You are planning a holiday in another country and would like a friend to accompany you. Write a letter to the friend asking him/her to join you. In your letter explain: - why you are taking a holiday - what your holiday plan is - why you would like him/her to go with you
Same question Compare 2 different answersSample Response
Dear Flemming, I'd like to thank you for hosting an incredible party last month when I got the chance to meet your parents, who, in my opinion, are exceptional individuals. I'd love to meet them again. However, I'm writing today to request you to visit Denmark with me. I had long been planning to visit Denmark, a remarkable country, and have finally decided to travel there on 27th December. I'd rather have you with me than travel alone. You're the best travel companion I can think of, and our last vacation to Malaysia propels me to invite you to be my tour companion again. Our semester final is over, and we've two weeks to do something before returning to our classes. I thought travelling to a Scandinavian country would be the best way to spend our holidays. My uncle resides in Copenhagen, and he'll be a great help there. I plan to visit my uncle and meet his family first. Then we'll visit Roskilde Cathedral, Viking Ship Museum, take a castle tour from Copenhagen and enjoy the countryside. I'm also open to your recommendation about the things to do in Denmark. I hope you'll not turn me down and finalise your preparation to have a memorable tour to Denmark in December. Warm wishes, David
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use ask pattern Original: request you to visit Denmark with me Suggested revision: ask you to join me on a trip to Denmark Why it matters: Use “ask someone to” rather than “request someone to” for this personal invitation.
- 2. Use present perfect Original: had Suggested revision: have Why it matters: The planning continues up to the present decision, so the present perfect is appropriate.
- 3. Choose natural wording Original: propels me Suggested revision: has encouraged me Why it matters: “Has encouraged me” is a more natural way to connect the previous trip with this invitation.
- 4. Use plural noun Original: final Suggested revision: finals Why it matters: “Finals” is the standard noun for the set of examinations at the end of a semester.
- 5. Match friendly tone Original: resides Suggested revision: lives Why it matters: “Lives” sounds more natural than the formal “resides” in a letter to a friend.
- 6. Add definite article Original: Viking Ship Museum Suggested revision: the Viking Ship Museum Why it matters: The named museum requires the definite article in this list.
- 7. Use plural form Original: recommendation Suggested revision: recommendations Why it matters: The writer is inviting multiple possible suggestions about activities, so the plural is more natural.
- 8. Fix collocation Original: finalise your preparation Suggested revision: make your preparations Why it matters: “Make your preparations” is the natural collocation for getting ready for a trip.
- 9. Match friendly register Original: exceptional individuals Suggested revision: lovely people Why it matters: “Lovely people” sounds warmer and more natural when writing informally to a friend.
- 10. Avoid repeated wording Original: invite you to be my tour companion again Suggested revision: invite you to join me again Why it matters: This concise phrasing avoids repeating the earlier expression “travel companion.”
- 11. Clarify intended help Original: he'll be a great help there Suggested revision: he'll be able to help us there Why it matters: The revision states the intended meaning more directly and naturally.
- 12. Remove article Original: the things to do Suggested revision: things to do Why it matters: The general expression “things to do” does not need the definite article.
Suggested Rewrites
- request you to visit Denmark with me ask you to join me on a trip to Denmark
- had have
- propels me has encouraged me
- final finals
- resides lives
- Viking Ship Museum the Viking Ship Museum
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses the invitation, giving a convincing reason for the holiday, a detailed itinerary, and a personal reason for wanting the friend along. Its main limitation is that the opening about the previous party is only loosely connected and several phrases sound unnatural despite remaining clear. Prioritise more purposeful paragraphing and replace strained collocations with simpler, idiomatic wording to make the message more polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully covered with relevant detail, and the friendly tone suits the recipient.
Remove the loosely relevant opening about the party so the invitation begins more directly and stays fully focused.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the invitation and reason for travelling to the itinerary, although the response is presented as one dense paragraph.
Use distinct paragraphs for the invitation, reasons, planned activities, and closing request to make the progression easier to follow.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently flexible vocabulary communicates the plans precisely, though phrases such as "propels me to invite you" and "finalise your preparation" sound strained.
Prefer natural collocations such as "encourages me to invite you" and "start making arrangements" when expressing familiar ideas.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex structures is handled securely, with only occasional non-impeding errors and awkward constructions.
Refine small forms such as "our final exams are over" and "we have two weeks" to improve grammatical naturalness.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are planning a holiday in another country and would like a friend to accompany you. Write a letter to the friend asking him/her to join you. In your letter explain:
- why you are taking a holiday
- what your holiday plan is
- why you would like him/her to go with you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.