You play a team sport with some friends. Last week a member of the team had an accident and wasn't able to play with you at the weekend. You decide to write to him in hospital, telling him about the match. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - tell him which team won - describe the conditions on the day - say how you felt about the match
Sample Response
Dear Joey,
I hope this letter finds you on the mend. I heard about your accident and wanted to drop you a note, hoping it's not too tedious in the hospital.
The match on Saturday was quite something. It ended in a 2-all draw, leaving us a bit disheartened. Without you, it felt like something was missing. The real gut-punch came in the last 10 minutes when, out of the blue, they scored another goal. Watching that ball hit the back of the net was quite a shock.
The weather took its toll too. It was a wet day, and the pitch turned into a muddy mess. By the end, the grass was hardly visible, and we were all slipping and sliding. Everyone was pretty worn ou t.
Once you're set to head home, let us know, and we'll arrange someone to bring you to watch the next game. The whole team sends their regards, and we're all hoping for your speedy recovery.
Best wishes,
Charlie.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural wording Original: tedious in the hospital Suggested revision: boring for you in hospital Why it matters: 'Boring for you' describes the friend's experience more naturally than 'tedious'.
- 2. Choose precise description Original: quite something Suggested revision: very eventful Why it matters: 'Very eventful' conveys the nature of the match more specifically.
- 3. Clarify the result Original: another goal Suggested revision: the equalising goal Why it matters: Naming this as the equaliser makes the late goal consistent with the stated draw.
- 4. Use natural expression Original: Once you're set to head home Suggested revision: Once you're ready to go home Why it matters: 'Ready to go home' is the more idiomatic expression in this context.
- 5. Correct verb pattern Original: arrange someone to bring you Suggested revision: arrange for someone to take you Why it matters: The construction requires 'arrange for someone to', and 'take' fits movement from home to the game.
- 6. Sentence rewrite Original: It ended in a 2-all draw, leaving us a bit disheartened. Suggested revision: Neither team won: the match ended in a 2-all draw, leaving us a bit disheartened. Why it matters: This explicitly answers the prompt's question about which team won while retaining the stated result.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: Without you, it felt like something was missing. Suggested revision: Without you on the field, the team did not feel complete. Why it matters: The rewrite replaces the vague phrase with a clearer expression of the same feeling.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: Everyone was pretty worn ou t. Suggested revision: Everyone was completely exhausted. Why it matters: The revision removes the malformed word and expresses the intended meaning naturally.
Suggested Rewrites
- tedious in the hospital boring for you in hospital
- quite something very eventful
- another goal the equalising goal
- Once you're set to head home Once you're ready to go home
- arrange someone to bring you arrange for someone to take you
- It ended in a 2-all draw, leaving us a bit disheartened. Neither team won: the match ended in a 2-all draw, leaving us a bit disheartened.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is engaging and easy to follow, with vivid description of the muddy conditions and a warm, convincing voice appropriate for a close teammate. The principal weakness is task fulfilment: the prompt asks which team won, but the letter reports a draw, so that required detail is not supplied. Aligning the stated result with the prompt and naming the winning team should be the first revision priority.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The conditions and feelings are clearly developed in an appropriate informal tone, but the required winning team is not identified because the result is presented as a draw.
State which team won and ensure the surrounding score details consistently support that outcome.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is organised into purposeful paragraphs and progresses smoothly from concern for the friend through the match, conditions, and future plans.
Make the relationship between the final goal and the announced result completely explicit to strengthen logical continuity.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a flexible and vivid range of natural informal vocabulary, including effective expressions for emotion, weather, and match action.
Retain the lively voice while avoiding minor presentation slips such as the split spelling in "worn ou t".
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of sentence forms is handled with strong control, and the few minor slips do not impede communication.
Check final proofreading details and refine the occasional compressed clause so the grammar remains consistently polished.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You play a team sport with some friends. Last week a member of the team had an accident and wasn't able to play with you at the weekend. You decide to write to him in hospital, telling him about the match. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- tell him which team won
- describe the conditions on the day
- say how you felt about the match
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.