You have recently moved to a different house, and you want to give the news to an English-speaking friend who lives in another country. Write a letter to this English-speaking friend. In your letter: - explain why you have moved - describe the new house - invite your friend to come and visit
Sample Response
Dear Emily,
I hope you are doing great. I'm writing this letter to share some exciting news - I've recently moved to a new house, and I wanted to let you know about it.
The main reason for my move was to find a more spacious and peaceful environment. My previous apartment, though convenient, felt quite cramped, and the surrounding area was often noisy. This new place offers a much-needed change, allowing me to enjoy a better quality of life.
You'd be glad to know that my new home is a beautiful detached house located in Ottawa, Canada. It has three bedrooms, a modern kitchen, and a lovely backyard with a small garden. The neighbourhood is quiet and safe, with plenty of parks and cafés nearby. It truly feels like the perfect place to settle.
I'd love you to visit and stay for a while. Let me know when you can make the trip. I’ll be delighted to show you around!
Warm wishes,
Sophia
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Natural greeting Original: great Suggested revision: well Why it matters: ‘Doing well’ is the more conventional expression in this greeting.
- 2. More concise wording Original: located in Suggested revision: in Why it matters: The shorter preposition conveys the location clearly without unnecessary wording.
- 3. Natural verb pattern Original: I'd love you to visit Suggested revision: I'd love for you to visit Why it matters: The pattern ‘would love for someone to’ expresses the invitation more naturally here.
- 4. More direct wording Original: offers a much-needed change Suggested revision: is a welcome change Why it matters: This phrasing expresses the benefit more directly and naturally.
- 5. Sentence rewrite Original: I'm writing this letter to share some exciting news - I've recently moved to a new house, and I wanted to let you know about it. Suggested revision: I'm writing to share some exciting news: I've recently moved to a new house. Why it matters: The rewrite removes repetition, fixes the tense shift and links the announcement cleanly.
- 6. Sentence rewrite Original: The main reason for my move was to find a more spacious and peaceful environment. Suggested revision: I moved mainly because I wanted a more spacious home in a peaceful area. Why it matters: This version replaces the vague word ‘environment’ with wording specific to housing.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: It truly feels like the perfect place to settle. Suggested revision: It already feels like the perfect place to settle down. Why it matters: ‘Settle down’ more naturally conveys making the new house a long-term home.
- 8. Make invitation concrete Suggested revision: Suggest a possible time for the visit or ask Emily which dates would suit her. Why it matters: A practical detail would develop the invitation beyond the general request to visit.
Suggested Rewrites
- great well
- located in in
- I'd love you to visit I'd love for you to visit
- offers a much-needed change is a welcome change
- I'm writing this letter to share some exciting news - I've recently moved to a new house, and I wanted to let you know about it. I'm writing to share some exciting news: I've recently moved to a new house.
- The main reason for my move was to find a more spacious and peaceful environment. I moved mainly because I wanted a more spacious home in a peaceful area.
Why this response received Band 8.0
This is a focused, friendly letter that covers every bullet point with clear, relevant detail and maintains a natural personal tone throughout. The only meaningful limitation is that the invitation is briefer than the explanations of the move and house. The best improvement would be to develop the visit slightly, perhaps by suggesting a time or activity, while retaining the concise organisation and highly accurate language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly explains the move, describes the new home in relevant detail, and extends a suitably warm invitation.
Add one specific suggestion about when to visit or what the friends could do together to develop the invitation further.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is well organised into purposeful paragraphs, and ideas progress smoothly with cohesive devices used naturally.
Strengthen the final paragraph's connection to the house description by linking the invitation to a specific feature or nearby activity.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and natural, with effective choices for describing the former apartment, new house, and neighbourhood.
Continue refining lexical range by replacing occasional general phrases such as 'doing great' with more individual wording where appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is used accurately, with strong control of punctuation and complex clauses.
Maintain this accuracy while varying the openings of consecutive sentences to make the style even more flexible.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently moved to a different house, and you want to give the news to an English-speaking friend who lives in another country. Write a letter to this English-speaking friend. In your letter:
- explain why you have moved
- describe the new house
- invite your friend to come and visit
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.