Anyone taking the IELTS General Training test is required to write a letter for Writing Task 1. To show you what a strong letter looks like, I asked our Academic team to produce some Task 1 sample letters.
All of these Task 1 sample letters would easily score a Band 7, 8 or 9 in the IELTS Task 1 exam.
What do you think of them? Did you find anything about them surprising?
Join in the discussion in the comments below!
Informal Letters
Task 1 Sample #1:
You are going on holiday next week and you need to ask your friend to watch your dog while you are away.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,
• state how long you will be away
• tell them what needs to be done
• state how you will compensate them
Click here to download and read the sample answer.
Task 1 Sample #2:
Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,
- tell them what they need to bring
- tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting
- warn them about some things that might be challenging
Click here to download and read the sample answer.
Read our guide to writing informal letters here: Informal Letters.
Formal Letters
Task 1 Sample #3:
You have recently learned about an opening for an internship at a local company that you are interested in.
Write a letter to the director of the company. In your letter,
- introduce yourself
- explain how you learned about the internship
- explain why you would be suitable for the internship
Click here to download and read the sample answer.
Task 1 Sample #4:
You live in an apartment building but are having trouble with the behavior of your neighbors. Write a letter to inform the building manager of the situation. In your letter,
- explain who you are
- describe the situation concerning your neighbors’ behavior
- suggest how the situation could be dealt with
Click here to download and read the sample answer.
Read our Task 1 formal letters guide here: Formal Letters.
How to Best Use These Task 1 Sample Letters
- Start off by reading the questions – NOT the answers.
- Attempt to answer the question under exam conditions.
- Compare your letter with the sample answer.
- Pay attention to the ways the writer used structure, organisation, vocabulary, and grammar.
- Go back and improve your original answer by using some of the elements you noticed in the Writing Task 1 sample letter.
Formal vs. Informal Letters
Many students struggle to know when to write a formal or informal letter.
Our rule is simple: if the instructions tell you to write to ‘a friend’, you should write an informal letter.
In all other situations, you will write a formal letter.
Keep it simple!
Further Reading
- The IELTS Advantage Guide to Writing Task 1: read it here.
- Our IELTS Preparation Guide: read it here.
- Top 6 Mistakes General Training Students Make: read it here.
Next Steps
For detailed help with improving your letter-writing skills, you should sign up to our IELTS Fundamentals Course. It’s completely free of charge and will give you exclusive access to:
- Never-seen-before IELTS videos;
- Practice questions for each section of the test;
- Answer sheets to help you identify your mistakes.
Learn more about it and sign up here: IELTS Fundamentals.
As always, please reach out via email if you need anything: chris@ieltsadvantage.com
Our team of IELTS experts are always happy to help.
