IELTS General Training, for formal letter Writing task
Learn about the positive features IELTS examiners look for in your General Training Writing Task 1 response. Take a closer look at Task Achievement in the IELTS assessment criteria and learn how to score a higher band score.
If we take a closer look at Task Achievement in the IELTS assessment criteria, you can see the examiner checks to see if your letter contains the following features:
- Purpose of the letter is presented
- Tone of the letter is appropriate
- Bullet points are presented, highlighted and extended
- Format is appropriate – letter format
That’s a quick overview, but let’s take a closer look at what each of these dot points mean, and how you need to write your letter in IELTS Writing Task 1.
State the purpose
Start your letter by clearly stating why you are writing, the purpose. The reason for writing your letter needs to be clearly presented in the opening paragraph. Make sure the purpose of the letter is in direct response to the situation outlined in the question.
Example opening paragraphs with a clear purpose presented:
| Formal letter | Informal letter |
|---|---|
| Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a product I have purchased recently and to request a full refund. | Dear John, I was so pleased to hear that you are planning on visiting my country, so I’m writing to give you some travel tips and advice before you book your trip. |