UsefulIELTS writing task 1 tips, answers, lessons & videos for success achieving a high score. This page contains all the information and help you need to do well. Learn about the IELTS marking criteria, paragraphing, vocabulary and much more. This page has tips for Academic writing task 1 and GT writing task 1 (see bottom of page).
The following links are for IELTS candidates who are preparing for the General Training Writing Test. Your task will be asked to write a letter. You will not be writing a report as in the Academic Test. Use the links below to help you prepare:
Hi, my name is Elizabeth (Liz). I am your teacher and the author of this website. I am an experienced, qualified English teacher specialising in IELTS test preparation since 2008. Please enjoy the 300 plus pages of free lessons, tips, model answers, topics etc.
To understand the test format of the IELTS Writing Task, it is useful to study samples of successful answers. Pay attention to the structure of the letter; what words and grammatical constructions are used. In this task you can write formal and informal words and expressions.
As you know, I currently work for my uncle's food-packing business, and you will remember from my interview that I have gained valuable experience there. Unfortunately, he has had to go into hospital for an operation, leaving my aunt in charge of both the home and the business. She has asked me, as this is a particularly busy time of year, to stay on and help her with the running of the office.
I have visited Goa to spend my yearly holiday along with my entire family member. The laptop was stolen from my hotel room where we were at sea beach. It is to be mentioned here that the room was locked during that time. After returning I found myself in this unpleasant situation and contacted to the hotel authority immediately and made a serious complaint. Moreover, I have made a General Diary to the nearest police station for the same reason. The copy of the GD is enclosed here.
Therefore, I request you to properly investigate the matter and arrange to pay the claimed amount under insurance by a cheque at an early date so that I can purchase a new one. Your early action in this regard will be highly appreciated.
I am writing to you regarding my suitcase, which was lost on the British Airways flight from London to New York (BA123) on January 2nd. When I realized the loss on my arrival in New York I reported it to the counter staff. The agent promised to give my hotel a call within the next hours, but unfortunately this did not happen. I have contacted British Airways numerous times since by phone without being able to locate the suitcase.
My suitcase is made of dark blue fabric with black handles and a single. It contains clothing, presents for friends I will visit and photographic equipment I was planning to use on my trip. I already had to buy some cloths and toiletry for which I attached the receipt to this letter expecting you to refund my expenses.
I hope this matter can be resolved very soon as I plan to continue my trip to California on the 7th of January and will no longer be able to pick up the suitcase in New York after this date. You can reach me on my mobile 123456789.
As you know, we'll be moving to a new house soon and there are a few things that I won't be able to take with me. The new house is a bit smaller so I have to sell some furniture and I was wondering if you might be interested?
The Writing Task 1 of the IELTS Academic test requires you to write a summary of at least 150 words in response to a particular graph (bar, line or pie graph), table, chart, or process (how something works, how something is done). This task tests your ability to select and report the main features, to describe and compare data, identify significance and trends in factual information, or describe a process. Source: IELTS-exam.net
Perhaps one of the best online resources for candidates taking the IELTS exam is IELTS Liz. There are tips, model answers and video tutorials such as this one IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Describe a Bar Chart.
However, for best results, a candidate who needs to earn a 6 or above for IELTS should invest in at least one book. I'd recommend a book with past examination papers published by Cambridge such as IELTS 12 Academic with answers or IELTS 10 (with answers), which covers not only Academic past examination papers but also General Reading and Writing. You can get a copy without the CD if you need to save money but this means you won't be able to practice the listening paper, you'll only have the questions with the script.
I completed your outstanding CAD training course last week but, unfortunately, I have lost the certificate that was awarded to me. While driving to the airport this morning, I took it out of my bag to look at it again but subsequently forgot to put it back and left it in the taxi as a result.
As I have passed the course, I am now entitled to a substantial pay increase from my employer, but firstly, I must submit proof to my finance department. The CEO of our company is very strict about this and will only accept official documentation, which is why this certificate is so important.
It has just come to my attention that I will not be able to visit head office next week as had initially been arranged. This is because an important client is visiting from abroad, and has requested that I give him a tour of the local tourist attractions during the weekend. It is unfortunate that I must cancel, but I have no other option under the circumstances.
Once the client leaves, I will be available and, therefore, would like to reschedule my visit to head office for the weekend of the 16th, if that is suitable for you. I am eager to resume our plans as soon as possible, so I would like to avoid delaying them any further. Please inform me if this arrangement is acceptable for you, and I will contact the airline to enquire if it is still possible to delay my flight.
My brother-in-law has recently disclosed to me that you intend to build an international airport in the Rockwell area. He discovered this as he is a contractor and was requested to submit a quotation for constructing part of the terminal. Although he was instructed not to share this information, he decided it was important that I know.
This will have a serious negative effect on my profits and the profits of the other farmers in our community. As I am sure you are aware, we are mostly dairy farmers in this area, and there is a long history of cattle producing less milk when they are exposed to the noise of low flying aircraft.
One option that would minimise the adverse effects of your plan is for the runway to run from northwest to southeast. That would mean that the aeroplanes would not be taking off or flying in to land directly over our pastures and, therefore, would reduce the risk of our livestock being affected by your decision.
This venue is suitable as it is located on the same side of the city as our offices which means that we will not be affected by the rush hour traffic when commuting there after work this Friday. Furthermore, there is ample parking for all attending which means that dinner will be served as early as possible as per your instructions.
For the retirement gift, I purchased an elegant watch manufactured using scrap metal from an old fighter jet. As you know, Gary served in the air force, so this gift considers his personal life while also keeping within the tradition of a watch being presented to the retiree.
This issue has resulted in a sense of unease among some team members, who have expressed concerns about the impact on our productivity. After having a serious conversation with my other colleagues, I am confident that most of them feel upset and would prefer not to continue working with John because of his poor communication.
To address these concerns, I would like to propose organizing some team-building activities and workshops that focus on effective communication and collaboration. Because John has all the other necessary skills to do his job effectively, I believe that he will be a very valuable member of the team as soon as we help him to overcome this obstacle.
I am writing this letter to inform you that I will not be able to attend your retirement party because my mother is in hospital; therefore, I have to stay with her. I know that I had already indicated that I would attend your retirement party, but last night, my mother could not breathe, so I had to take her to the hospital, and I need to stay with her until she gets discharged.
I would like to thank you for your support all through my time here and the encouragement you gave to me and all the other members of staff, helping us to do the best work possible on our tasks. Your motivation was critical in building our desire to achieve greater goals, and we hope to have someone like you in the future as a predecessor.
In order to make up for my inability to attend your retirement party, I would like to make it up to you by inviting you for dinner at my house. This would give my family and I an opportunity to show our gratitude to you for all your help and support to me during my time at the company.
Also, you can use the question as a ready-made plan to follow for your writing, you can write a few sentences for each bullet point in the question, and you have a well-structured answer covering the task response requirement.
A letter to inform is used whenever the sender (you) would like to inform the receiver of some information. The information you wish to convey could be related to just about anything. Below is a list of topics or concepts your letter may cover:
The introduction- here you want to set up the conversation of the letter. This can include a greeting, an enquiry about how the receiver is doing and then depending on how well you know the receiver a brief introduction of who you are.
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