You recently visited a friend’s home and had a wonderful time there. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - Thank them for inviting you. - Mention what you enjoyed most about your visit. - Suggest a way to return the favor.
Sample Response
Dear Anna,
I hope this message finds you well. I’m writing to say thank you for the wonderful time I had at your house last weekend. Everything, from the delicious dinner to the cozy atmosphere, was perfect. I truly appreciated the effort you put into making me feel at home.
It was such a pleasure to catch up with you and your family. The conversations we had brought back so many lovely memories. I especially enjoyed our walk in the garden—it was so peaceful and refreshing!
I hope we can do this again soon. Next time, you must let me return the favor and invite you over to my place. Please give my best regards to your parents, and let’s keep in touch!
Take care, Emily
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use letter context Original: message Suggested revision: letter Why it matters: Referring to the response as a letter fits this writing task more precisely.
- 2. Thank the invitation Original: say thank you for the wonderful time Suggested revision: thank you for inviting me and for the wonderful time Why it matters: This revision makes the required thanks for the invitation fully explicit.
- 3. Use concise wording Original: The conversations we had Suggested revision: Our conversations Why it matters: The possessive form expresses the same idea more naturally and concisely.
- 4. Clarify the activity Original: do this again Suggested revision: get together again Why it matters: This wording refers more clearly to spending time together again.
- 5. Keep tone informal Original: Please give my best regards to your parents Suggested revision: Please give my best to your parents Why it matters: The shorter expression suits a warm informal letter more naturally.
- 6. Sentence rewrite Original: Everything, from the delicious dinner to the cozy atmosphere, was perfect. Suggested revision: The delicious dinner and cozy atmosphere made the whole visit wonderful. Why it matters: This version conveys the same praise with more specific and natural wording.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: Next time, you must let me return the favor and invite you over to my place. Suggested revision: Next time, I’d love to return the favor by inviting you to my place. Why it matters: This rewrite makes the offer sound warm without the potentially forceful wording must let me.
- 8. Develop the highlight Suggested revision: Add one specific moment from the garden walk that made it especially memorable. Why it matters: A concrete detail would develop what you enjoyed most and make the response less brief.
- 9. Make invitation specific Suggested revision: Suggest a possible day or activity for Anna’s visit to make the return invitation more concrete. Why it matters: A practical detail would develop the third bullet point and strengthen the letter’s purpose.
Suggested Rewrites
- message letter
- say thank you for the wonderful time thank you for inviting me and for the wonderful time
- The conversations we had Our conversations
- do this again get together again
- Please give my best regards to your parents Please give my best to your parents
- Everything, from the delicious dinner to the cozy atmosphere, was perfect. The delicious dinner and cozy atmosphere made the whole visit wonderful.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter’s warm, natural tone and clear progression make the appreciation and enjoyment easy to follow, while vocabulary and grammar are consistently strong. Its main limitation is that it falls noticeably short of the required length, leaving the return invitation and some details only briefly developed; the highest-priority improvement is to add specific arrangements for hosting Anna and expand one or two personal details.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose and all three bullet points are clear, but the 127-word response develops the proposed return invitation only briefly.
Reach at least 150 words by adding concrete details about when Anna could visit and what you would do together.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress smoothly through thanks, the visit highlight, and the return invitation, with natural paragraphing and cohesive links.
Strengthen the final transition by connecting the proposed invitation more explicitly to the enjoyable visit.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a flexible and precise range of informal vocabulary, including natural phrases such as “catch up” and “return the favor.”
Add a few more specific words about the planned return visit while maintaining the same natural register.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of sentence forms is handled accurately, and punctuation supports clear, fluent communication.
Maintain this strong control while extending the letter with one or two additional complex sentences.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently visited a friend’s home and had a wonderful time there. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- Thank them for inviting you.
- Mention what you enjoyed most about your visit.
- Suggest a way to return the favor.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.