IELTS Writing Correction Service
Writing Samples
Band 4

You recently borrowed something from a friend, but unfortunately, you have lost it. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: * apologise for losing the item * explain how you lost it * say what you will do to replace or compensate for it

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Dear David, I am writing to tell you about lost
your
Change the pronoun
the
show examples
laptop
Use synonyms
 that I borrowed from you
last
Linking Words
 week. I want to apologise to you about what happened. Everything happened suddenly, when I was going to
cafe
Correct article usage
the cafe
show examples
 to do some of my duties. I
interrupted
Verb problem
was interrupted
show examples
 by a shoplifter tries to steal the
laptop
Use synonyms
 that was in 456L Shineroad.
However
Linking Words
, I struggled to avoid that. Unfortunately, other shoplifters
who
Correct pronoun usage
apply
show examples
helped them to steal the
laptop
Use synonyms
. Fortunately, I reported
every thing
Correct your spelling
everything
 to
police
Correct article usage
the police
show examples
 office about that to start investigating and identify suspects.
Furthermore
Linking Words
, the police
are
Wrong verb form
have
show examples
 found some clues about that
and
Punctuation problem
, and
show examples
 they told me two days
left
Verb problem
are left
show examples
 to complete the investigation. I hope you do not panic or get furious about that because everything will be clear. Either way, I will buy you
new
Correct article usage
a new
show examples
laptop
Use synonyms
. See you soon, Saif

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task response
Say sorry in a clear way at the start. Then give the full story of how the laptop was lost. Tell your friend what you will do if the police do not find it.
task response
Use clear facts. For example, say where the theft took place and why the laptop was with you. The road name is not clear in this letter.
coherence and cohesion
Put the ideas in a clear order: say sorry, tell what happened, say what the police are doing, and then say how you will pay for a new laptop.
coherence and cohesion
Keep one main idea in each part. The part about the shoplifters is hard to follow. Use short, clear lines to show who did what.
coherence and cohesion
Link ideas with simple words such as 'First', 'Then', 'After that', and 'If the police do not find it'.
task response
You answer all the main parts: you say sorry, explain the loss, and promise to buy a new laptop.
coherence and cohesion
The letter has a greeting and a polite ending. It also uses separate parts for the police news and your plan.
Structure your letter

A letter needs to be written using a proper format, including the following:

  • A greeting (Dear sir/madam, Dear John, Dear Mr. Smith)
  • The main body (consisting of paragraphs for each part of the letter)
  • A closing (Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Best wishes, Kind regards, Love)

When writing a letter as part of the IELTS General Training Writing Task 1, it is important to include the bullet points presented to you in the question.

All three bullet points need to be presented. And remember that some bullet points contain more than one element. So, make sure to watch for ‘and’ and plurals.

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