Writing task 1 general topics

Formal/informal

Before you start writing, you should decide whether the letter is more formal or less formal. If you are writing to someone you don’t know, it will be more formal; if you are writing, to a friend, it will be more informal.

Choosing your vocabulary

Before you start writing, you decide what type of vocabulary you will need. This will include:

• topic vocabulary
• letter writing phrases

You will find a selection of good letter writing phrases to download on my letter vocabulary page.

Informal IELTS letter questions
Invitations

You won a competition and received a vacation for two as a prize. Write a letter to ask them to go on holiday with you. In the letter, you should:

• tell him/her about the competition you won,
• state what kind of vacation it is,
• explain why you would like him/her to go on holiday with you

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write your own address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear __________

A friend who lives in another country has invited to you come and stay with him/her on your next holiday. You are too busy to accept the invitation

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

• Thank him/her for the invitation
• Explain why you cannot come
• Give him/her your other news

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write your own address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear __________

Making the letter more informal

Here are some tips on how to make your letters more informal. The general idea is that your more informal writing should look a little like speech:

Short forms

In more formal academic writing, you should never use short forms, but you can (and perhaps should) in this type of letter. So

I have = I’ve

I am = I’m

I will = I’ll

It is/It has = It’s

Pronouns – being personal

In more formal/academic writing, we normally avoid using first and second person pronouns and tend to use more impersonal language. In more informal letters, it is generally best to be as personal as possible:

It seems like a sensible idea = I think it’s a good idea

One thing to do would be = You should try

Sentence length and direct questions

In more formal/academic writing, you should avoid very short sentences. In this type of writing, you can use some very short sentences – often this works best with direct questions. Be a little careful with this, however. You also need to include longer and more complex sentences as well to show that you variety of grammar. Here are some possibilities for you to consider:

How about it?

What do you think?