You recently went to a concert and thought one of the singers was very good. You want to tell him/her how you feel. Write a letter to the singer. In your letter: - Say how you feel about his/her performance. - Give details of your music-related/musical activities. - Explain how you would like him/her to help you with your music-related/musical activities.

Same questionCompare 5 different answers (Band 7–8)

Sample Response

1

Dear August Williams,

2

I attended your concert last week and felt compelled to express my heartfelt appreciation. Your performance, brimming with deep emotion and technical skill, truly left a lasting impression on me.

3

Your vocal mastery, defined by its nuanced tone and expansive range, resonated with an authenticity seldom found. Each note, seemingly emanating from the depths of your soul, captivated us, transporting us beyond the ordinary into a sublime reverie.

4

Furthermore, your ability to seamlessly weave a storyseamlessly weave storytelling into your performance turned the concert into an immersive narrative journeyelevated the concert to an immersive narrative journey. With every lyric you sangWith every lyric uttered, you transported us to realms of joy, sorrow, and introspection, evoking a kaleidoscope of emotions that moved us deeplystirred the depths of our humanity.

5

OverallIn summary, your performance beautifully showcased how music has the remarkable ability to bring people together, regardless of language or cultural differences. Your talent is an inspirationserves as a guiding light, inspiring both budding musicians and devoted fans on their artistic journeys.

6

Ryan Sands

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response demonstrates sophisticated vocabulary, controlled complex sentences, and a coherent description of the singer’s performance. However, it addresses only the request to describe feelings about the concert and completely omits the writer’s own musical activities and the specific help sought, so the essential improvement is to replace much of the extended praise with developed content answering those two missing bullet points.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TA

Task Achievement

4.0
Scoring rule

The appreciation of the performance is developed clearly, but the letter omits both the writer's musical activities and any request for help.

Next step

Add specific details about personal musical involvement and make a clear, practical request for the singer's assistance.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0
Scoring rule

Paragraphing and sequencing are clear, though the progression becomes repetitive because nearly every paragraph elaborates on the same aspect of the performance.

Next step

Organise the body around the three required bullet points and reduce repeated praise so each paragraph advances the purpose.

LR

Lexical Resource

8.0
Scoring rule

The response uses a broad, precise vocabulary with strong control of expressive language, although some phrasing is overly florid for the situation.

Next step

Prefer concise, natural wording when describing emotion so the message remains personal and direct.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8.0
Scoring rule

Complex sentences and embedded clauses are handled accurately throughout, with varied structures and consistently clear meaning.

Next step

Balance the longer descriptive sentences with shorter direct ones when introducing the writer's activities and request.

Put the feedback to work

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 recently went to a concert and thought one of the singers was very good. You want to tell him/her how you feel. Write a letter to the singer. In your letter:

- Say how you feel about his/her performance.

- Give details of your music-related/musical activities.

- Explain how you would like him/her to help you with your music-related/musical activities.

Your response

Words0
20:00

Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.