You want to sell some of your furniture. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - explain why you are selling - describe the furniture - suggest a date - when your friend can come and see the furniture
Sample Response
Dear Johnson, Hope all is well at your end. I'm writing this letter to you because I've some furniture to sell, and I'd rather have you buy them instead of some complete strangers. I'm trying to sell some furniture because I'm planning to move to another city for some professional reason. I just don’t want to carry them all the way to that city because carrying them that far would most probably damage them. So, I thought that it'd be a good idea to let you know about the furniture before I sell them, in case if you would feel interested to buy them. Speaking of which, the furniture includes a few chairs, made of oak wood, a large dining table, made of mahogany tree, and a couple of sofa chairs. I think that you would like the furniture since they seem to be in good shape and condition. Besides, the prices are also reasonable. So, please feel free to drop by my place, preferably sometime in the next weekend, so that you can have a look at my furniture and decide whether to purchase them or not. Warm wishes, Davis
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Break after greeting Original: Dear Johnson, Suggested revision: Dear Johnson, Why it matters: Place the greeting on its own line to separate it from the opening message.
- 2. Use full verb Original: I've some furniture Suggested revision: I have some furniture Why it matters: Using have without contraction is the natural form for possession here.
- 3. Match uncountable noun Original: buy them Suggested revision: buy it Why it matters: Furniture is uncountable, so it takes the singular pronoun it.
- 4. Remove unnecessary determiner Original: some complete strangers Suggested revision: complete strangers Why it matters: The indefinite plural does not need some in this contrast.
- 5. Use natural phrase Original: for some professional reason Suggested revision: for professional reasons Why it matters: For professional reasons is the more natural collocation for an unspecified work-related move.
- 6. Correct furniture reference Original: carry them all the way Suggested revision: transport it all the way Why it matters: The uncountable noun furniture requires it rather than them.
- 7. Keep pronoun agreement Original: carrying them that far Suggested revision: transporting it that far Why it matters: Use the singular pronoun consistently when referring to furniture collectively.
- 8. Use concise probability Original: would most probably Suggested revision: would probably Why it matters: Probably expresses the degree of likelihood without the awkward intensifier most.
- 9. Remove double conjunction Original: in case if Suggested revision: in case Why it matters: In case already introduces the condition, so if is redundant.
- 10. Correct verb pattern Original: would feel interested to buy them Suggested revision: might be interested in buying it Why it matters: Interested is followed by in plus an -ing form, and furniture takes it.
- 11. Describe material concisely Original: a few chairs, made of oak wood, Suggested revision: a few oak chairs, Why it matters: Oak chairs is a more concise and natural material description.
- 12. Name material correctly Original: made of mahogany tree Suggested revision: made of mahogany Why it matters: Mahogany names the wood itself, so tree should be omitted.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Johnson, Dear Johnson,
- I've some furniture I have some furniture
- buy them buy it
- some complete strangers complete strangers
- for some professional reason for professional reasons
- carry them all the way transport it all the way
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter has a clear purpose, an appropriately friendly tone, and enough relevant description to cover the main points. Its main weakness is presentation: the response is one dense paragraph, the proposed visit time is vague, and several awkward phrases reduce naturalness. The highest priority is to organise the content into short paragraphs and give a precise date and time for the visit.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and all requested points are addressed, although the suggested visit time is given only vaguely as next weekend.
Propose a specific date and time so the final practical requirement is fully and precisely developed.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a sensible sequence, but the entire letter is presented as one dense paragraph and some linking is repetitive.
Use separate paragraphs for the reason, furniture description, and visit arrangement, with less reliance on repeated causal links.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a sufficient range of vocabulary and some specific furniture terms, but several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as professional reason, in case if, and mahogany tree with more natural, precise wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the message clearly, though agreement, pronoun, and clause-construction errors recur.
Check noun-pronoun agreement and revise awkward constructions such as interested to buy so complex sentences remain accurate.