A high school friend who moved to another country will visit your country for a month. You have arranged a party for him/her. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - give the date and location of the party - say who is coming to the party - mention things your friend has missed while living in another country
Sample Response
Dear Kyle,
I'm so glad to hear that you're coming to visit us after such a long time. Of course, I know that you like your new, “adopted” country, but I think that you would still be interested to know what you've missed after leaving our country.
Well, our only football stadium in the city has been made bigger to accommodate more spectators. Besides, Eric, who we all used to make fun of as a “political geek”, has started his new political career as a city council member.
Now comes the most fun and exciting part of this letter. In fact, we are planning to throw a “welcome” party to make your visit a special and memorable one. It's not only going to be attended by most of our high school and college friends but also by some of our favourite high school teachers who had helped us become better students.
By the way, the party will be held on the 4th of July, and the venue is “Memorial Hotel” on Traverse Street, right across the town. So, hope to see you there!
Best wishes,
Justine
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unnecessary quotes Original: “adopted” Suggested revision: adopted Why it matters: Quotation marks are unnecessary because 'adopted country' is used directly rather than ironically.
- 2. Use natural phrasing Original: interested to know Suggested revision: interested in knowing Why it matters: The gerund construction is more idiomatic after 'interested'.
- 3. Clarify the timeframe Original: after leaving our country Suggested revision: since leaving our country Why it matters: 'Since' connects the missed developments more clearly to the period beginning with Kyle's departure.
- 4. Use precise vocabulary Original: has been made bigger Suggested revision: has been expanded Why it matters: 'Expanded' expresses the stadium enlargement more concisely and naturally.
- 5. Avoid redundant emphasis Original: most fun and exciting Suggested revision: most exciting Why it matters: 'Fun' and 'exciting' overlap here, so one strong adjective is enough.
- 6. Remove unnecessary quotes Original: “welcome” Suggested revision: welcome Why it matters: Quotation marks are not needed around the ordinary name of the party.
- 7. Use simple past Original: had helped us Suggested revision: helped us Why it matters: The simple past is sufficient for the teachers' role during the writers' school years.
- 8. Add the article Original: the venue is “Memorial Hotel” Suggested revision: the venue is the Memorial Hotel Why it matters: A named hotel normally takes the definite article here, and quotation marks are unnecessary.
- 9. Use the idiom Original: right across the town Suggested revision: right across town Why it matters: The idiomatic location phrase is 'across town', without 'the'.
- 10. Add the subject Original: hope to see you there Suggested revision: I hope to see you there Why it matters: The independent clause needs the subject 'I'.
Suggested Rewrites
- “adopted” adopted
- interested to know interested in knowing
- after leaving our country since leaving our country
- has been made bigger has been expanded
- most fun and exciting most exciting
- “welcome” welcome
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter fully covers the party arrangements, guests, and recent changes at home while sustaining a warm, natural voice for a close friend. Its organisation is particularly effective, moving smoothly from missed developments to the celebration details; the only notable weakness is a small amount of awkward wording, especially around the location. Use a more idiomatic location phrase and add one personal detail about the reunion to make the message even more vivid.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully addressed with a clear date and venue, specific attendees, two missed developments, and a consistently suitable informal tone.
Add one personal detail about what the group hopes to do together so the welcome feels even more specifically tailored to Kyle.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter is well organised, and the progression from recent news to the guest list and practical arrangements is smooth and easy to follow.
Keep the party date and venue together, but consider introducing them before the guest list to foreground the essential invitation details immediately.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and natural for an informal letter, with precise choices such as ‘accommodate more spectators’ and ‘political career’.
Replace the slightly awkward ‘right across the town’ with a more idiomatic location phrase such as ‘on the other side of town’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms, including relative clauses and correlative coordination, is used accurately with only very minor lapses.
For maximum grammatical completeness, supply the subject in the closing sentence: ‘So, I hope to see you there!’
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A high school friend who moved to another country will visit your country for a month. You have arranged a party for him/her. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- give the date and location of the party
- say who is coming to the party
- mention things your friend has missed while living in another country
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.