Letter

Band 7+: You have just come back from a holiday overseas. When you arrived back, you discovered that the airline had lost your suitcase. Write to the Customer Relations department of the airline. In the letter, • explain the situation • describe the suitcase and its contents • say what you want the airline to do

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Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to request your assistance in connection with a suitcase that I have lost while travelling from Madrid to Moscow by your airline on the 12th of September, flight 765.

Before bordering the plane, I have checked in my suitcase at the registration desk. However, upon my arrival, my suitcase failed to be among other luggage at the baggage claim. When I complained to the airline personel, I was told that the matter will be resolved in two days and your company will inform me about the results of the search. Yet, it has been a week already and there was no news.

To help with the search, let me describe my suitcase and its content. It’s a large, brown leather suitcase with two outside pockets, an extending handle and four wheels. There is also a sticker of a green elephant on the left side of it. As for the content, there are mainly textbooks on psychology and some personal belongings, such as a shaving kit and a couple of sweaters.

Please let me know what you are going to do in order to resolve this situation. And do not hesitate to ask for any additional information.

Faithfully,

John Mitchell

Word Count: 206

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Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B1 - Intermediate
Using more sophisticated words could be beneficial.

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:

suitcase: 5

there: 3

Try using synonyms for the above words

Task Response

The letter effectively addresses all three task points: explaining the situation, describing the suitcase and contents, and stating what action is wanted. The tone is appropriate and the structure is clear. Minor errors (e.g., 'bordering' instead of 'boarding', 'personel' instead of 'personnel', 'content' instead of 'contents') do not detract from overall clarity. To achieve a band 9, ensure flawless grammar and spelling, and consider a slightly more specific request for compensation or resolution.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter is well-organized and easy to follow. The paragraphs are logically structured, each addressing a specific point from the task. However, there are minor lapses in cohesion, such as the abrupt transition between the second and third paragraphs. Consider using linking phrases like 'To assist with the search' or 'In order to help locate it' to improve flow. Additionally, the final paragraph could be more directly connected to the previous content.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary is appropriate and generally accurate, with some good choices like 'in connection with' and 'extending handle'. However, there are a few errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'Before bordering the plane' (should be 'boarding'), 'airline personel' (should be 'personnel'), and 'its content' (should be 'contents' for multiple items). The range of vocabulary is adequate but could be more varied and sophisticated. For example, instead of 'resolve this situation', you could use 'rectify this matter' or 'address this issue'.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter demonstrates a reasonable range of grammatical structures, but there are several errors that affect clarity. For instance, 'I have checked in' should be 'I checked in' (past simple for a completed action), 'my suitcase failed to be among other luggage' is awkward and should be 'my suitcase was not among the other luggage', and 'the matter will be resolved' should be 'the matter would be resolved' (reported speech). Punctuation is mostly correct, but there are minor issues like missing commas. To improve, focus on tense consistency and more natural sentence constructions.

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