IELTS General Writing Task 1: steps

Here are 7 steps that I recommend taking before you write your task 1 letter. We'll follow
these steps when we look at an example question tomorrow.

IELTS General Writing Task 1: 'private teacher' topic

1. Key things to highlight: son needs extra language lessons, explain why, ask
about experience and methods, suggest schedule
2. Choose the tone: assume we don't know the teacher = formal
3. Greeting: e.g. Dear Mr. Smith (assume we know the teacher's name)
Ending: Yours sincerely, (then invent a name)
4. Overall purpose: ask the teacher to help your son
5. Paragraph structure: single sentence to state the purpose, then one
paragraph for each bullet point
6. Paragraph aims: explain, request, suggest
7. Ideas: Your son has missed a term of Spanish lessons due to illness; looking
for an experienced teacher who knows the school exams; son is available for
private lessons at home any weekday after school
IELTS General Writing Task 1: beginning and ending
Let's write a beginning and ending for the task that I showed you last Sunday:
..........
Beginning (greeting + purpose of the letter):
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am writing to ask whether you are available to help my son with some after-school
Spanish lessons.
..........
Ending:
I hope to hear from you soon, and that you will be able to help.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Jones
..........
Note:
Keep the beginning and ending short, clear and simple. You can impress the examiner
in your main paragraphs; we'll look at those tomorrow.
IELTS General Writing: letter of complaint
Next weekend I'll show you my sample answer for the letter writing task below. Thanks
to rüknettin for suggesting this one.
IELTS General Writing: 'job reference' letter
I haven't looked at a General Training task 1 question for a while, so here's one that we
could try:
How do you think we should begin this letter? What job could we choose? What
qualifications, skills and personal qualities can we describe?
Tip: Imagine that you are writing this letter to recommend a real colleague or friend.
Think about that person's qualities and invent a job that might suit him/her.

General IELTS Writing: 'concert ticket' topic

We haven't looked at a General Writing Task 1 question for a while, so here's one for us
to work on. If you're doing the General test, give it a try.
ELTS General Writing Task 1: 'translation' question
If you're doing the General IELTS test, here's another task 1 question that you could
use for practice.
IELTS General Writing: task 1 letter
We haven't looked at a General Writing task 1 for a while, so here's one from
Cambridge IELTS book 11:
This is a formal letter task, and you would begin with "Dear Sir or Madam". I would
probably start with a sentence that explains why I'm writing the letter (e.g. I'm writing
with regard to...), and then I would write a short paragraph about each of the bullet
points.
I'll show you my full answer tomorrow.
IELTS General Writing: 'thank you' answer
IELTS General Writing: 'thank you' letter
Several people have asked for another lesson about letter writing for the General
Training test. Let's look at one of the questions from Cambridge IELTS book 10:

I would call this a "thank you" letter task. Before writing your letter, have a look at some
"thank you" letters by searching online. There's a good example here.
IELTS General Writing: 'accommodation' answer

Remember that the examiner is looking for the following things:

 The tone must be appropriate (formal or informal)
 The purpose of the letter must be clear
  You must cover all of the points
 The letter must be well-organised
 You need to use some good (and relevant) vocabulary

IELTS General Writing: formal phrases

Here are some formal phrases that I've used in previous lessons. See if you can use
them in your own letters:
Beginning the letter by explaining why you are writing:
 I am writing with regard to...
 I am writing to inform you that...
 I am writing to bring to your attention some issues with...

Requesting or suggesting something:

  I have decided that I would like you to...
 I am entitled to ask for...
 I was wondering if it would be possible (for me) to...
 I hope that you will...
 I would like to suggest that...
Ending the letter with a request for action:
 I look forward to receiving your response.
 I await your prompt response.

IELTS General Writing: apology answer

If you are taking the General IELTS test, try this letter writing task:

IELTS General Writing: 'local problem' letter

IELTS General Writing: 'insurance' letter

The question tells you to begin with "Dear Sir or Madam", so we know that it needs to
be a formal letter. After that, you just need 3 short paragraphs to cover the bullet points
in the question, followed by a formal letter ending.
I'll write my sample answer for next week.
IELTS General Writing: formal and informal
Let's compare some of the formal and informal features in the two letters that you can
see if you click here.
Formal letter
 Beginning: Dear Sir or Madam
 Stating the purpose: I am writing with regard to
 Formal choice of language: due to, I intended, as a result of, caused me great
inconvenience, compensate me, the additional flight
 No contractions: I am (not "I'm")
 Ending: I look forward to receiving your response. Yours faithfully,
Informal letter
 Beginning: Dear John
 Stating the purpose: I'm just writing to let you know that
 Informal choice of language: As you know, Well, prices are crazy, on the bright
side, it's got nice big windows, a lovely view, if you ever fancy, great to see
you
 Use of contractions: I'm, we've, isn't, it's
  Ending: Keep in touch! All the best
IELTS General Writing: 'lost photo' letter

IELTS General Writing: resignation question

IELTS General Writing: 'new business' letter
IELTS General Writing: environment letter
IELTS General Training: letter of complaint

 Problems: trains arrive late and are overcrowded

 Effects: people arriving late for work, uncomfortable, unhappy
 Changes: more regular trains, more carriages to increase space
IELTS General Writing: 'travel problem' topic

Before you start writing, quickly note down some ideas for each point:
 Problem: I was given the wrong boarding card.
 Effect: I missed two days of my holiday.
 Request: I would like compensation for the flight and other expenses.
IELTS General Writing: a friend's visit
IELTS General Writing: letter to a tutor
The following question comes from Cambridge IELTS book 5.
You have a full-time job and are also doing a part-time evening course. You now
find that you cannot continue the course. Write a letter to the course tutor. In your
letter
 describe the situation
 explain why you cannot continue at this time
 say what action you would like to take

There are three main things to consider before writing your essay:
1. Tone (formal or informal)
Sometimes students are friendly with their tutors, but I think it would be better to write a
formal letter. Start with your tutor’s surname (e.g. Dear Mr. Smith,) and end with “Yours
sincerely,”. Avoid contractions (write “I am” instead of “I’m”), and avoid using informal
idioms or expressions. Be polite rather than friendly.
2. Purpose
The main purpose of this letter is to inform your tutor that you are leaving the course.
Make this clear straight away (e.g. I am writing to inform you that...). Then cover the
three points, writing a short paragraph for each.
3. Ideas
I recommend spending a few minutes planning ideas for each of the task points before
you start writing. You need to decide what the evening course is about, what your full-
time job is, a reason why you are too busy with work to continue with the course, and
whether you want to leave completely or perhaps continue at a later date.

IELTS General Writing: how to start and end letters

It's important to start and end letters in the correct way, depending on who you are
writing to. The table below should give you all you need.