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IELTS General Writing: some questions

Here are some questions that a student asked me about General Writing task 1:

1. Should I write the date at the top of a formal letter?

No, in the IELTS test you should not write the date or your address.

2. Should I use indentation at the start of a new paragraph?

You can either indent or miss a line. Just make sure it's clear that you have begun a new paragraph. Personally, I think missing a line is clearer.

3. Should I end the letter with "Yours..." on the left or on the right?

Always end the letter on the left. Have a look at my letters on this page.

4. Should I sign the letter before writing my name?

No, don't sign your name. You don't even need to put your real name. Personally, I use a first name (e.g. John) for informal letters, and a full name (e.g. John Smith) for formal letters.

IELTS General Writing: environment letter

Here's my full letter for last week's question:

IELTS General Writing: environment problem

Here's a recent question from General IELTS writing task 1:

My advice is to choose an easy topic like "litter". Write a quick plan with ideas for each bullet point. If you need some help, have a look at this website.

IELTS General Writing: one tip

Yesterday I forgot to mention my key piece of advice for writing task 1 in the General Training test. If I had to choose one key piece of advice for GT task 1, I'd say that you need to get the 'tone' right.

The tone of your letter is its character or attitude, either formal or informal. For a summary of the differences between formal and informal letters, read this lesson.

IELTS General Writing: verb tenses

Let's look again at the letter I wrote last week. One interesting thing to notice is the variety of verb tenses:

Present simple
I take, the overcrowding means, this is...

Present continuous
I am writing, passengers are becoming, delays are making...

Present perfect
my train has arrived, I have been unable, I have seen...

Future
you will address

IELTS General Training: complaint letter

Here's my letter for last week's question:

IELTS General Training: letter of complaint

Let's do a quick plan for the question below.

• Problems: trains arrive late and are overcrowded
• Effects: people arriving late for work, uncomfortable, unhappy
• Changes: more regular trains, more carriages to increase space

Always do a quick plan! The plan above only took me a couple of minutes, and now I'm ready to write a good essay. I'll post it next week.

IELTS General Writing: 'travel problem' letter

Here's my full sample letter for last week's question:

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.

Don't worry about whether the problem seems realistic or not. You will be judged according to how well you express ideas, not on the ideas themselves.

IELTS General Writing: some informal phrases

The phrases below make the letter in this lesson a bit more friendly / informal:

• my place (meaning 'my house')
• a few things (avoid the word 'thing' in more formal contexts)
• pick up the keys (meaning 'collect')
• pop round (meaning 'visit')
• a bit warmer ('bit' is informal, use 'little' if you want to sound more formal)
• worth checking out (meaning 'a good idea to go there')

IELTS General Writing: a friend's visit

Here's my full band 9 letter for the question in this lesson:

IELTS General Writing: things to avoid

Here are some mistakes that you should avoid in writing task 1 of the GT test:

1. The beginning and ending of the letter don't match.
2. The main purpose of the letter isn't clear.
3. You didn't cover all of the points.
4. You wrote too much about one point, and neglected the others.
5. You didn't separate your paragraphs clearly.
6. You didn't get the 'tone' right (formal or informal).
7. The letter doesn't 'flow' well because ideas are badly organised.

Avoid these mistakes, and you are on the way to writing a good letter!

IELTS General Writing: planning ideas

It's a good idea to write a quick plan before you start writing your letter. Take this question for example:

Here's my quick plan:

• Informal style - friend's name can be John.
• Quick greeting and reason for writing.
• Neighbour at number 10 has keys. Visit any time after 5pm.
• Instructions about turning the heating off and opening the windows.
• Good local restaurant and a traditional festival in the town during his visit.

IELTS General Writing: the opening sentence

After writing "Dear..." it's a good idea to establish the main purpose of the letter straight away in your opening sentence. Here are some examples:

1. Formal letter (e.g. complaining to a manager)
I am writing to complain about the unacceptable state of the room I was given, and the unhelpful attitude of certain members of staff at your hotel.

2. Semi-formal letter (e.g. inviting a neighbour)
My wife and I would like to invite you to a dinner party at our home next Saturday evening.

3. Informal letter (e.g. thanking a friend)
I hope you're well. I'm just writing to say thanks for letting me stay over at your house while I was in London last week.

IELTS General Writing: use the Internet

There are plenty of websites giving advice to native English speakers about how to write letters. Try a Google search for "how to write letters" or click here to see a website that has some good sample letters.

Note: In the IELTS test, you should not write an address or date at the top of your letter. Apart from that, sample letters on websites like the one above can teach you a lot.

IELTS General Writing: letter to a tutor

Here's my full band 9 answer to last week's question:

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: semi-formal?

IELTS books and teachers sometimes talk about formal, semi-formal, and informal letters. But a student asked me an interesting question recently:

Can we make things easier by forgetting about "semi-formal"?

Actually, I think the answer is yes! When writing to a colleague or neighbour, you can write in a friendly, informal way using the informal features mentioned in this lesson. I can't really think of any reason why we need the "semi-formal" category for IELTS writing purposes. Your letter will be either formal or friendly!

Note:
Feel free to disagree with me if you can find a reason why we need the semi-formal category. Maybe I've missed something.

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.

Note:
You should follow the rules for formal letters, but there are many ways to end an informal letter. The main thing is to avoid mixing formal and informal.

IELTS General Training: informal and formal

For my first two General Training lessons I wrote examples of an informal and a formal letter. Today I want to highlight some of the differences between them.

Informal letter:

• Beginning: Dear + first name
• Friendly greeting: I hope this letter finds you well.
• Contractions: I'm, didn't, couldn't, there's...
• Questions: Do you remember...? Why don't you...?
• Exclamation: ...earlier than I thought it was!
• Linking: Well, Anyway, so, and
• Phrases: had a great time, couldn't have asked for, working flat out, back to normal
• Ending: Hope to see you soon + first name

Formal letter:

• Beginning: Dear Sir or Madam
• No greeting necessary
• No contractions: I am, did not...
• Normally avoid direct questions: "I would like" instead of "Can I have?"
• No exclamation marks (!)
• Linking: However, Consequently, and, also
• Phrases and vocabulary: with regard to, appliance, it was installed, the following day, failed to (meaning "didn't"), procedure, he assured me, report the issue, contacted, under warranty, I am entitled to, replacement, phone me personally
• Ending: I await your prompt response, Yours faithfully + full name

Note:
Both letters also contain 'neutral' vocabulary that can be used in any type of letter. For example, I didn't highlight words like 'hosts', 'deadline' or 'assignment' because they could be used in both formal and informal contexts.

IELTS General Training: formal letter

Today I'm attaching a model answer for a 'formal letter' question.

Click here to download

It would be a good idea to print last week's informal letter and compare it with today's formal letter. In particular, compare the 'tone' and the vocabulary.

IELTS General Training: informal letter

For my first lesson about IELTS General Training task 1, I'm attaching a model answer with an analysis task. The analysis task encourages you to look at the letter through the eyes of an examiner.

Click here to download

A few key things to remember:

• The 'tone' of the letter must be appropriate (i.e. formal or informal).
• The purpose of the letter must be clear.
• You must cover all of the points. Write an equal amount for each.
• The letter must be well-organised, with logically connected ideas.
• Try to use some good vocabulary, and try not to make too many mistakes!