A friend has agreed to look after your house and pet while you are on holiday. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - give contact details for when you are away - give instructions on how to care for your pet - describe other household duties
Sample Response
Dear Emma,
Thank you so much for agreeing to look after my house and my beloved pet while I am on holiday. Your help means a lot to me, and I truly appreciate your willingness to assist.
While I'm away, you can reach me via email at [email address] or by phone at +18852654870. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you've any questions or concerns regarding the house or our furry friend Max.
Regarding the care of my pet, Max, I have left detailed instructions on his feeding schedule, dietary requirements, and daily exercise routine on the kitchen counter. Additionally, please ensure he has access to fresh water at all times and is comfortable in his sleeping area.
In terms of household duties, I've already taken care of most tasks before leaving. However, I'd appreciate it if you could water the plants every other day and collect any mail that may accumulate in the mailbox.
Once again, thank you for your kindness and willingness to help out. Take care, and I look forward to catching up with you when I return.
Warm wishes,
Charlotte
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use friendly wording Original: willingness to assist Suggested revision: help Why it matters: The simpler wording sounds more natural in a letter to a friend.
- 2. Give actual contact Original: [email address] Suggested revision: [email protected] Why it matters: A real contact address is needed to fulfil the first bullet point.
- 3. Use clearer form Original: if you've any questions Suggested revision: if you have any questions Why it matters: The full form is clearer and more natural in this context.
- 4. Name the pet directly Original: our furry friend Max Suggested revision: Max Why it matters: Using the pet's name directly is clearer and avoids implying shared ownership.
- 5. Make opening concise Original: Regarding the care of my pet, Max Suggested revision: Regarding Max's care Why it matters: This version is more concise while preserving the intended transition.
- 6. Remove redundancy Original: mail that may accumulate Suggested revision: mail Why it matters: Mail collection already implies dealing with items that arrive while the writer is away.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: Thank you so much for agreeing to look after my house and my beloved pet while I am on holiday. Suggested revision: Thank you so much for agreeing to look after my house and Max while I am away. Why it matters: Naming Max and using a shorter time expression makes the opening warmer and more direct.
- 8. Give direct instructions Suggested revision: State Max's feeding times, quantities, and exercise routine in the letter instead of only referring to instructions left elsewhere. Why it matters: The task asks the writer to give pet-care instructions, but this paragraph mainly points the reader to another document.
Suggested Rewrites
- willingness to assist help
- [email address] [email protected]
- if you've any questions if you have any questions
- our furry friend Max Max
- Regarding the care of my pet, Max Regarding Max's care
- mail that may accumulate mail
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter is clearly organised, warmly addressed to a friend, and covers the requested contact, pet-care, and household information. Its main limitation is that much of the pet-care guidance is deferred to instructions on the counter, while the email address is only a placeholder. Give the key feeding and exercise details directly and provide fully usable contact information.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, the friendly tone is appropriate, and all three bullet points are addressed, though some essential pet-care details are only referred to rather than stated.
State Max's actual feeding quantities, times, and exercise schedule in the letter and replace the email placeholder with usable contact information.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is arranged in focused paragraphs with clear progression and cohesive links that rarely draw attention to themselves.
Make the transition from the opening thanks to the practical instructions slightly more direct to keep the letter maximally efficient.
Lexical Resource
A broad and precise vocabulary supports the friendly request, including natural phrases such as "fresh water" and "every other day".
Use slightly less formal wording in places, replacing phrases such as "willingness to assist" with more natural language for a close friend.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of simple and complex structures is used accurately, with strong control of punctuation and contractions.
Refine the slightly awkward contraction in "if you've any questions" to "if you have any questions" for more natural phrasing.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A friend has agreed to look after your house and pet while you are on holiday. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- give contact details for when you are away
- give instructions on how to care for your pet
- describe other household duties
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.