You have recently stayed with an old friend for a few days after not seeing each other for a long time. Write a letter to this friend. In your letter: - say how you felt about the visit - refer to something enjoyable that you did while staying with him/her - invite your friend to visit you
Sample Response
Dear John, Hope you are doing great. Thank you for having me at your house last week and it was really great to meet you after a long. The experience was amazing and I had the time of my life when we hopped to different places during the time. I regret that it is over! I am hoping you would come and stay at my house during your next vacation. As you know I am an ardent football fan and I still cannot get the wonderful memories of that football match that we enjoyed together at the Emirates Stadium out of my head. I still get chills on my spine when I think about it. Remember those tantalizing final ten minutes of the game when Liverpool FC turned it around by scoring two late goals, and then the entire stadium went berserk with joy. I wish I had a video camera to capture those sensational moments! Anyway, would you fancy dropping by at my place on Sunday afternoon? I am having some high school friends over, and if you could come, that would be simply fantastic as the gathering will turn into our high school reunion. Also, I have not seen some of these guys in ages, so I am pretty sure this is going to be a great experience for all of us. I look forward to seeing you soon. Warm wishes, Sam
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Complete time phrase Original: after a long. Suggested revision: after such a long time. Why it matters: The expression needs 'time' to convey the long interval naturally.
- 2. Choose precise verb Original: hopped to different places Suggested revision: visited different places Why it matters: 'Visited' expresses the activity more clearly and naturally than 'hopped'.
- 3. Clarify the reference Original: during the time Suggested revision: during my stay Why it matters: 'My stay' gives the time reference a clear antecedent.
- 4. Match verb forms Original: I am hoping you would come Suggested revision: I hope you will come Why it matters: The present hope about a future visit is expressed naturally with 'hope' and 'will'.
- 5. Correct the idiom Original: on Suggested revision: down Why it matters: The standard expression is 'chills down my spine'.
- 6. Sentence rewrite Original: As you know I am an ardent football fan and I still cannot get the wonderful memories of that football match that we enjoyed together at the Emirates Stadium out of my head. Suggested revision: As you know, I am an ardent football fan, and I still keep the wonderful memories of the match we enjoyed together at the Emirates Stadium fresh in my mind. Why it matters: The original 'cannot get ... out of my head' construction gives the positive memory an unintended negative association.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: I am having some high school friends over, and if you could come, that would be simply fantastic as the gathering will turn into our high school reunion. Suggested revision: I am having some high school friends over, and it would be fantastic if you could come, as the gathering would turn into a high school reunion. Why it matters: This revision makes the conditional structure consistent and easier to follow.
- 8. Separate key stages Suggested revision: Divide the letter into short paragraphs for the opening thanks, the football memory, and the invitation. Why it matters: Clear paragraph breaks would make the progression between the three purposes easier to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- after a long. after such a long time.
- hopped to different places visited different places
- during the time during my stay
- I am hoping you would come I hope you will come
- on down
- As you know I am an ardent football fan and I still cannot get the wonderful memories of that football match that we enjoyed together at the Emirates Stadium out of my head. As you know, I am an ardent football fan, and I still keep the wonderful memories of the match we enjoyed together at the Emirates Stadium fresh in my mind.
Why this response received Band 7.5
This is a lively, warmly pitched letter that fully covers the visit, a memorable shared activity, and a clear return invitation with convincing personal detail. The main weakness is polish: the one-block layout and a handful of unnatural expressions interrupt an otherwise fluent response. Organise the ideas into purposeful paragraphs and replace awkward phrases with more idiomatic wording while preserving the engaging tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are directly and fully addressed in an appropriately warm, informal register with well-developed personal detail.
Refine the invitation by linking the proposed Sunday gathering even more explicitly to the requested return visit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter follows a clear progression from appreciation to the football memory and invitation, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens organisation.
Use separate paragraphs for feelings about the stay, the memorable event, and the invitation.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and vivid, with expressions such as ardent football fan, tantalizing, and went berserk, though a few combinations are unnatural.
Replace phrases such as after a long and chills on my spine with natural alternatives such as after such a long time and chills down my spine.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with only occasional awkward tense choices and minor punctuation issues.
Check past-time hypothetical forms and sentence boundaries to make the already varied grammar consistently precise.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently stayed with an old friend for a few days after not seeing each other for a long time. Write a letter to this friend. In your letter:
- say how you felt about the visit
- refer to something enjoyable that you did while staying with him/her
- invite your friend to visit you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.