documentation is required from my side to facilitate the release of the prize. I look forward to your prompt response.

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 letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with specific, logical details and maintaining a consistently professional, formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a clear, actionable expectation, often resulting in a vague request that does not actually ask the editor to resolve the specific problem.

→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

unanimously
when everyone in a group agrees completely
rigorous
extremely thorough, careful, and accurate
facilitate
to make an action or process easier
dispatch
the act of sending something to a destination
definitive
final and providing a clear, firm conclusion
editorial panel
a group of people who edit or judge

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 complaint letters

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