Your parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary next month. You are planning a big celebration and want help making it memorable. Write to a friend who is a professional event planner. In your letter: - explain why the occasion is special - ask for your friend's assistance - set up a convenient time to meet and discuss your plans
Sample Response
Dear Melinda, Hope you are doing well with your life and career. I am also doing fine except that I am really struggling to put together a plan to celebrate my parent's 40th wedding anniversary in a very special manner. At firstFor a minute, I considered takingI thought that I was going to take them to the same place where they spent their first holidayvacation. I also considered whetherThen, I also thought I should buy them replicas of the clothesthe same kind of dresses which they wore on their wedding day. ButBut, I finally realisedthought that as a professional event planner, you are the best person to assist me in planning this special celebrationthis unique event. Most importantlyNot to mention, this wedding anniversary is particularlyquite special for all of us as it marks 40 years of shared love. It is also especially meaningful to my parentsIt is unique to my parents also since, after all these years, they have finally fulfilledthey both have finally fulfilled their dream of buying a beautiful house in the countrysidethe lovely countryside where they want to spend the rest of their lives. Besides, this wedding anniversary willwould also allow them to show their love and appreciation for each other. So, given how special this occasion is, please inform me about a date and time when you can meet me and give me some professional advice on how to make the event memorable and exceptional. Hope to see you soon. Take care. Warm wishes, Jenny
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter explains why the anniversary matters, directly asks for professional help, and invites the friend to choose a meeting time, all in a warm personal tone. Its strongest feature is the emotional context surrounding forty years of marriage and the parents' new home. The main limitation is repetition and overdevelopment of background detail; the priority is to propose one or two concrete meeting options and specify the planning decisions that need discussion.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed with suitable personal detail, though the meeting arrangement is left entirely to the friend and the assistance request remains broad.
Offer two possible meeting times and briefly identify the help needed with venue, guest list, decorations, catering, or entertainment.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter moves from initial ideas to the occasion's significance and the meeting request, but one paragraph and repeated emphasis on specialness weaken focus.
Use short paragraphs for the occasion, the requested planning help, and the proposed meeting arrangements, removing repeated explanations.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied and suitably warm, although phrases such as 'doing well with your life and career' and 'in a very special manner' sound unnatural.
Use more idiomatic friendly language such as 'I hope work is going well', 'make the celebration memorable', and 'help me plan the event'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of structures communicates the message clearly, but possessives, articles, punctuation, and several clause patterns contain recurring errors.
Correct 'my parents' 40th anniversary', avoid commas after 'But', and simplify long sentences describing the house and the significance of the occasion.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary next month. You are planning a big celebration and want help making it memorable. Write to a friend who is a professional event planner. In your letter:
- explain why the occasion is special
- ask for your friend's assistance
- set up a convenient time to meet and discuss your plans
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.