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 Aditi,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m so grateful to you for agreeing to house-sit for me while I will be away for a vacation next month. Thanks to you, I can enjoy the beaches of Thailand without worrying.
I suppose you will land here on the evening of 22 nd September; by then, I would have departed via my morning flight. For entry into the house, you need to collect keys from Mr Mittal, who stays in flat 302, exactly opposite mine. Upon reaching the destination, I will send you my local number over messenger; you can ring me in case of any issues.
Furthermore, there are few chores which you need to take care of. My pet dog, Ruby, needs to be fed twice a day, and for that, you can find the pet food on the top left shelf of the kitchen.
In addition, please water the plants near the window daily once. Lastly, keep an eye on the incoming mails as I expect an important courier during that period.
Thanks once again for your kind gesture. Looking forward to meeting you in person once I’m back.
Best Regards,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix time clause Original: while I will be away for a vacation Suggested revision: while I am away on vacation Why it matters: Use the present form in the time clause and the natural collocation 'on vacation'.
- 2. Use future perfect Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: The departure is a future event completed before the friend's arrival, so the future perfect is required.
- 3. Correct travel phrase Original: via Suggested revision: on Why it matters: English uses 'on' when referring to travel by a particular flight.
- 4. Add definite article Original: collect keys Suggested revision: collect the keys Why it matters: The specific house keys already understood by both people require 'the'.
- 5. Use precise verb Original: stays Suggested revision: lives Why it matters: 'Lives' is more precise for describing a neighbour's permanent residence.
- 6. Correct platform phrase Original: over messenger Suggested revision: via Messenger Why it matters: 'Via Messenger' is the natural phrasing and capitalizes the platform name.
- 7. Add article Original: there are few chores which Suggested revision: there are a few chores that Why it matters: 'A few' means some chores, while 'few' alone incorrectly suggests almost none.
- 8. Use natural frequency Original: daily once Suggested revision: once a day Why it matters: 'Once a day' is the standard expression for this frequency.
- 9. Use uncountable mail Original: mails Suggested revision: mail Why it matters: 'Mail' is normally uncountable when referring collectively to delivered letters and items.
- 10. Name expected item Original: courier Suggested revision: delivery Why it matters: A courier is the person or service, while a delivery is the item expected to arrive.
- 11. Clarify expected arrival Original: I suppose you will land here Suggested revision: I expect you will arrive here Why it matters: 'Expect' and 'arrive' describe the planned arrival more naturally than 'suppose' and 'land'.
- 12. Use direct phrasing Original: For entry into the house Suggested revision: To enter the house Why it matters: The infinitive phrase gives the access instruction more directly.
Suggested Rewrites
- while I will be away for a vacation while I am away on vacation
- would will
- via on
- collect keys collect the keys
- stays lives
- over messenger via Messenger
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is strongest in its clear, friendly organisation: the house access, pet care, and household duties are easy to follow. The main limitation is that several phrases are unnatural and the contact arrangement is only promised for later rather than made fully practical. The highest-priority improvement is to give complete contact details and use more idiomatic everyday language throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter has a clear purpose, an appropriate friendly tone, and addresses all three bullet points with relevant instructions.
Make the contact information more useful by providing a number or another definite way to reach you while away.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically sequenced and clearly paragraphed, although some linking expressions feel mechanical.
Connect related household instructions more naturally instead of relying repeatedly on ‘Furthermore,’ ‘In addition,’ and ‘Lastly.’
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate and sometimes varied, but awkward collocations such as ‘daily once’ and ‘incoming mails’ recur.
Use natural combinations such as ‘once a day,’ ‘mail,’ and ‘contact me on Messenger’ to improve precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses a useful range of sentence forms, but several article, tense, and phrasing errors remain noticeable.
Check articles and future forms carefully, for example ‘a few chores’ and ‘I will have departed by then.’
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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.