Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just sent you some photos of your holiday. Write a letter to your friends. In your letter: - thank them for the photos and for the holiday - explain why you didn't - write earlier - invite them to come and stay with you
Sample Response
Dear David, James & Ethan, Hope you all are doing great. I cannot express how much I enjoyed my time with you guys, and how terribly I miss those days that I spent with you. I received your letter yesterday and was quite surprised to find some of the best pictures we took during our holiday in Singapore. I guess this is the best opportunity to thank you for a great holiday and the fabulous pictures that would remind me of a grand tour to Singapore. As soon as I got back to Australia, I got busy with my thesis paper that I am supposed to submit before the end of the current semester. This is my last semester at the university and I will be free for a while after that and I would love to have you at my place. Why don't you all come and visit me at the end of this December? I am sure we will have a magnificent time together. Stay fine and keep in touch. Warm wishes, Alex
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Spell out and Original: & Suggested revision: and Why it matters: Writing 'and' is clearer than an ampersand in a letter salutation.
- 2. Use natural word order Original: you all are doing great Suggested revision: you are all doing well Why it matters: This places 'all' naturally and uses the adverb 'well' after 'doing'.
- 3. Use warmer concise phrasing Original: those days that I spent with you Suggested revision: the time we spent together Why it matters: This expresses the shared holiday memories naturally and without unnecessary words.
- 4. Use occasion phrase Original: best Suggested revision: perfect Why it matters: 'Perfect opportunity' is the natural collocation for using this moment to give thanks.
- 5. Use future reference Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: The photographs will continue to serve as reminders, so the future form is appropriate.
- 6. Use natural trip phrase Original: grand tour to Singapore Suggested revision: wonderful trip to Singapore Why it matters: 'Wonderful trip' matches the friendly holiday context more naturally than 'grand tour'.
- 7. Remove unnecessary this Original: at the end of this December Suggested revision: at the end of December Why it matters: The month name is specific enough without 'this' in this time expression.
- 8. Use natural farewell Original: Stay fine Suggested revision: Take care Why it matters: 'Take care' is the conventional warm farewell between friends.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: As soon as I got back to Australia, I got busy with my thesis paper that I am supposed to submit before the end of the current semester. Suggested revision: Since returning to Australia, I have been busy finishing a thesis due before the end of this semester, which is why I have not written sooner. Why it matters: This explicitly explains the delayed letter while correcting the tense and awkward wording.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: This is my last semester at the university and I will be free for a while after that and I would love to have you at my place. Suggested revision: This is my last semester at university, and once it ends, I will be free for a while and would love you to stay with me. Why it matters: The rewrite controls the coordination and turns the offer into a clear invitation to stay.
Suggested Rewrites
- & and
- you all are doing great you are all doing well
- those days that I spent with you the time we spent together
- best perfect
- would will
- grand tour to Singapore wonderful trip to Singapore
Why this response received Band 7.0
The warm, personal tone and complete coverage of the holiday, photos, delayed reply, and invitation make the letter engaging and purposeful. The main limitation is that the response is presented as one continuous block, and a few long sentences join ideas too loosely. Organise the message into short paragraphs and separate the thesis explanation from the invitation to improve clarity and natural flow.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly thanks the friends, explains the delayed reply, and gives a specific invitation in a consistently warm register.
Add one practical detail about the proposed visit, such as its likely duration or accommodation arrangements, to develop the invitation further.
Coherence and Cohesion
The message progresses logically from thanks to explanation and invitation, but presenting everything in one block obscures the structure.
Create separate paragraphs for the holiday thanks, the reason for writing late, and the proposed visit.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally appropriate for a friendly letter, although a few expressions such as grand tour and stay fine sound slightly unnatural.
Choose more idiomatic informal phrases, such as wonderful trip and take care, to make the voice more natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good range of structures with generally strong accuracy, despite some loose coordination and minor tense awkwardness.
Break up the long sentence about the final semester and future visit so each time relationship is expressed more precisely.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just sent you some photos of your holiday. Write a letter to your friends. In your letter:
- thank them for the photos and for the holiday
- explain why you didn't
- write earlier
- invite them to come and stay with you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.