You have stayed at a friend’s house last weekend and forgot your watch there. Write a letter to this friend. In your letter: - thank him/her for the hospitality - describe your watch and say where you could have left it - suggest a way how to get it back
Sample Response
Dear Dylan, Hope you are fine and enjoying the spring. I would like to thank you for a great weekend at your house. It was so exciting that I will always be grateful to you for being such a great host. I hope you can visit us soon with your wife and son and I look forward to spending some quality time together. When I got back home, I noticed that I forgot my watch at your house. My best guess is that I have left it in the bathroom. Before leaving your house I took a shower and presumably that is the time when I left it there. It is a Seiko (Japan) Automatic diver's analogue watch for men that comes with a circular dial. The strap and dial of the watch are black while the lug, buckle and bezel are silver. I am sure you will recognise it as soon as you see it. I hope it would not be a trouble for you to send it to me. I really like this wristwatch and it was a gift from Maria. She would be disappointed if I lose it. Please send it via a courier service to my home address and I will bear the courier cost. Wish to see you all soon. Warm wishes, Peter
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Complete the sentence Original: Hope you are fine Suggested revision: I hope you are well Why it matters: The original opening lacks a subject and sounds less natural.
- 2. Use natural appreciation Original: It was so exciting Suggested revision: We had such a wonderful time Why it matters: This expresses gratitude for the visit more naturally in a friendly letter.
- 3. Use past perfect Original: I noticed that I forgot Suggested revision: I realised that I had left Why it matters: The watch was left before the writer noticed it after returning home.
- 4. Use simple past Original: I have left it in the bathroom Suggested revision: I left it in the bathroom Why it matters: A finished event at the friend's house calls for the simple past here.
- 5. Keep past reference Original: presumably that is the time when Suggested revision: presumably that was when Why it matters: The reference is to a completed moment during the previous visit.
- 6. Simplify watch description Original: Seiko (Japan) Automatic diver's analogue watch for men Suggested revision: Seiko automatic men's diving watch Why it matters: This is a concise, natural ordering of the watch's identifying features.
- 7. Use idiomatic request Original: would not be a trouble Suggested revision: would not be too much trouble Why it matters: The fixed polite expression requires 'too much trouble'.
- 8. Match hypothetical tense Original: lose Suggested revision: lost Why it matters: The hypothetical disappointment is expressed naturally with the past form.
- 9. Add subject Original: Wish to see you all soon Suggested revision: I hope to see you all soon Why it matters: The closing sentence needs an explicit subject.
- 10. Use friendly paragraphs Suggested revision: Separate the thanks, the watch description and likely location, and the courier request into short paragraphs. Why it matters: The current single block hides the otherwise clear sequence of the three required points.
Suggested Rewrites
- Hope you are fine I hope you are well
- It was so exciting We had such a wonderful time
- I noticed that I forgot I realised that I had left
- I have left it in the bathroom I left it in the bathroom
- presumably that is the time when presumably that was when
- Seiko (Japan) Automatic diver's analogue watch for men Seiko automatic men's diving watch
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter communicates warmly and naturally, covers all three requirements in well-developed detail, and makes the watch easy to identify. Its main limitation is a small cluster of tense, article, and phrasing errors, together with limited visible paragraphing. The highest-priority improvement is to separate the thanks, description, and return request into clear paragraphs while polishing the few inaccurate verb forms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed in a friendly, appropriate tone, with a clear description and a practical arrangement for returning the watch.
Keep the same complete coverage while trimming the invitation slightly so the request remains especially focused.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress naturally from thanks to the missing watch, its description, and the return request, with cohesive links used flexibly despite limited paragraphing.
Give each main communicative purpose its own paragraph to make the letter's structure immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
The response demonstrates flexible, precise vocabulary for hospitality, the watch's features, and delivery, with only a few slightly unnatural expressions.
Refine phrases such as 'would not be a trouble' to the more idiomatic 'would not be too much trouble'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is used accurately overall, though a few tense choices, articles, and sentence fragments remain.
Use past-perfect forms consistently for the forgotten watch and complete openings such as 'I hope you are well'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have stayed at a friend’s house last weekend and forgot your watch there. Write a letter to this friend. In your letter:
- thank him/her for the hospitality
- describe your watch and say where you could have left it
- suggest a way how to get it back
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.