You have a friend who lives in a city abroad. You would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in this city. Write to your friend. In your letter: - explain what you would like to do - describe the work or studies you have been doing for the past few years - ask for help contacting an appropriate institution
Sample Response
Dear Rachel,
Hope you are doing fine. I am sorry that I have not written to you for a long. I have been terribly busy over the last few months and I never seem to have a minute to myself! I am writing to notify you that I'd like to study fashion designing at a university in Canada next year and I hope you can give me some advice and information. I think I would prefer a Canadian college, specifically in Toronto, because I have an aunt who lives there and she is willing to host me at her house. I have recently finished school and got an overall 78% mark. I am willing to build my career in the fashion designing industry and I need to complete my bachelor degree for that. However, I really don't know which university to apply to and what are their requirements for the applicants are. I am hoping you can choose a university for me that offers an excellent fashion designing related course at a moderate cost. Could you send me some information about different colleges and the courses they offer related to my interest? I hope you can spare some time and don't mind doing this for me. I hope to hear from you soon. Warm wishes, George
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Complete time expression Original: for a long Suggested revision: for a long time Why it matters: The fixed duration phrase requires the noun 'time'.
- 2. Use friendly wording Original: notify Suggested revision: tell Why it matters: 'Tell you' suits the informal relationship with a friend better than the formal verb 'notify'.
- 3. Use course subject noun Original: designing Suggested revision: design Why it matters: 'Fashion design' is the standard name of the academic subject.
- 4. Use academic result phrase Original: got an overall 78% mark Suggested revision: achieved an overall mark of 78% Why it matters: The revision states the result more naturally and precisely.
- 5. Use possessive degree name Original: bachelor Suggested revision: bachelor's Why it matters: The standard qualification name is 'bachelor's degree'.
- 6. Use concise course phrase Original: fashion designing related course Suggested revision: fashion-design course Why it matters: The compound modifier should use the noun 'design' and be hyphenated before 'course'.
- 7. Use natural relevance phrase Original: related to my interest Suggested revision: relevant to my interests Why it matters: The plural noun and adjective 'relevant' form the natural expression here.
- 8. Use neutral intensifier Original: terribly Suggested revision: extremely Why it matters: The revision keeps the informal emphasis while sounding more natural.
- 9. State location concisely Original: a Canadian college, specifically in Toronto Suggested revision: a college in Toronto Why it matters: The city already identifies Canada in the context, so the shorter phrase is clearer.
- 10. Use friendly accommodation phrase Original: host me at her house Suggested revision: let me stay with her Why it matters: This is a more natural expression in a letter to a friend.
- 11. Use career collocation Original: build my career Suggested revision: pursue a career Why it matters: 'Pursue a career' is the standard collocation for a future professional plan.
- 12. Use industry name Original: fashion designing industry Suggested revision: fashion industry Why it matters: 'Fashion industry' is the established term, without 'designing'.
Suggested Rewrites
- for a long for a long time
- notify tell
- designing design
- got an overall 78% mark achieved an overall mark of 78%
- bachelor bachelor's
- fashion designing related course fashion-design course
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a warm, appropriate tone and clearly explains the intended fashion course, recent academic result, Toronto preference, and the help needed from the friend. Its main limitation is that the past-study background is brief and several course-related expressions are awkward, including a malformed sentence about admission requirements. Prioritise precise programme terminology and a focused request for institution contacts and entry details.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed in a friendly register, though the recent-study history is brief and the request focuses more on selection than direct contact.
Add one relevant detail about recent subjects or qualifications and ask the friend to contact shortlisted colleges about entry requirements and fees.
Coherence and Cohesion
The message progresses naturally from personal reconnection to study plans, academic background, and requested help, but most content appears in one long paragraph.
Use separate paragraphs for the opening, intended course and background, and the specific assistance requested.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for education, career plans, accommodation, and costs, with several unnatural collocations.
Use 'fashion design', 'pursue a career', 'bachelor's degree', 'admission requirements', and 'reasonably priced programme'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of sentence forms is generally clear, although fragments and a malformed indirect-question structure reduce accuracy.
Revise the opening as a complete sentence and write 'I do not know which university to apply to or what its admission requirements are'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have a friend who lives in a city abroad. You would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in this city. Write to your friend. In your letter:
- explain what you would like to do
- describe the work or studies you have been doing for the past few years
- ask for help contacting an appropriate institution
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.