IELTS General writing task 1

The IELTS general writing task 1 is a letter writing task, where you will be given a situation and asked to draft a letter in 150 words. You can spend 20 minutes drafting this letter. This letter-writing task is only for the candidates who are appearing for the IELTS general test. Your letter writing will be assessed and scored on a band scale of 0-9. 

IELTS General writing task 1 is used to assess your functional writing skill. Here you will be given a situation and asked to describe it in a formal or informal way. You must make sure to follow the letter structure and use appropriate words with correct tenses to score a band 7 and above in your IELTS writing test. In this article, let us discuss the different types of letters, their purposes, marking criteria, etc.

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IELTS general writing task 1 test information

• The IELTS general writing task 1 is the first part of the writing session. Task 1 has to be completed in 20 minutes. 
• In general task 1, you will be writing a letter in response to the given situation in a minimum of 150 words. The points to be covered in the letter will also be given in bullet points in the question. 
• This section carries 33% of the overall writing task marks. Here you will be assessed for your functional writing skills in response to a situation in your daily life. 
• The scoring for the general writing task 1 depends on the 4 marking criteria, task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resources, grammar accuracy, and range. 
• There are three types of letter writing in task 1, namely formal letter, informal letter, and semi-formal letter. 
• This General writing task 1 letter writing is only for the General IELTS test. The IELTS academic writing task 1 is different. 

General writing task 1 Letter types

In General writing task 1, there are 3 types of letters. Having a clear understanding of the letter types will guide you in scoring a band 8 on your first attempt. The different types of letters are as follows, 

1. Formal Letter: if you are asked to write a letter to someone whom you do not know or don't know well, then it will be an IELTS general writing task 1 formal letter. Here you will be using a formal tone in the letter to describe the situation. This letter may be addressed to any higher officials or high-profile people. 

Example: You have eaten at a restaurant and it was such a terrible experience that you have decided to inform the manager by letter of what happened and that you want your money back. Things to include:
– Facts. You need to be concise but explain what happened.
– Polite. No one responds to insults.
– Outline what you wish from this. What do you want to happen?
– Firmness. You want to be taken seriously.

2. In-formal letter: If you are asked to write a letter to your close friend or a family member it will be considered an IELTS general writing task 1 informal letter. You can use an informal or friendly tone to describe your situation to your close ones. The informal letters will mostly have the word “friend” in their questions. 

Example: A friend of yours invited you to a home party he/she arranged. However, you have just missed this party. Now you want to apologize for not attending it.
Write a letter to your friend to apologize. In your letter,

• apologize to your friend
• explain why you did not attend the party
• say what you plan to do to make up for missing the party

Write at least 150 words.

3. Semi-formal letters: In the IELTS general writing task 1 semi-formal letters are written to persons with whom you have a professional relationship and who you know by their name. This letter can be used to write a complaint or request, which must be exhibited through appropriate word usage. It can be written to teachers, principals, colleagues, etc. 

Example: You are working for a company. You need to take some time off  and want to ask your manager about his
 
Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• Explain why you want to take time off
• Give details of the amount of time you need
• Suggest how your work could be covered while you are away.

It is important to know the difference between the letters and the way to write the letters. You can make use of the IELTS general writing task 1 Vocabulary to write a perfect letter according to the situation.  

General writing task 1 letter purpose

Generally, for letter writing, you will be given a situation and asked to write a letter in response to the particular situation. The most commonly used IELTS general writing task 1 letter purposes are mentioned below for your reference. They are,

• Request letter
• Complaint letter
• Apology letter
• Explanation letter
• Application or resignation letter
• Invitation
• Letter to make an arrangement
• Enquiry letter
• Recommendation letter
• Thanking letter

Task 1 letter structure

While writing a letter, always remember to follow the correct structure to score more on the IELTS writing test. The task 1 letter must include the following structure. 

• A clear greeting or salutation part 
• The main body that contains the problem, solution, and the cause
• Closing part 

For scoring a higher band score, you must remember to include the following parts in your letter. 

• A clear purpose
• Appropriate tone
• Present and highlight the important points 
• Correct format. 

For drafting the best letters worth of band 7, you can follow the IELTS general writing task 1 tips. 

IELTS General writing task 1 Marking criteria

The IELTS general writing task 1 is scored based on 4 band descriptors. We use certified and trained examiners to evaluate your letter-writing skills. This test will assess your writing skill in response to any given situation. The 4 marking criteria are explained below for your inference. 

1. Task Achievement: This criterion measures your ability to cover all the parts of the given question. The clear representation of your response is assessed here. 
2. Lexical resources: The use of a wide range of vocabulary in your response in the appropriate places are assessed under this criterion. Vocabulary must be carefully used in such a way it is not overused or doesn't complicate the sentence. 
3. Coherence and cohesion: Your paraphrasing skill and the way to create your response in a coherent manner are tested here. You need to write your letter in a way the main theme of the given situation is not disrupted. 
4. Grammar range and accuracy: Your sentence structure with a range of flexibility and tenses are seen in this criterion. You can use simple sentence structure with good vocabulary usage might fetch you a band 7. 

Check out IELTS writing band descriptors to understand how the writing tasks are scored.

IELTS general writing task 1 sample letters

IELTS Formal letter sample

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You are due to start a new job next week but you will not be able to because you have some problems.

Write a letter to your new employer. In your letter

• explain your situation
• describe your problems
• tell him/her when you think you can start.

You should write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write your own address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ...............,

Sample answer

Dear Sir, or Madam, 

Thank you so much for your offer for the post of Senior designer at ABC Designs. Am really privileged by the opportunity. As per our discussion, I was supposed to join the company by next week. However, am writing this mail to inform you that I will not be joining the pre-agreed date. I exhibit my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by this. 

I would like to inform you about the situation that has led to the delay in my joining date. Unfortunately, last week while I was traveling back to my home I got into a minor accident and got my hands fractured. Doctors have insisted on taking a three-week rest until my hands are set. Thus It is practically difficult for me to attend the office at the appropriate time. 

I expect you can understand my dire situation. If it is possible, I will try to join the company as soon as possible by the following week. I hope you can understand my situation and provide me a week's time of postponement for my joining date. This would help me to put my 100% concentration on the work. 

Looking forward from you, 

With due respect, 
……. 

IELTS Informal letter sample

Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just sent you some photos of your holiday.

Write a letter to your friends. In your letter:

• thank them for the photos and for the holiday
• explain why you didn’t write earlier
• invite them to come and stay with you

Write at least 150 words.

Sample answer

Dear Jay & Smrithi, 

Hope you are doing good. It was a great time we spent together on the islands last month. Thank you for joining me on the trip in spite of your busy schedule and making it a memorable one. And the images you shared with me were perfect and took me back to our vacation days. 

Since I took a leave from the office for our vacation, I was held up in a hectic work schedule once I returned. Thus it was difficult for me to find time to write you back regarding our trip. However, when I saw the images, I was not able to control myself from writing to you as the memories brought back were so refreshing. 

Next month, I am planning to host a party for my parent's wedding day. Thus I invite you to join the party and wish my parents good luck on their special day. 

Hoping to meet you soon. 

Best, 
Seema. 

IELTS semi-formal letter sample 

You are going to take a short holiday in Singapore and you want to rent a holiday apartment while you are there. Write to the tourist information office. In your letter:

• explain what you need
• say when you plan to be there
• ask for information about prices
• Begin your letter as follows: Dear Mr/Ms __________

You should write at least 150 words. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Sample answer

Dear Mr/Ms, 

Am writing this mail to inform you that, I wish to rent a holiday apartment in the city center. I have heard that holiday apartments are more convenient than hotels in many ways. I will be visiting the city with my parents and thus expect a two-bedroom apartment for my stay. 

As we are traveling to the country for a vacation, we would like to have an apartment that is located in the city range where we will be able to move in and out easily. The availability of bus and cab facility is to be taken care of. 

I will be landing in Singapore on September 1, 2022, and will directly come to the apartment. We will stay in the country till 8, September 2022. Thus we need an apartment that will be available during our stay. 

You can share information regarding the available apartments and their price to this mail. I would like to know if you could arrange for our cab facility while we are staying in the apartment. 

Looking forward to your reply. 

With regards, 
Ranjith. 

Summary

We hope, this article on IELTS general writing task 1 will provide you with enough details regarding the exam format, its types, marking criteria, etc. This information is aiding you in your IELTS writing preparation. 

FAQ

1. How can I improve my IELTS general writing task 1?
    Your IELTS general writing task 1 score can be increased by regular practice and familiarization with the question types. You must know about the vocabulary and have good grammar knowledge to improve your writing skills. 

2. How do you start a letter in task 1?
Task 1 letter will start with the salutation part followed by the introduction part where you will be mentioning the reason for writing the letter. In some questions, the salutation part will be given in the question part even. 

3. Is IELTS general easier than academic writing?
The IELTS general test is easier than academic writing because the questions in the general test will be regarding your everyday life. This test will be testing your language skills required to manage your social life, work life, and personal life. 

4. Can I write more than 150 words in general task 1?
Yes, you can write more than 150 words in the general writing task 1. But always remember to maintain the time and complete the letter within 20 minutes. As you are not marked based on the number of words, pay more attention to the marking criteria. 

5. What are the types of letters in IELTS general writing task 1?
There are 3 types of letters in IELTS general writing task 1, they are, 

• Formal letter
• Informal letter
• Semi-formal letter

6. How long is the general writing test?
The general writing test will be conducted for 60 minutes. Here task 1 will be conducted for 20 minutes followed by task 2 for 40 minutes.