How to write a letter
IELTS writing task 1
The General Training
References:
Ieltsliz.com
Ielts-simon.com
IELTS Preparation And Practice
Cambridge IELTS 7
INTRODUCTION
• The IELTS General Training Writing Test Task 1 is, I feel,
the part of GT test that people can prepare most
for. Because the scope of the task is fairly limited,
you can practise extremely similar tasks, which will
greatly prepare you for the exam.
• The IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 asks you to
write a letter of a minimum of 150 words in response
to some situation or problem. The task will probably
ask you to complain about something, to request
information, ask for help, to make arrangements
and/or explain a situation. All these are fairly similar
tasks.
INTRODUCTION
• The IELTS General Training Task 1 Writing will be
marked in four areas. You will get a mark from 1 to 9
on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion,
Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and
Accuracy. Your final band for task 1 will be
effectively an average of the four marks awarded
in these areas. Task 1 writing is less important than
task 2 and to calculate the final writing mark, more
weight is assigned to task 2 mark than to task 1.
THE QUESTION
WRITING TASK 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You have recently started work in a new company.
Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter
• explain why you changed jobs
• describe your new job
• tell him/her your other news
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear …………… ,
THE QUESTION
• As you can see, all the writing task 1 questions look like
the one in the previous slide.
REMEMBER
• You must write over 150 words. (aim for 160 to 175 to be
on the safe side)
• You do NOT need to write an address on the letter.
• You must begin your letter as the IELTS tells you in the
question. For example Dear Sir/Madam or Dear.... .
When you see the second one, it means you need to
write a name from your own imagination.
TYPES OF LETTER
There are three different types of letters:
1. Personal
2. Semi-formal
3. Formal.
Each type of letter will have a different type of language,
a different way of beginning and a different way of
signing off. Therefore, before you start writing, your first task
is to identify what type of letter you must write.
TYPES OF LETTER
You want to invite your friend to visit you for your birthday.
Write a letter inviting your friend. In your letter:
• Tell your friend about your birthday. Personal
• Explain how much the visit would mean to you.
• Suggest that your friend stay at your house for the visit.
Your friend has a travel company and would like you to work
with him. Semi-
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: formal
• Explain what you know about your friend’s company.
• Say whether you accept or decline the offer.
• Give reasons for your choice.
You want to apply for a scholarship program at a university.
Write a letter to inquire about the course. In your letter:
• Explain which course you are interested in. Formal
• Explain what you know about the university.
• Explain why you should get the scholarship.
LETTER AIMS
Letters can be based on different content which will
affect the style of the letter. Below is a list of the common
contents for letters.
• complaints (usually formal)
• invitations (usually personal or semi-formal)
• applications or registrations (usually formal)
• request (any style is common)
• making arrangements (often formal)
• explanations (sometimes semi-formal or personal)
• informative / news letter (often personal / semi-formal
but formal can also appear)
• apology (could be any style)
• gratitude (could be any style)
EXERCISE 1
Can you decide what the aim of each letter is?
1. You’re too busy to attend your aunt’s birthday.
2. You want to borrow your friend’s car.
3. You borrowed your friend’s car and had an accident.
4. You are trying to find out the opening hours of your
local library.
5. Your English teacher helped you to get a good score in
your IELTS exam.
6. Your neighbor always plays his music too loudly.
7. You are telling your friend that a mutual acquaintance
is getting married.
ANSWER KEY 1
1. Apology
2. Request
3. Apology
4. Asking for information
5. Gratitude
6. Complaint
7. Giving information
LETTER OPENINGS
Letters usually start with an opening statement which explains
the reason for writing the letter. This opening statement varies
whether you are writing a formal or an informal letter.
Examples
A. I am writing this letter with regards to the scholarship
program to study at London University which I read in
Sunday Times on December 1st, 2014.
B. It’s been so long since we last were in touch but I haven’t
forgotten all the wonderful times we spent together last year.
It’s my birthday coming up and I wanted to invite you over
to stay at my place for the celebration.
C. I’m just writing to say thank you for the offer of joining your
company.
SIGNING OFF
depending on the style and aim of the letter, you will
need to adapt your final sentence or comment.
Dear + Sir/Madam, Yours faithfully,
The Title Sign-off
Dear + first name, See you soon,/Take care,/etc.
The Title Sign-off
Dear + title + last name, Yours sincerely,
The Title Sign-off
GRAMMAR: FORMAL AND INFORMAL
Formal and informal letters contain different
language and style of writing. While informal letters
can contain contractions, these contractions are
unacceptable in a formal letter
In a formal letter you could write “I am writing with
regards to...” whereas for a semi-formal letter you
can write “I’m writing about...” or “I’m writing to
say...” or “I just wanted to let you know...”. So, it is
important to adapt your writing to suit the style of the
letter. Also remember to use a range of different
sentence structures in order to get a high score.
VOCABULARY: FORMAL AND INFORMAL
For vocabulary, be very careful with using academic
language in a personal letter. This would be
inappropriate and will reduce your band score rather
than increase it. Here are some examples of the
difference between formal and informal language.
• you will be collected at the airport = I’ll pick you up at
the airport
• the next available appointment is on Thursday = how
about we meet up on Thursday?
• I highly recommend that you come in August = it’d be
great if you came in August
EXERCISE 2
READ THE LETTER AND FIND THE FEATURES OF
CASUAL WRITING
Dear Jane,
How are you? It was great to hear from you. Thanks so much for inviting me
to your birthday party next Saturday. It sounds great and I’d absolutely love
to come, but unfortunately I’ve already arranged to do something else that
day.
Do you remember my cousin Victor? He’s the one who’s been living in
Singapore for the last year. Well, he’s flying in for a visit and I promised I’d
show him around. He’s only going to be in town for the day, so I really can’t
get out of it.
I really want to get together, though. How about coffee next week or the
week after? I know you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment, but I’ll
give you a call and we can sort out the details over the phone. Maybe we
can check out that new café near the library-I hear their coffee is to die for.
Have a great party! Hope to catch up with you soon!
Lots of love,
Mary
ANSWER KEY 2
The feature of the casual style are:
1. Dear + first name [Dear Jane,]
2. A friendly opening [How are you?]
3. Contractions [I’d, He’s, etc.]
4. Phrasal verbs [show around, get out of, etc.]
5. Idiomatic language [have a lot on your plate]
6. Exclamation marks [!]
7. A friendly closing [Have a great party!]
8. A casual sign-off [Lots of Love, Mary]
STRUCTURE AND PARAGRAPHS
You must also organize your letters into paragraphs. This is
an essential part of your letter writing and the examiner will
be marking you on your ability to use effective
paragraphing. In IELTS writing task 1 (GT), the letter
structure below is most common as it usually follows the
three points that you must include in your letter. However
you must adapt it to suit the task given to you by IELTS. So
spend time reading the instructions and deciding your
paragraphing.
STRUCTURE AND PARAGRAPHS
• title
• opening statement – reason for writing
• body paragraph A (one point with detail)
• body paragraph B (another point with detail)
• body paragraph C (final point with detail)
• closing statement (if needed)
• signing off
• name (choose a name or use your own)
PLANNING YOUR LETTER
You should spend at least 3 or 4 minutes planning
your letter. covering all the points in your letter,
reading all the details, using the appropriate style of
letter writing and using paragraphs will count for 50%
of your marks. so it’s worth taking time to plan your
letter well. Follow the points below for a well planned
letter:
PLANNING YOUR LETTER
• read the instructions
• identify what style of letter you must write
• read through the points you must include in your letter
• think about how many paragraphs you will have and
where to put each point
• plan what information you will add to each point
• decide how to open the letter
• think about the language you will use (grammar and
vocabulary). it must suit the style of the letter.
• decide how to close the letter
• plan the content of each paragraph
• start writing
SAMPLES
The following samples were written by an IELTS
examiner and are examples of very good answers. All
the samples will be scored 9 on all the four criteria.
