A friend has asked you to babysit on Saturday and wants to know how much you charge per hour. You already have a commitment this weekend, but you are free the following weekend. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - explain why you cannot help this weekend - say that you could help the following weekend - explain what your fee is
Sample Response
Dear Margarita, Thank you for asking me to babysit for you. I must say that I relish looking after Della and would be happy to help you out. She is such a sweet kid. However, this weekend my parents will be with me and I cannot spare time. I am hoping you would understand the situation and allow me to look after Della the next week - if needed. My parents are coming to visit me next Friday and I am going to take them to some interesting places in the town. They scarcely visit me so I would like to spend as much time as possible with them. Also, my father's birthday is on next Monday, and I want to celebrate this special occasion with them. I am really sorry that I am not able to help this time, but I am free next weekend and I would be glad to babysit for you then if you should choose to go out for the day. My charge is twenty dollars per hour until midnight and thirty dollars per hour after that. You would need to give me any special instructions you might have and, of course, leave a phone number in case of emergency. Warm regards, Anna Lechner
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural friendly tone Original: relish Suggested revision: enjoy Why it matters: Enjoy is more natural than relish in this informal letter.
- 2. State unavailability clearly Original: cannot spare time Suggested revision: will not be available Why it matters: The replacement communicates the scheduling conflict directly and naturally.
- 3. Fix hope construction Original: I am hoping you would understand Suggested revision: I hope you understand Why it matters: The simple present forms a natural request for understanding in this context.
- 4. Name following weekend Original: look after Della the next week - if needed Suggested revision: look after Della the following weekend if needed Why it matters: The task offers the following weekend, while next week is less precise and the spaced hyphen is unnecessary.
- 5. Use natural frequency adverb Original: scarcely Suggested revision: rarely Why it matters: Rarely is the natural word for infrequent family visits.
- 6. Remove time preposition Original: birthday is on next Monday Suggested revision: birthday is next Monday Why it matters: English does not use on before next Monday.
- 7. Specify unavailable weekend Original: not able to help this time Suggested revision: unable to help this weekend Why it matters: This weekend links the apology directly to the requested Saturday.
- 8. Simplify condition Original: if you should choose Suggested revision: if you choose Why it matters: The simple present is the natural form in this real future condition.
- 9. Add emergency article Original: in case of emergency Suggested revision: in case of an emergency Why it matters: Emergency is a singular countable noun and requires an article here.
- 10. Remove unnecessary opener Original: I must say that Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: The phrase delays the main point without adding a useful connection.
- 11. Use concise wording Original: help you out Suggested revision: help Why it matters: Help expresses the same friendly meaning more directly.
- 12. Use polished friendly wording Original: sweet kid Suggested revision: lovely child Why it matters: Lovely child remains warm while sounding slightly more polished.
Suggested Rewrites
- relish enjoy
- cannot spare time will not be available
- I am hoping you would understand I hope you understand
- look after Della the next week - if needed look after Della the following weekend if needed
- scarcely rarely
- birthday is on next Monday birthday is next Monday
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter addresses all three points clearly, with a warm personal tone, a developed explanation of the family commitment, firm availability for the following weekend and precise hourly fees. Its main weakness is slight overdevelopment and a few unnatural forms, including "on next Monday" and "allow me to look after Della." Use clearer paragraphing by purpose and edit those local phrases while keeping the helpful, friendly voice.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All bullet points are fully covered with relevant detail, and the warm tone consistently suits a letter to a friend.
Keep the explanation of the current commitment slightly more concise so the offer for next weekend and fee remain most prominent.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence from refusal to explanation, alternative availability and fees is logical, though the single-block presentation obscures that structure.
Create short paragraphs for the apology and reason, the following-weekend offer, and the charging arrangements.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses flexible, friendly vocabulary, but choices such as "relish" and "allow me to look after" sound stilted in this context.
Prefer natural phrases such as "I really enjoy looking after Della" and "I would be happy to babysit next weekend."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence forms are varied and mostly well controlled, with occasional errors in prepositions and conditional phrasing.
Correct forms such as "next Monday" without "on" and use "I hope you understand" for a direct present request.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A friend has asked you to babysit on Saturday and wants to know how much you charge per hour. You already have a commitment this weekend, but you are free the following weekend. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- explain why you cannot help this weekend
- say that you could help the following weekend
- explain what your fee is
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.