You and a friend recently went on a holiday together. There is a problem with the photos you have taken during the holiday. Write a letter to your friend to ask for a particular shot. In your letter: - tell him/her about the problem with your photos - say which photo you would like him/her to send you - explain why you need this photo.
Sample Response
Dear Kinnari,
Hey buddy, how are you doing? I am still so exhausted from the trip which we took last week. It was such an awesome one; we had splendid moments by capturing many photos. However, I have lost some of the photographs due to my mobile memory shortage, which led to losing some latest clicks.
Thank God you, too, have captured those great snaps on your phone! It would be helpful if you resend the photos from the art & gallery museum which we visited near the India Gate, Delhi, through emails. Please avoid sending on WhatsApp as it changes the pixels of the image, which makes it a bit blurry. In order to store its original pixel, the best way would be through mailing me on my personal ID, which you’re quite aware of.
I want those photos because I am very fond of modern art, and there was a beautiful, comprehensive collection of Italian paintings to see the art with a different perspective and varied expressions. Hence I want to take for keeping memories for the future.
Apart from this, I want to frame some images as soon as possible because we recently built a new house, and I want to hang out the cutout of the paintings in my bedroom and some in the drawing room. I hope you can understand my curiosity as well.
I am looking forward to hearing from your side.
Yours Truly,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix clause connection Original: splendid moments by capturing Suggested revision: splendid moments and took Why it matters: The coordinated verb correctly states that the friends enjoyed moments and took photos.
- 2. Use natural wording Original: mobile memory shortage Suggested revision: phone's lack of storage space Why it matters: This phrase describes insufficient phone storage accurately and naturally.
- 3. Clarify the result Original: which led to losing some latest clicks Suggested revision: causing me to lose some recent photos Why it matters: The revision supplies the affected person and replaces the unnatural noun 'clicks'.
- 4. Make polite request Original: if you resend Suggested revision: if you could resend Why it matters: 'Could' forms an appropriate polite request to a friend.
- 5. Name place naturally Original: art & gallery museum Suggested revision: art gallery Why it matters: 'Art gallery' is the standard term, while the original phrase combines incompatible place names.
- 6. Fix place phrasing Original: near the India Gate, Delhi Suggested revision: near India Gate in Delhi Why it matters: The proper name takes no article here, and 'in' clearly links the landmark to the city.
- 7. Use correct medium Original: through emails Suggested revision: by email Why it matters: 'By email' is the standard expression for this method of sending files.
- 8. Add object pronoun Original: sending on WhatsApp Suggested revision: sending them on WhatsApp Why it matters: The verb needs 'them' to identify the photos that should not be sent this way.
- 9. Use precise wording Original: changes the pixels Suggested revision: reduces the resolution Why it matters: This expression clearly conveys that the image quality becomes lower.
- 10. Fix pronoun agreement Original: which makes it a bit blurry Suggested revision: which makes them a little blurry Why it matters: The plural pronoun must refer back to the photos.
- 11. Clarify image quality Original: In order to store its original pixel Suggested revision: To preserve their original quality Why it matters: The revision uses a natural verb and agrees with the plural photos.
- 12. Fix email phrasing Original: through mailing me on my personal ID Suggested revision: to email them to my personal address Why it matters: The revised construction correctly states the requested action and destination.
Suggested Rewrites
- splendid moments by capturing splendid moments and took
- mobile memory shortage phone's lack of storage space
- which led to losing some latest clicks causing me to lose some recent photos
- if you resend if you could resend
- art & gallery museum art gallery
- near the India Gate, Delhi near India Gate in Delhi
Why this response received Band 6.0
The friendly tone is suitable and the response explains the lost photos, the museum images wanted, and two reasons for needing them. However, it does not identify one particular shot clearly and frequent awkward collocations reduce precision; the highest-priority improvement is to name the exact photograph requested, then express the request and reasons in concise, natural language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed in a suitably informal tone, but the requested particular shot remains insufficiently specific.
Identify one exact image, such as a photograph of a named Italian painting, and focus the reasons on that shot.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter follows a generally logical sequence, though some ideas are overextended and loosely connected.
Combine the reasons into one focused paragraph and remove peripheral details that do not advance the request.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts a reasonably broad vocabulary, but frequent unnatural collocations and word choices weaken precision.
Use natural expressions such as low phone storage, send them by email, preserve the original resolution, and frame the photographs.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are attempted and meaning remains clear, but grammatical errors and awkward clause construction recur.
Revise long sentences for complete clause structure and check pronouns, prepositions, and singular-plural agreement.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You and a friend recently went on a holiday together. There is a problem with the photos you have taken during the holiday. Write a letter to your friend to ask for a particular shot. In your letter:
- tell him/her about the problem with your photos
- say which photo you would like him/her to send you
- explain why you need this photo.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.