Mrs Barrett, an English-speaking woman who lives in your town, has advertised for someone to help her in her home for a few hours a day next summer. Write a letter to Mrs Barrett. In your letter: - suggest how you could help her in her home - say why you would like to do this work - explain when you will and will not be available
Sample Response
Dear Mrs Barrett,
My name is Elaine Sully, and I am writing this letter to enquire whethermake an enquiry if you still need somebody to help you inat your home. RecentlyActually, very recently I came acrosshave come across your advertisement in a local newspaper, and I thoughtI just thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to earn some extra moneycash to pay for piano lessonsto take a piano lesson next summerduring the next summer while also helping you at your home.
With regardregards to what sort of assistance I could offer you, I could do anything from washing dishes to washingdoing and folding laundry. I can even buy groceriesdo grocery shopping once in a while, in addition to preparing occasional afternoon snackssome occasional afternoon snacks. And I have learnt to do all these things at homeright at my home because I have to take over my mother's household dutiesfill in for the duties of my mother, who has to leave the house every once in a while for professional reasons.
Regarding my availabilityBy the way, I am available anytime at weekendsduring the weekends from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm on weekdaysduring the weekdays except on Tuesdays. So, if these hours suit your needsthis fits your need, please let me know.
Yours faithfully,
Elaine Sully
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear purpose, covers the household tasks, motivation, and availability, and uses an appropriately courteous tone. Its main limitation is occasional awkward phrasing and slightly casual or indirect wording, which reduces precision despite the strong coverage. The highest priority is to state availability more directly—including unavailable periods—and replace unnatural expressions with concise, conventional letter language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter achieves its purpose, develops all three bullet points, and maintains a generally suitable semi-formal tone.
State unavailable periods explicitly and make the request for work more direct and concise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas are logically divided by purpose and progress clearly, although some linking phrases are conversational or unnecessary.
Use more direct transitions between assistance, motivation, and availability instead of fillers such as “Actually” and “By the way.”
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range for household duties and scheduling, but several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as “make an enquiry if,” “fill in for the duties,” and “fits your need” with natural alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is used with generally good control, and errors rarely affect clarity.
Refine prepositions, articles, and time expressions so the complex sentences remain consistently accurate.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Mrs Barrett, an English-speaking woman who lives in your town, has advertised for someone to help her in her home for a few hours a day next summer. Write a letter to Mrs Barrett. In your letter:
- suggest how you could help her in her home
- say why you would like to do this work
- explain when you will and will not be available
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.