IELTS General Training Letter: Formal and Informal Models

IELTS letter writing in the General Training test means Writing Task 1, a letter of at least 150 words written in about 20 minutes in response to a situation, with three bullet points listing what the letter must include. The recipient decides the style, which may be personal, semi-formal or formal, and the letter has to read as a whole piece of connected text without notes or bullet points of its own.

Examiners mark the letter on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy, within a Writing paper of 60 minutes in which Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1. Practising against those four criteria, starting with the recipient and the three bullet points, tends to give the most useful feedback on each draft that you write.

What does General Training Writing Task 1 ask you to do?

Task 1 asks you to write a letter of at least 150 words in about 20 minutes, responding to a situation described on the question paper. The task tells you what information to include in the form of three bullet points, and your own answer must not use bullet points or notes. A shorter letter may not show enough language for the examiner to assess, and a longer Task 1 leaves less time for Task 2.

You do not need to write any addresses at the top of the letter. The letter does need an opening greeting and a clear ending with a sign-off, and it should be a whole piece of connected text, which means full sentences grouped into paragraphs. Task 1 and Task 2 share one 60-minute paper, so keeping Task 1 close to 20 minutes leaves the remainder for the essay.

How do you judge whether a letter is formal, semi-formal or informal?

The recipient and your relationship with them decide the tone, because the task expects a style that suits your audience and helps you achieve your purpose. A letter to a company, an official or a stranger is formal, a letter to a manager, landlord or neighbour you know slightly is usually semi-formal, and a letter to a friend or relative is informal.

Three clues in the task usually settle the choice: who the recipient is, how well you know them, and what you want from them. Formal letters tend to use full verb forms and polite phrases such as 'could', 'would', 'purchase' and 'at your earliest convenience'. Informal letters tend to use contractions and everyday words such as 'can', 'buy' and 'write back'. Whichever tone you choose, it has to stay consistent from the greeting to the sign-off.

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How should a letter open and close in each tone?

A letter to someone you do not know opens with Dear Sir or Madam, a letter to a friend opens with Dear and their first name, and a semi-formal letter to a named person often uses Dear Mr or Ms and the surname. The first sentence then states the purpose, for example 'I am writing to complain about...' in a formal letter or 'Thanks so much for...' in an informal one.

The sign-off follows the same tone. Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully suits a formal letter, with Yours faithfully usually following Dear Sir or Madam and Yours sincerely following a name. Best wishes or Love suits an informal letter, and semi-formal letters often sit between the two with Kind regards or Best wishes. A closing sentence just before the sign-off, such as 'Looking forward to hearing from you', tells the reader what happens next.

Model answer: Complaint to a company about a washing machine

Task: You bought a washing machine online from a company called Harlow Home Appliances. It arrived late and does not work properly. Write a letter to the customer services manager. In your letter, describe what happened when the machine was delivered, explain what is wrong with it, and say what you would like the company to do. Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

"

Dear Sir or Madam,

"

I am writing to complain about a washing machine that I ordered from your website three weeks ago, under order reference HH4471. The delivery and the condition of the machine have both been unsatisfactory.

"

The machine was promised for Tuesday morning, but the delivery team arrived on Friday afternoon, after I had taken a day off work to wait at home. Nobody contacted me to explain the delay, and the driver could not tell me why it had happened.

"

Since then, I have found a more serious fault. The machine stops in the middle of every cycle and displays an error code, leaving my clothes soaked and the floor wet. I have tried restarting it and checking the hoses without any improvement.

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I would therefore like you to arrange for the machine to be collected and replaced with a working model within the next ten days. If that is not possible, I would expect a full refund. I would also appreciate a written reply confirming which option you will offer.

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I look forward to hearing from you.

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Yours faithfully,
A. Weston

What this model answer does:

• Task Achievement: the purpose is stated in the first sentence, and each of the three bullet points has its own paragraph with a reason or detail.
• Task Achievement: the tone stays formal throughout, with full verb forms, polite conditional phrasing and a Dear Sir or Madam greeting matched to a Yours faithfully sign-off.
• Coherence and Cohesion: the paragraphs follow the order of the bullet points, and linking words such as 'therefore' and 'since then' mark each stage.
• Lexical Resource: the vocabulary of complaint, such as 'unsatisfactory', 'fault', 'collected' and 'refund', suits the situation.

How do you cover all three bullet points?

Give each bullet point its own developed idea, because Task Achievement assesses whether the letter fully addresses the three requirements and extends them appropriately and relevantly. A bullet point that is only mentioned in one short clause tends to leave the requirement thinly covered, whilst a reason, a detail or an example shows the examiner that the function has been carried out.

A quick plan before writing makes this routine. Turn each bullet into a question, such as what happened, what is wrong or what you want, and jot one answer and one supporting detail for each. A bullet that asks for suggestions, for example, usually needs more than one. When the letter is finished, return to the task wording and tick each bullet against a specific sentence in your answer.

How should a letter be paragraphed?

A clear letter usually has a short opening paragraph stating the purpose, one paragraph for each bullet point or pair of related bullets, and a brief closing paragraph. Each paragraph then holds a single topic, which makes the order of ideas easy for the reader to follow.

Paragraphing is assessed under Coherence and Cohesion, which looks at appropriate paragraphing for topic organisation, the logical sequencing of ideas within and across paragraphs, and discourse markers that mark the stages of the response, such as 'First of all'. Pronouns and articles that refer back to earlier points also help the reader. Scripts may be penalised if they use bullet points in any part of the response or are written in note form, so every point belongs inside full sentences.

Model answer: Letter to a friend after a visit

Task: A friend from another country stayed with you for a week last month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, thank your friend for the visit and say what you enjoyed most, mention something your friend left behind, and suggest a time when you could visit them. Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

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Dear Mia,

"

Thanks so much for staying with me last month. The flat has felt very quiet since you left, and I keep thinking about our long evenings talking on the balcony.

"

My favourite part was the day we took the train to the coast. I loved the walk along the cliffs, and the fish and chips on the harbour wall were the best I have had for years. I also enjoyed seeing how much you liked my neighbourhood market, even though you bought far too many cheeses.

"

By the way, you left your blue scarf and a charger on the bedroom shelf. I've put them in a padded envelope and I'll post them tomorrow, so keep an eye out for them next week.

"

Now it is my turn to visit you. I have some holiday to use in October, so would the second weekend suit you? I would love to see your new house and finally meet your brother. Let me know what works, and I'll book the flights.

"

Take care, and say hello to everyone for me.

"

Love,
Jo

What this model answer does:

• Task Achievement: the thanks, the enjoyed activity, the left-behind items and the suggested visit are each developed with a specific detail.
• Task Achievement: the tone is consistently informal, with a first-name greeting, contractions, everyday vocabulary and a Love sign-off.
• Coherence and Cohesion: the letter moves through the bullet points in order, and phrases such as 'By the way' and 'Now it is my turn' signal each shift.
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy: the letter mixes present perfect, future forms, a question and a conditional-style suggestion, all used accurately.

How is Task Achievement judged for letters?

Task Achievement assesses how fully, appropriately, accurately and relevantly the letter fulfils the requirements set out in the task, using a minimum of 150 words. For General Training Task 1, the criterion assesses the ability to do five things.

The other three criteria apply to the same letter: Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Scripts may also be penalised if they are partly or wholly plagiarised, so phrases you have learned should serve the specific situation in front of you.

• Clearly explain the purpose of the letter.
• Fully address the three bullet-pointed requirements.
• Extend these three functions appropriately and relevantly.
• Use an appropriate format for the letter.
• Consistently use a tone appropriate to the task.

How should you practise letter writing?

Practise in a fixed order that follows the criteria: tone first, content second, organisation third and language last. Begin with several situations taken from the official IELTS preparation resources and, for each one, decide only the recipient, the tone, the greeting and the sign-off. That short exercise builds the habit of reading the audience before writing a word.

Next, write complete letters in about 20 minutes and mark each one against the five Task Achievement abilities, ticking every bullet and checking the tone in the greeting, the middle and the sign-off. Then check the paragraphing, the linking words and the word count, which must reach at least 150. Rewriting one weak paragraph in the opposite tone, formal into informal or the reverse, gives practice in both registers.

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