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 Peter, I haven’t heard from you in a while, and I hope that you are doing well with your life. I just wanted to let you know that I've moved to a new house. And the reason, for which, I've moved to a new house is that I was feeling suffocated in my old house due to many high rising buildings which were erected around my house, essentially covering it from all directions. I think that I've moved to a nice house because there are plenty of empty spaces around it. Besides, my new house is bigger than the previous one, and it has such a great structure that it receives enough natural light and air from all directions as long as they are available. However, the best thing about my new house is that it is close enough to the shopping centres and public transportation facilities, and yet far enough at the same time from the noises of a busy city. Anyway, I think you'll really like my new house, so come and visit me sometime! Warm wishes, Rahul
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Natural expression Original: doing well with your life Suggested revision: doing well Why it matters: This is the more natural expression for asking generally about a friend's welfare.
- 2. Use compound adjective Original: high rising buildings Suggested revision: high-rise buildings Why it matters: The standard compound adjective before a noun is “high-rise”.
- 3. Clarify the image Original: essentially covering it from all directions Suggested revision: which surrounded it on all sides Why it matters: This wording conveys the physical situation more directly and naturally.
- 4. Use natural collocation Original: plenty of empty spaces Suggested revision: plenty of open space Why it matters: “Open space” is the natural phrase for undeveloped space around a house.
- 5. Describe design precisely Original: such a great structure Suggested revision: such a good design Why it matters: “Design” describes how the house admits light and air more precisely than “structure”.
- 6. Improve collocation Original: natural light and air Suggested revision: natural light and fresh air Why it matters: “Fresh air” is the usual collocation when describing a well-ventilated home.
- 7. Remove unclear reference Original: as long as they are available Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: The pronoun “they” refers awkwardly to light and air, and the condition adds no clear meaning.
- 8. Use concise wording Original: public transportation facilities Suggested revision: public transport Why it matters: The shorter phrase is more natural when referring generally to nearby transport services.
- 9. Use uncountable noun Original: noises Suggested revision: noise Why it matters: “Noise” is normally uncountable when referring collectively to city sound.
- 10. Organize the letter Suggested revision: Use separate short paragraphs for the opening, reason for moving, house description, invitation, and sign-off. Why it matters: Clear paragraphing would make the progression through the three required bullet points easier to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- doing well with your life doing well
- high rising buildings high-rise buildings
- essentially covering it from all directions which surrounded it on all sides
- plenty of empty spaces plenty of open space
- such a great structure such a good design
- natural light and air natural light and fresh air
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully covers the reason for moving and describes the new home clearly, while maintaining a warm, appropriate tone. Its main limitation is that the invitation is brief and the response is presented as one dense paragraph, so the highest-priority improvement is to add a few practical invitation details and separate the ideas into purposeful paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and all three bullet points are addressed in a suitably friendly tone, though the invitation receives limited development.
Develop the invitation by suggesting a time, activity, or accommodation arrangement for the visit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the move to the house and invitation, but the single dense paragraph and some mechanical linking weaken organisation.
Use separate paragraphs for the reason, house description, and invitation, with fewer sentence-opening linkers.
Lexical Resource
A good range of vocabulary describes the surroundings and amenities, although several collocations such as ‘high rising buildings’ and ‘noises of a busy city’ are awkward.
Use more natural combinations such as ‘high-rise buildings’ and ‘the noise of the city’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses varied complex structures with generally clear meaning, despite several unnecessary commas and awkwardly constructed clauses.
Improve control of punctuation and simplify clauses such as the sentence explaining the reason for moving.
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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.