You will move to a new city for work. You know some people who live there. Write a letter to someone you know who lives there. In your letter: - ask them for help in finding accommodation - tell them where you would like to live - tell them the type of place you are looking for
Sample Response
Dear Justin, Hope this letter finds you in good health. I'm writing to let you know thatwriting to let you that I have accepted a new job in San Francisco, Californiaa new job in California and I willwould be working with Optus Corporation from next monthfrom the next month. As you know, IAs you know I have never been to California, soCalifornia so I am seeking your help in finding accommodation. My office is near the San Francisco Bay Areabay area of San Francisco and I wouldshall prefer a one-bedroom apartmentan apartment with a single bedroom in that areain this vicinity. The apartment should have an en-suite bathroomattached bathroom and a small kitchen. I would not mind the rent if the location is near my office. I would like to live in a new propertylive somewhere new, so an apartment in a modern buildingsomething in a modern apartment block would be great. My budget for rentfor the accommodation is between 800 and 1,400 dollarsbetween 800 to 1400 dollars. As you have always lived in this city, you probably know the area wellyou must know the place well. Perhaps you can ask a few friends for a recommendation for such a living place and talk to the landlord about the rent. I would really appreciate your help. Hope to see you soon. Take care. Warm wishes, Namrata
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the request for accommodation help, preferred location and desired property, with useful details about the room, facilities and budget. Its friendly tone suits a letter to someone known personally, and the request is easy to act on. The main limitation is grammatical polish, particularly missing words, tense choices and the budget range. Prioritize accurate sentence patterns while preserving the clear, practical detail.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the informal register is appropriate for a friend.
Make the request even more actionable by stating a preferred move-in date or lease duration.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the job move to location, property features, budget and the specific help requested, although the single-block format limits readability.
Separate the move and location details, accommodation requirements, and request for help into short paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a sufficiently varied range of accommodation and location vocabulary, with a few awkward phrases such as 'such a living place'.
Use more natural terms such as 'one-bedroom apartment', 'rental property' and 'recommendations from friends'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of structures communicates the message clearly, but errors in missing words, tense and preposition patterns are noticeable.
Correct forms such as 'let you know', 'I will be working', 'starting next month' and 'between 800 and 1,400 dollars'.
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
You will move to a new city for work. You know some people who live there. Write a letter to someone you know who lives there. In your letter:
- ask them for help in finding accommodation
- tell them where you would like to live
- tell them the type of place you are looking for
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.