You play sports (e.g. football) for a local team. You recently heard that a player in your team is in a hospital. Write a letter to your teammate. In your letter: - say how you feel about the news - ask about the treatment in the hospital - suggest some ways of cheering him/her up
Sample Response
Dear Ahmed, How are you now? I was shocked to hear that you fell off the stairs all of a sudden and have had an injury to your foot. I am feeling very sorry for your condition as it happened right before an important match on Sunday. I wish you a quick recovery. I heard from our coach that you are under observation by a team of doctors at Jinnah hospital. One of my relatives works there as a medical practitioner and I will request him to visit you sometime. Do not worry at all as the hospital has an exceptional reputation due to its well-trained staff and modern equipment. However, I would like to know your personal opinion about the way the hospital staff are treating you. Is there anything you want us to do for you? I want to share some exciting news with you. You have been selected in the national football team as a lead striker. In addition to this, our university has announced a full-fee scholarship to acknowledge your efforts in sports. I wish you good health and will visit you soon. Warm wishes, Fahad
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the correct expression Original: off Suggested revision: down Why it matters: Fall down the stairs is the natural expression for this accident.
- 2. Use the simple past Original: have had an injury to your foot Suggested revision: injured your foot Why it matters: The accident is a completed past event, so the simple past is appropriate.
- 3. Use natural sympathy wording Original: I am feeling very sorry Suggested revision: I am very sorry Why it matters: The simple state form is more natural for expressing sympathy.
- 4. Capitalise the proper name Original: hospital Suggested revision: Hospital Why it matters: Hospital is part of the institution's proper name and should be capitalised.
- 5. Use an informal request Original: request Suggested revision: ask Why it matters: Ask suits the friendly register of a letter to a teammate.
- 6. Improve the collocation Original: an exceptional reputation due to Suggested revision: an excellent reputation for Why it matters: A hospital has a reputation for particular qualities.
- 7. Use the correct preposition Original: in Suggested revision: for Why it matters: Players are selected for a team.
- 8. Use natural role wording Original: a Suggested revision: the Why it matters: The definite article suits the specified leading role.
- 9. Use precise recognition wording Original: to acknowledge your efforts in sports Suggested revision: in recognition of your sporting achievements Why it matters: The revised phrase expresses the reason for the scholarship more naturally.
- 10. Group the letter's purposes Suggested revision: Use separate paragraphs for sympathy, questions about treatment, and the news and visit intended to cheer Ahmed up. Why it matters: The single block obscures the progression through the three requested points.
Suggested Rewrites
- off down
- have had an injury to your foot injured your foot
- I am feeling very sorry I am very sorry
- hospital Hospital
- request ask
- an exceptional reputation due to an excellent reputation for
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter responds warmly and personally, covers the teammate’s condition and hospital treatment, and offers several thoughtful ways to encourage him, including a visit and positive news. Its main limitation is that a few collocations and grammatical choices sound unnatural despite the consistently clear message. The priority is to preserve the friendly detail while refining phrases about injury, treatment, team selection, and recovery into more idiomatic English.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are developed with relevant personal detail, and the supportive informal tone is well suited to a teammate.
Make the cheering-up suggestions slightly more actionable by proposing a specific visit or team activity during recovery.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas move naturally from concern to treatment, offers of help, encouraging news, and a closing wish, though the single-block presentation reduces clarity.
Divide the letter into short paragraphs corresponding to the news, hospital treatment, and ways to cheer the teammate up.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and appropriate for sympathy, medical care, and sport, but several collocations are not fully natural.
Prefer phrases such as “injured your foot,” “sorry to hear about your condition,” “selected for the national team,” and “make a speedy recovery.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied and generally controlled structures, with a few non-impeding errors in tense, articles, capitalization, and prepositions.
Review tense sequencing around the accident and use accurate forms such as “Jinnah Hospital” and “selected for the national football team.”
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You play sports (e.g. football) for a local team. You recently heard that a player in your team is in a hospital. Write a letter to your teammate. In your letter:
- say how you feel about the news
- ask about the treatment in the hospital
- suggest some ways of cheering him/her up
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.