You recently visited a place that had a strong impact on you. Now you want to write to your friend about the place. Write a letter to a friend about the place. In your letter: - explain where the place was and how you got there - describe what you saw - offer to take your friend there
Sample Response
Dear Gretel, Hope you are doing great. I am writing this letter to tell you about a fascinating place that I discovered unexpectedly very near to our college. I would like you to join me next time I go there. While cycling last morning, I took a detour from our regular path and cycled along the banks of the stream that passes behind the main college building. After one kilometre or so, I reached a dead end and when I was about to turn, I became anxious to know where the stream goes beyond this as I could see no land post that end. I was gasped to see that the small looking stream turned into a beautiful waterfall with sun-raises cutting through the water and displaying prism colours. The place looked so serene and calm. The most astonishing part was the beauty of nature and I wished to stay there for long. As I know you have an interest in photography, I do not think you should miss taking pictures of this wonderful place. I will be cycling to this place again on Saturday and I would really want you to come along with me and see the beauty of nature for yourself. See you on Saturday! Best wishes, Gemma
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate the greeting Original: Dear Gretel, Hope Suggested revision: Dear Gretel, Hope Why it matters: The salutation should be separated from the opening sentence.
- 2. Remove extra preposition Original: very near to Suggested revision: very near Why it matters: Near does not take to in this structure.
- 3. Use natural time phrase Original: last Suggested revision: yesterday Why it matters: Yesterday morning is the standard phrase for the morning of the previous day.
- 4. Use singular bank Original: banks Suggested revision: bank Why it matters: A cyclist would follow one side of the stream, so singular bank is clearer.
- 5. Fix the verb form Original: gasped Suggested revision: astonished Why it matters: Gasp is not used as a passive adjective in this structure.
- 6. Hyphenate the modifier Original: small looking Suggested revision: small-looking Why it matters: The compound modifier before stream requires a hyphen.
- 7. Use sunrays Original: sun-raises Suggested revision: sunrays Why it matters: Sunrays is the correct word for rays of sunlight.
- 8. Describe the light Original: cutting through the water Suggested revision: shining through the spray Why it matters: This wording naturally describes sunlight passing through a waterfall's spray.
- 9. Use natural imagery Original: displaying prism colours Suggested revision: creating rainbow colours Why it matters: Creating rainbow colours is the natural expression for this optical effect.
- 10. Avoid repetition Original: serene and calm Suggested revision: serene Why it matters: Serene already means calm, so using both words is repetitive.
- 11. Make the reaction direct Original: The most astonishing part was the beauty of nature Suggested revision: What astonished me most was the natural beauty Why it matters: The revision expresses the same personal reaction more naturally.
- 12. Use comparative longer Original: stay there for long Suggested revision: stay there longer Why it matters: Longer is the natural form for wishing to extend the visit.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Gretel, Hope Dear Gretel, Hope
- very near to very near
- last yesterday
- banks bank
- gasped astonished
- small looking small-looking
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response’s strongest feature is complete, vivid task coverage: it explains the location and bicycle route, describes the waterfall and its impact, and gives a specific invitation for Saturday in a warm, friendly tone. Its main limitation is language precision and organisation, with awkward expressions and the whole letter presented as one block. Prioritise natural descriptive collocations and clear paragraphs for discovery, description and invitation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fully addresses all three bullet points with relevant detail, conveys a strong personal reaction, and makes a clear, friendly offer to return together.
As a refinement, add an approximate meeting time or starting point for the Saturday trip to make the invitation fully actionable.
Coherence and Cohesion
The narrative progresses naturally from the discovery to the scene and invitation, but the single-paragraph format and several long sentences reduce structural clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for the route, the waterfall description and the invitation, and split the longest discovery sentence.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts vivid vocabulary, but phrases such as “became anxious to know,” “was gasped,” “sun-raises” and “prism colours” are inaccurate or unnatural.
Use precise expressions such as “became curious,” “was amazed,” “sun rays” and “rainbow colours.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures communicates the story, though article, preposition, relative-clause and verb-form errors recur and some sentences are overloaded.
Control relative clauses and coordinated subjects, and revise forms such as “near our college,” “a small-looking stream” and “I gasped.”
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently visited a place that had a strong impact on you. Now you want to write to your friend about the place. Write a letter to a friend about the place. In your letter:
- explain where the place was and how you got there
- describe what you saw
- offer to take your friend there
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.