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,
I am Lia Lima, a university student and a local in the neighbourhood, writing to you to show my interest in helping you with your household work next summer.
I can help you with cleaning the kitchen, cooking a few items, taking the garbage outside and doing groceries. I can also iron your clothes, clean your floor with a vacuum cleaner and call the pharmacy to refill the medicine.
I will have a long holiday this summer, and I will take a part-time computer course. It means that I will have a few hours each day to spare to work at your home while also earning some money to support the expenses of the part-time computer course that I am planning to intake.
I will be available between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm each day except Sunday. I would also be busy on Tuesdays as I visit my mother and take a dance class every Tuesday.
I am looking forward to assisting you with your work this summer and getting to know you better. For your convenience, I am attaching my details with this letter.
Yours faithfully,
Lia Lima
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural noun phrase Original: a local in the neighbourhood Suggested revision: a local resident Why it matters: Local resident is the natural concise expression for someone who lives nearby.
- 2. Use precise collocation Original: show Suggested revision: express Why it matters: Express interest is the standard collocation in a formal application letter.
- 3. Correct shopping phrase Original: doing groceries Suggested revision: doing the grocery shopping Why it matters: Doing the grocery shopping is the natural expression for buying groceries.
- 4. Use concise household verb Original: clean your floor with a vacuum cleaner Suggested revision: vacuum your floors Why it matters: Vacuum directly expresses this household task more naturally and concisely.
- 5. Correct pharmacy collocation Original: refill the medicine Suggested revision: refill your prescription Why it matters: A pharmacy refills a prescription rather than refilling medicine itself.
- 6. Correct cost collocation Original: support the expenses Suggested revision: cover the cost Why it matters: Cover the cost is the appropriate collocation for paying course expenses.
- 7. Use correct course verb Original: intake Suggested revision: take Why it matters: Take, rather than intake, is the correct verb for attending a course.
- 8. Correct attachment phrasing Original: with Suggested revision: to Why it matters: Attach takes the preposition to when naming the document that contains the attachment.
- 9. Match named recipient Original: faithfully Suggested revision: sincerely Why it matters: Yours sincerely is the conventional formal sign-off when the recipient is addressed by name.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: I will be available between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm each day except Sunday. I would also be busy on Tuesdays as I visit my mother and take a dance class every Tuesday. Suggested revision: I will be available from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm every day except Sundays and Tuesdays, when I visit my mother and take a dance class. Why it matters: This revision removes the contradiction between being available each day except Sunday and also being unavailable on Tuesdays.
Suggested Rewrites
- a local in the neighbourhood a local resident
- show express
- doing groceries doing the grocery shopping
- clean your floor with a vacuum cleaner vacuum your floors
- refill the medicine refill your prescription
- support the expenses cover the cost
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter is easy to follow, well organised, and gives specific information about the help offered, the writer's motivation, and exact availability. Its main weakness is a cluster of unnatural word choices and minor register or convention issues, including the sign-off after naming the recipient. The strongest improvement would be to refine collocations and use consistently natural formal-letter phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are addressed with relevant detail, and the purpose and generally suitable tone remain clear throughout.
Use 'Yours sincerely' after addressing Mrs Barrett by name and state the Tuesday exception more directly.
Coherence and Cohesion
Clear paragraphing and a sensible sequence make the letter easy to follow, despite minor repetition in the availability section.
Combine the availability exceptions into one precise sentence to avoid repeating 'every Tuesday.'
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of household and scheduling vocabulary, though several collocations are noticeably unnatural.
Replace phrases such as 'doing groceries,' 'planning to intake,' and 'attaching my details' with idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied sentence structures are used with generally good control, and the few awkward constructions do not impede meaning.
Simplify overloaded sentences, particularly the explanation of the computer course and financial motivation.
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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.