General Training IELTS

Writing - Task 1

General information

150 words or more

Task 1 is worth 33% of the total mark in the Writing Test

You have 20 minutes to plan and write your letter

Register

If the letter is for a friend or a close member of your family

Informal

Formal

If you are asked to write to someone you don't know

Dear Sir or Madam / Yours faithfully,

Dear Mr. Martínez / Yours sincerely,

Dear Jeff / All the best, / See you soon, / Keep in touch, 

Contractions

Do not use contractions

Types of Letters

Apology

Request

Complaint

Letter of explanation

An invitation

Application or resignation letter

Marking Criteria

Lexical Resource

Cohesion and Coherence

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Task Achievement

The Prompt

Topic

The addressee

What to write about

You want to learn a language. There is a teacher near to where you live.

Write a letter to the teacher. In the letter:

• say how you came to know about him/her
• explain why you want to learn
• ask what help they can offer.

Structure

You want to learn a language. There is a teacher near to where you live.

Write a letter to the teacher. In the letter:

• say how you came to know about him/her
• explain why you want to learn
• ask what help they can offer.

1) Dear ...

2) Paragraph 1: Purpose of the letter (1 sentence)

3) Paragraph 2: (bullet point 1) 50 words

4) Paragraph 3: (bullet point 2) 50 words

5) Paragraph 4: (bullet point 3) 50 words

6) Signoff