You have just rented an unfurnished flat and a friend has told you that the Opportunity Shop in the shopping centre has cheap second-hand furniture. Write to the shop owner. In your letter: - describe what furniture you need - ask whether the shop has these items - ask what the items cost
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writingwriting this letter to inquire about the availability of some furniture I wish to purchase. A friend has recommended your store to me for purchasing inexpensive second-hand furniture which happens to be in the shopping centre in the Blue Bird square. I have recently rentedpurchased a flat and need some furniture. ThereforeIn this context, I would like to know the cost of certain items I needitems which I require for my unfurnished apartment. I would appreciate a quotation for a sofa seta pair of sofa set with two side tables, a dining table withcomprising of eight chairs, a centre table and items required in the bedroom like athe king-size bed, a dressing table and one wooden wardrobealmirah of not more than seven feet highheight. Please send me the best price you can offerthe best possible price which you can offer for those items. In additionApart from this, please specifyyou must categorically mention any other costs that I might incur from the purchaseany other cost that might incur from the purchase including the transportation cost and VAT. I have also been informed by my friend that you offer a cash discount for purchases over $500. In this respect, I would further like to inform you that I will pay the total amount in a single paymentin one go and purchase more than $500 worth of itemspurchase items more than 500 dollar's worth. So I am expecting a discount. In anticipation of an early reply. Yours faithfully, Neeraj Mehra
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter has a clear purchasing purpose and gives a comprehensive list of the furniture and pricing information required. However, the availability request is only partly explicit, and recurring awkward collocations, grammatical slips, and an occasionally demanding tone reduce precision and naturalness. Prioritise asking directly whether each item is in stock, then request an itemised quotation in consistently polite language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The needed furniture and request for prices are well developed, while availability is addressed mainly through the opening rather than a direct question.
Ask explicitly whether the listed second-hand items are currently available and soften requests about extra costs and discounts.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses from its purpose to the furniture list, additional charges, and discount, but linking is sometimes mechanical and paragraphing is absent.
Group the content into paragraphs for the enquiry, required items, and pricing or delivery questions, using fewer formulaic transitions.
Lexical Resource
There is enough vocabulary to describe the transaction in detail, but several collocations are inaccurate or unnatural.
Use standard phrases such as “a sofa set,” “a dining table with eight chairs,” and “costs that may be incurred.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer attempts varied complex sentences, though errors with articles, prepositions, possession, and clause construction recur across the letter.
Proofread noun phrases and verb patterns, especially “comprising eight chairs,” “more than $500 worth,” and “costs that may be incurred.”
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have just rented an unfurnished flat and a friend has told you that the Opportunity Shop in the shopping centre has cheap second-hand furniture. Write to the shop owner. In your letter:
- describe what furniture you need
- ask whether the shop has these items
- ask what the items cost
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.