[SEP – DEC 2021] IELTS General Writing Task 1 Actual Tests With Answers: Formal Letters (Part 3)

Formal Letter 1

You recently travelled by plane. While you were at the airport, a member of staff helped you with a problem, and now you would like to show him/her your appreciation. Write a letter to the manager of the airport.

In your letter

• explain what the problem was.
• say how the member of staff helped you.
• say what you would like the manager to do to reward the member of staff.

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Prakhyat, who travelled in Air India from the US to India. It was an official trip. I am writing this letter to express my gratitude to Mr. Suhail Joshi, who works at the help desk for delivering my missing baggage to my house.

After reaching India, my luggage did not arrive. I am a first-time flyer, so I panicked and did not know what to do. Somebody instructed me to reach the helpdesk. I met Suhail Joshi at the helpdesk and reported the problem to him. He calmed me and assured me that I would get my luggage back. Then he explained the procedures. He asked me to file a passenger irregularity report (PIR) and the detailed description of the luggage. He also asked me to fill the contact information and my local address. Then he gave me a claim number and a copy of the missing baggage report. He also told me that the airline would trace the luggage and deliver it to me by twenty-one days, failing which some amount will be reimbursed. After this, he asked me to leave peacefully.

But I did receive my luggage within 24 hours. I appreciate Mr. Suhail Joshi for being very responsible and tracing my missing luggage promptly. I would want you to reward him for his exceptional efforts.

Yours sincerely,
Prakhyat

 

Formal Letter 2

A company is going to open an office near your flat. In your

letter you should,

• Introduce yourself
• Describe your problems
• Explain what you want them to do for you

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Gangandeep Singh residing at No. 14, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar. I have been living here for nearly ten years. It is a calm residential area. Now that Mr.Shah, who lives right opposite my house, has sold his property to your company’s corporate division, I understand that you have plans to construct an office space here.

I am writing this letter to explain the problems that would arise if you choose to open an office space. First of all, there is no parking space. So your employees would exploit the road which would cause hindrance to residents of this place. I will not allow any vehicle to be parked in front of my house. Also, there would be a lot of noise, which would disturb the peace and tranquility of the space. I would be most affected, as I live right in front of your office space. I’m sure your employees will take breaks and go to the nearby food joints and litter the place all over, which will make this place very dirty.

I have explained all the possible problems that would arise in opening up an office space in Shah’s place. Please reconsider your decision and allow the residents of this area to live in peace. I am hoping for a positive reply from your end.

Yours sincerely,
Gagandeep Singh

 

Formal Letter 3

Write a letter to a hotel manager about attending a business meeting in another city. In the letter, mention,

• What’s your plan for the meeting?
• Write about what other facilities you want
• Write about accommodation you require

Sample Answer

Dear Sir,

I am Ryan Thomas, a consultant at ABC company. Our company is organising an important meeting in Gurgaon with Mexican clients. So we have chosen your Hotel to arrange the meeting. Since your Hotels group has established a name, we are confident that you will be able to arrange the facilities for us skillfully. It is a two-day event with two meetings per day, each running for 3 hours.

We need uninterrupted wifi, spacious conference rooms with soundproof doors and windows, projectors, and soundbars. We also need a helper to reach out to if any equipment becomes faulty during the meeting. It would also be a pleasure if you could provide us with a mix of Indian and Mexican cuisine.

We need individual first-class suits for all our six Mexican clients. As for me, I would require a double sharing room with all the amenities. The budget is not a constraint. Please do write to me about how you are going to accommodate us.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Ryan Thomas

 

Formal Letter 4

You have ordered a product on a website and received a different product. Write a letter to the company.

In your letter

• Describe the product you ordered
• Explain why you aren’t satisfied with the product you received
• Let them know what actions you expect them to take

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter to express my concern over a product shipped from your online store. I ordered an electric stove, but the product I received was an electric cooker. I was indeed suspicious on seeing the way it was packed. But I opened the pack only after I received the product.

In fact, I went through the details of the order I placed and confirmed that it was an electric stove. I am wondering how careless your staff could be in making this mistake. I did call your customer care but did not receive a satisfactory response. Since I unpacked the product, they said it is not fit for a replacement.

I have the order details with me. I am looking for a replacement. Kindly assist me on how to go about it. I paid three thousand rupees for the electric stove, and the product I received is worth only a thousand rupees. I would either require a refund of the money I paid for the electric stove or would want you to replace this electric cooker with the electric stove I ordered. Awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely

Arianna

 

Formal Letter 5

You want to improve your knowledge of foreign languages which can help you at work. Write a letter to a foreign language teacher and say

• Where did you hear about the teacher?
• Why do you want to learn a foreign language?
• Ask some questions about the course.

Sample Answer

Dear Sir,

I am Lawrence working as a principal Engineer at ABC company. I got to know about you from the column posted in the newspaper “Times now” dated 4/6/2020. The Friday edition of the paper has a column called “Know your neighbours.” Your details were mentioned there. I understand that your Language center is in Leeds Street, Northampton. It is a half-an-hour drive from my office.

Our company has won a Japanese project. Since I’m going to be incharge of meetings and discussions with the Japanese, I want to impress them by talking in their language. I know Japanese scripts are challenging, but I’m confident in your abilities. You had mentioned in the newspaper that many of your students have successfully qualified in the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

Please send an email to me on the fee you charge for the course. Also, give details on when the session begins, the duration of the course, and the timings.

Awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence

 

Formal Letter 6

Write a letter to the translation agency for translating some documents.

• which document
• what you will do with that
• why it is urgent

Sample Answer

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to request you to translate some Japanese documents that contain details about an internship I did in the Kawasaki factory in Japan. I need this document urgently.

I completed my master’s in Sweden and did my thesis in Electrical Engineering in Sweden. Impressed with my thesis, a Japanese company hired me as an intern in their factory for six months. At the end of the term, they awarded me with an internship certificate in Japanese. On the successful completion of the internship, I got a job offer in the US. They need a translated copy of the internship certificate.

I need to submit the document as soon as possible. The company in the US will release the offer letter only after receiving the translated copy of the internship completion certificate. I have to submit the document by the twentieth of this month, failing which my job offer will be cancelled. Please be considerate and get this translated on priority.

Awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Sushil Sahay

 

Formal Letter 7

You recently discovered that there are plans to construct an airport in your locality. Write a letter to the local authority.

In your letter, you should:

• explain how you knew about the plans
• describe the negative effect of the construction on your neighborhood
• suggest a possible solution to the problem.

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I’m writing this letter to express my anguish over your plans to construct an airport in the byroad of “ABC” town.

I’m John, and I reside in No. 10, Orange Gardens, ABC. I was going through the news yesterday and was shocked to read that the local authority is considering giving away the byroad for the construction of an airport. I did phone a few friends of mine who are also residents of the place, and they seemed equally worried.

I would like you to consider some facts before you go ahead with your plans. I’m sure you’re aware of the water requirements of an airport. The Silver lake is supplying water for the “ABC” town. Because the airport would utilize much of the lake’s water, our residents would be facing a severe water shortage. Also, airports let out a lot of wastewater. This water would penetrate the soil and debase the land value of “ABC.” Also, the greenhouse emissions from the airport would reduce the air quality index of our area. Besides, airports create a lot of noise. So we would be losing the tranquility that we were enjoying for long.

I would suggest you improve the existing airport located in the “CDE” area, instead. It has already been in use for a long time, and it would be great if you could upgrade it.

I hope my explanations are convincing and you would consider the alternative I suggested.

 

Formal Letter 8

You are doing an evening course. Write a letter to the principal of your school and explain that the course that you are taking is slightly different in the way it is delivered from what the school offered.

In your letter

• provide the details of the course.
• explain what the problem is
• give some suggestions to fix the problem.

Sample Answer

Dear Sir / Madam,

I’m Sophia, a student of International Languages at your esteemed institution. The course enables us to choose two international languages, and each runs for six months. I chose Japanese and German. I’m writing this letter to bring to your notice, the deviations, I found in the Japanese language course taking place in the evening.

It’s been four months since I joined this course. The course brochure said that every language course would involve interaction with the particular countrymen, either via travel to the nation or by visiting the respective embassy. Also, it was mentioned that we would have lectures by respective countrymen. For instance, if it were the Japanese language, some lectures would be conducted by Japanese professors. But to my utter dismay, the classes are run by Indian lecturers only. We were never taken to the Japanese embassy, and I haven’t seen a Japanese lecturer till date. The course is almost reaching completion, and I thought it would be good to let you know about it.

I’ve paid a whopping sum of 2 lakh rupees considering the sessions promised. So, I request you to intervene with the course organising committee and arrange for the missing lectures and interaction, at the earliest.

Awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,
Sophia

 

Formal Letter 9

You experienced an incident on public transport that caused you distress. Write a letter to the manager of the public transport company.

In your letter

• describe the incident
• explain how this incident affected you
• suggest what could be done about it

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter to report an incident that happened when I travelled by the government bus from Gandhi Nagar to Nehru Nagar in Bombay. I had been to Gandhi Nagar to see my cousin, who had been discharged after major surgery. I drove to the place by car on my own. After spending some time with my cousin, I wanted to leave. When I got into my car, I suspected some problem with the clutch. So I put my car at the service station and decided to take a bus. I walked to the bus stop in Gandhi Nagar and waited for A31 which goes to Nehru Nagar.

I got on the bus. Since it was crowded, I was standing. When the conductor approached me, I held out a hundred rupee note. He passed by me as if he hadn’t noticed. He walked hither and thither but never bothered to take the money from me. I waited for nearly 10 minutes and then asked him why he was not interested in giving me a ticket. He called me insane and said that nobody gives a hundred rupee note for a ticket worth 10 rupees. I explained my situation, but he was unwilling to listen. I argued that bus conductors are supposed to issue tickets for any reasonable sum of money offered. Since he remained stubborn, I stood there without a ticket. Suddenly, the bus stopped, and a checking inspector entered. Since I did not have a ticket, I was asked to get down and taken to the police station. I explained that it was the conductor’s fault. After an hour’s argument, the inspector agreed and let me go. But it made me sleepless for two nights. The embarrassment hurt me badly. Had I given him a five hundred rupee note, it would have been right to have called me mad.

I would request you to urge the conductors to accept any reasonable sum of money, issue the tickets and return the fare difference.

Expecting your immediate action in this regard.

Yours sincerely,

Ram

 

Formal Letter 10

You recently organized an event that was mentioned in a newspaper article. The article had some incorrect information about the event. Write a letter to the newspaper editor and include the following in your letter:

• When and where the article was published
• What information in the article was wrong
• How you expect the editor to correct the error

Sample Answer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Navya Sinha, residing in Nehru Street, Calcutta. I am writing w.r.t to the article published on your supplementary, “Extraordinary news” last Tuesday. The article made me famous, but I’m sorry to say that it was erroneous.

I celebrated this year’s Durga pooja in a grand manner. On the last day, I had organised many activities for the residents of our area. I had also arranged for a kathak dance by the famous “Sheethal Verma”. The residents actively participated in the activities and enjoyed the dance performance. The article had described the events beautifully. It had also appreciated me for taking pains to invite the famous Kathak dancer.

But the dancer’s name was mentioned as “Shweta Sharma” which is incorrect. The dancer was very much disappointed about it. I know her personally and could understand how much it hurt her. All the more, I organised the events on the tenth day, but the article says it was on the ninth day of the Durga pooja.

I would be happy if you could publish a note of correction in the next edition. Also, it would be great if you could publish the photograph of the dancer with the correct name under it.

Yours sincerely,

Navya Sinha