Last year you met someone on holiday and became friends. He/she has informed you that he/she will be travelling near your hometown on business in a few months’ time. Write a letter to your friend inviting him/her to stay with you. In your letter: - express how pleased you are to hear from him/her - invite him/her to stay with you - tell him/her about your ideas of how you could spend some time together
Same question Compare all 2 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
Dear Annie, Hope you are doing well by the grace of the Almighty. Let me tell you how happy and pleased I'm to learn that you will be visiting a place near my hometown on a business trip within a few months. You'll also be glad to know that I've told my family about how we became such good friends after meeting with each other on a holiday tour. Anyway, it is exciting to learn about your business trip near my hometown. It would be even nicer if could make an arrangement and stay with me for a couple of days before leaving for your home. By the way, I live in a nice and reasonably quiet town, minus the hectic lifestyle of a busy city, and so I think that you would enjoy it here. Besides, I already have made plans to visit a few places like a world-class movie theatre, a nice public park with a big lake in it and of course, a couple of upscale restaurants where food is just so awesome. So, please let me know what you think about my plan. Can't wait to meet you. Warm wishes, Helen
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add sentence subject Original: Hope you are doing well Suggested revision: I hope you are doing well Why it matters: A complete sentence requires the subject I.
- 2. Remove repetition Original: how happy and pleased Suggested revision: how pleased Why it matters: Happy and pleased repeat the same idea, so one adjective is enough.
- 3. Avoid awkward contraction Original: I'm to learn Suggested revision: I am to learn Why it matters: The contraction sounds unnatural before the infinitive in this construction.
- 4. Use direct wording Original: visiting a place near my hometown Suggested revision: travelling near my hometown Why it matters: The revision expresses the travel location more directly.
- 5. Use concise timing Original: on a business trip within a few months Suggested revision: on business in a few months Why it matters: This is a more natural and concise expression of purpose and timing.
- 6. Remove redundant words Original: after meeting with each other Suggested revision: after meeting Why it matters: Meeting already expresses a reciprocal encounter, so the remaining words are unnecessary.
- 7. Use natural phrase Original: on a holiday tour Suggested revision: while on holiday Why it matters: While on holiday is the standard expression for this context.
- 8. Add missing subject Original: It would be even nicer if could Suggested revision: It would be even nicer if you could Why it matters: The conditional clause requires the subject you.
- 9. Fix verb pattern Original: make an arrangement and stay with me Suggested revision: arrange to stay with me Why it matters: Arrange to followed by an infinitive is the natural grammatical pattern here.
- 10. Use natural expression Original: before leaving for your home Suggested revision: before returning home Why it matters: Returning home is the idiomatic expression for the intended meaning.
- 11. Refine description Original: minus the hectic lifestyle of a busy city Suggested revision: without the hectic pace of a big city Why it matters: This wording sounds more natural while preserving the contrast with city life.
- 12. Fix adverb position Original: Besides, I already have made Suggested revision: I have already made Why it matters: Already normally follows the auxiliary have in this present-perfect construction.
Suggested Rewrites
- Hope you are doing well I hope you are doing well
- how happy and pleased how pleased
- I'm to learn I am to learn
- visiting a place near my hometown travelling near my hometown
- on a business trip within a few months on business in a few months
- after meeting with each other after meeting
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter warmly fulfils its social purpose, clearly expressing pleasure, extending an invitation, and suggesting several enjoyable activities in an appropriately friendly tone. Its main limitation is presentation and precision: the response is one dense paragraph, some linking feels mechanical, and a few expressions are awkward. Separate the ideas into natural paragraphs and correct the omitted subject in the invitation sentence.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All three requirements are directly covered and developed with a warm invitation and specific plans suited to a friend.
Add a practical detail about accommodation or timing to make the invitation even more helpful and concrete.
Coherence and Cohesion
The message progresses logically, but one continuous paragraph and a sequence of formulaic linkers make the organisation less natural.
Use separate paragraphs for the greeting and reaction, the invitation, and the proposed activities.
Lexical Resource
There is a good range of informal and descriptive vocabulary, though phrases such as "make an arrangement" and "leaving for your home" sound unnatural.
Prefer natural conversational wording such as "arrange to stay" and "before you head home."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses a variety of complex sentences with generally accurate control, although a missing subject and some awkward word order remain.
Correct the invitation to "it would be even nicer if you could arrange to stay" and check subject inclusion in dependent clauses.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Last year you met someone on holiday and became friends. He/she has informed you that he/she will be travelling near your hometown on business in a few months’ time. Write a letter to your friend inviting him/her to stay with you. In your letter:
- express how pleased you are to hear from him/her
- invite him/her to stay with you
- tell him/her about your ideas of how you could spend some time together
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.