IELTS General Writing

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (7) Sunday, February 15, 2015

IELTS General Writing: apology answer Here's my full answer to last week's General Writing task:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (6 6) Sunday, February 08,, 2015

IELTS General Writing: W apology a le etter If you arre taking the e General IELTS I test, try this lettter writing ta ask:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (13) 3, 2014 Sunday, November 23

IELTS General Writing: W 'ttime off work' w lette er Here's my m full ans swer for las st week's general g wrriting ques stion: ..... Dear Mrr. Smith,

I am writing to ask for some time off work k next montth. The reas son for this ______ is that my bro other is gettting married. His futurre wife is Australia an, and the wedding will w take ___ ____ in her home city, Melbourne e. As the brother of o the groom m, I cannott miss such a special o occasion. To atten nd the cerem mony and make m the __ _____ trip ffrom the UK K, I would n need at leasst five days s off work. However, I would like to take the e opportunitty to do som me sightsee eing in Austra alia, and so o I am hopin ng that you will allow m me to take a full two w weeks’ ____ ___, from the e 1st to the 15th of May. I have spoken to my m co-worke ers, and it seems s that Peter Jone es would be e best _____ ___ to coverr my projectt commitme ents while I am away. I will _____ __ detailed instructionss for him on my m desk. I hope th hat my requ uest does not n cause yo ou any inco onvenience e. Yours siincerely, Michael Hall ..... s below: Fill the gaps with the words - round - leave (verb) ( - leave (noun) ( - placed - place - reques st Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (2 22) 6, 2014 Sunday, November 16

IELTS General Writing: W 'ttime off work' w topic c If you're doing the general g IEL LTS test, try y this writing task 1 qu uestion from m Cambridg ge book 9, page 117:

This should be a formal letter, so start with "Dear Mr. Smith" (Mr. or Mrs. and any surname). Then write a short paragraph for each of the three bullet points in the task box above. End the letter with "Yours sincerely" and a full name (you don't need to use your own name). It might help if you do a quick plan before you start writing. Just spend a couple of minutes thinking of ideas for each bullet point. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (30) Sunday, November 02, 2014

IELTS General Writing: things to avoid Here are some mistakes that you should avoid in writing task 1 of the GT test: 1. The main purpose of the letter isn't clear. 2. You didn't cover all of the points. 3. You wrote too much about one point, and neglected the others. 4. You didn't separate your paragraphs clearly. 5. You didn't get the 'tone' right (formal or informal). 6. 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! Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (9) Sunday, August 31, 2014

IELTS General Writing: 'local problem' letter Here's my full answer for last week's question:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (14) A 24, 2014 2 Sunday, August

IELTS General Writing: W lo ocal prob blem Here's a recent GT T question that studentts told me a about. Feel free to sha are your ide eas, and I'll show s you my m full answ wer next wee ek.

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (4 46) J 22, 2014 Sunday, June

IELTS General Writing: W 'insurance e' letter

Here's my m full answ wer to last week's w ques stion:

(Click on n the letter to enlarge it) Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (13) y, June 14, 20 014 Saturday

IELTS General Writing: W 'insurance e' letter Here's a general writing task 1 question from f Camb bridge IELTS book 9:

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (28) Saturday, April 12, 2014

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 Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (13) Sunday, April 06, 2014

IELTS General Writing: tone One of the first things that the examiner will notice in your letter is its 'tone'. In other words, is your letter written in an appropriately formal or informal way, depending on the person you are addressing? Task: Compare the tone of the two letters in the document linked below. Make a list of the formal and informal features that you find. Click here to see the document. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (6)

Sunday, February 09,, 2014

IELTS General Writing: W 'lost photo o' letter Here's my m full answ wer to the question in this t lesson::

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (2 22) J 26, 2014 Sunday, January

IELTS General Writing: W another a in nformal le etter Here's a recent que estion from task 1 of th he general writing testt:

Note: Read R this les sson and th his similar example e before you wrrite anything. Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (3 34) y, November 30, 2013 Saturday

IELTS General Writing: W in nformal le etter I wrote the t following letter with h some of my m studentss here in Manchester. It contains some grreat examples of inform mal phrases. Can you guess wha at the full qu uestion wass?

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (17) O 27, 2013 Sunday, October

IELTS General Writing: W re esignatio on letter Here's my m full answ wer for last week's que estion:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (16) O 20, 2013 Sunday, October

IELTS General Writing: W re esignatio on questio on I haven'tt done a les sson about the genera al writing te st for a whiile, so here's a questio on that you could try. I'll I post my full answerr next weekk.

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (17) J 07, 2013 3 Sunday, July

IELTS General Writing: W 'n new busin ness' lette er Here's my m full letterr for last we eek's question:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (12) J 30, 2013 Sunday, June

IELTS General Writing: W 'n new busin ness' lette er I haven'tt done a les sson about the Genera al Writing te est for a wh hile, so here e's an interesting question n that a student sent me. m I'll share e my answer next wee ek.

e examiner is looking for f the follo owing thingss: Remember that the  The T tone mu ust be apprropriate (forrmal or informal)  The T purpose e of the lette er must be clear  You Y must co over all of th he points

 The letter must be well-organised  You need to use some good (and relevant) vocabulary Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (24) Sunday, March 17, 2013

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (4) Sunday, February 10, 2013

IELTS General Writing: environment letter Here's my full letter for last week's question:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (16) Sunday, February 03,, 2013

IELTS General Writing: W environme e ent proble em Here's a recent que estion from General IE ELTS writin g task 1:

My advic ce is to cho oose an eas sy topic like e "litter". Wrrite a quick plan with id deas for ea ach bullet po oint. If you need n some help, have e a look at t his website e. Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (16) 2, 2012 Sunday, December 02

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (4) Sunday, October 28, 2012

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 Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (4) Sunday, October 21, 2012

IELTS General Training: complaint letter Here's my letter for last week's question:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (11) O 14, 2012 Sunday, October

IELTS General Training: T letter of complaint c t Let's do a quick pla an for the question below.

 Problems: P trrains arrive late and arre overcrow wded  Effects: E people arriving g late for wo ork, uncomffortable, un nhappy  Changes: C more m regularr trains, mo ore carriage es to increasse space

Always do d a quick plan! The plan p above only took m me a couple e of minutess, and now I'm ready to o write a goo od essay. I'll post it ne ext week.

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (3 33) S 23, 2 2012 Sunday, September

IELTS General Writing: W 'ttravel pro oblem' lettter Here's my m full samp ple letter fo or last week k's question n:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (7 7) S 16, 1 2012 Sunday, September

IELTS General Writing: W 'ttravel pro oblem' top pic

Before you y start wrriting, quick kly note dow wn some ide eas for eacch 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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (15) Sunday, August 26, 2012

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') Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (5) Sunday, August 05, 2012

IELTS General Writing: a friend's visit Here's my full band 9 letter for the question in this lesson:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (11) J 15, 2012 2 Sunday, July

IELTS General Writing: W planning p ideas It's a goo od idea to write w a quic ck plan befo ore you starrt writing yo our letter. T Take this question n for examp ple:

Here's my m quick pla an:  In nformal stylle - friend's name can be John.  Quick Q greeting and reason for writting.  Neighbour N at a number 10 has keys s. Visit any time after 5 5pm.  In nstructions about turning the heating off and d opening th he windowss.

 Good local restaurant and a traditional festival in the town during his visit. Sunday, July 08, 2012

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (2) Sunday, July 01, 2012

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (11) Sunday, June 24, 2012

IELTS General Writing: letter to a tutor Here's my full band 9 answer to last week's question:

Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (8 8) J 17, 2012 Sunday, June

IELTS General Writing: W le etter to a tutor The follo owing question comes s from Cambridge IELT TS book 5. You hav ve a full-tim me job and d are also doing d a pa art-time eve ening courrse. You no ow find tha at you cann not continu ue the course. Write a letter to the course e tutor. In y your letter  describe d th he situation n  explain e why y you cann not continu ue at this ti time  say s what ac ction you would w like to take

There arre three ma ain things to o consider before b writing your esssay: 1. Tone (formal orr informal) Sometim mes students are friend dly with the eir tutors, bu ut I think it w would be better to writte a formal le etter. Start with w your tu utor’s surna ame (e.g. D Dear Mr. Sm mith,) and end with “Yo ours sincerely y,”. Avoid contractions c s (write “I am m” instead of “I’m”), an nd avoid ussing informa al idioms or o expressio ons. Be polite rather th han friendlyy. 2. Purpo ose The maiin purpose of this lette er is to inforrm your tuto or that you a are leaving g the course e.

Make this clear stra aight away (e.g. I am writing w to in nform you th hat...). Then n cover the e three po oints, writing g a short pa aragraph fo or each. 3. Ideas s I recomm mend spending a few minutes pla anning idea as for each of the taskk points befo ore you starrt writing. Yo ou need to decide wha at the even ning course is about, w what your fu ulltime job is, a reaso on why you are too bus sy with worrk to continu ue with the course, an nd whetherr you want to t leave com mpletely orr perhaps co ontinue at a later date e. Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (15) J 10, 2012 Sunday, June

IELTS General Writing: W semi-form s mal? IELTS books b and te eachers so ometimes ta alk about fo ormal, semi--formal, and d informal letters. But B a student asked me m an intere esting questtion recentlly: Can we make thin ngs easier by forgettiing about ""semi-form mal"? Actually, I think the e answer is yes! When n writing to a colleague e or neighbour, you ca an write in a friendly, informal wa ay using the e informal fe eatures me entioned in tthis lesson.. I can't rea ally think of any reason n why we need n the "se emi-formal"" category ffor IELTS writing purposes. p Your Y letter will w be eithe er formal or friendly! Note: Feel free e to disagre ee with me if you can find f a reaso on why we need the semi-formal category y. Maybe I'v ve missed something. s Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (6 6) J 03, 2012 Sunday, June

IELTS General Writing: W how h to sta art and en nd letters It's impo ortant to sta art and end letters in th he correct w way, depending on wh ho you are writing to o. The table e below sho ould give yo ou all you n need.

Note: You sho ould follow the t rules for formal lettters, but the ere are many ways to end an informal letter. The main thing g is to avoid d mixing forrmal and infformal. Posted by Simon in IE ELTS Genera al Writing | Permalink P |C Comments (10)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (24) Sunday, May 20, 2012

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. Posted by Simon in IELTS General Writing | Permalink | Comments (16) Sunday, May 13, 2012

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!