You recently stayed with a friend while you were visiting their city. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - thank your friend for their hospitality - say what you enjoyed most about your stay - invite your friend to visit you
Sample Response
Dear Emma,
Thank you so much for letting me stay at your flat last week. I had a wonderful time in Manchester, and it was all thanks to you.
You really went out of your way to look after me. You picked me up from the station late at night, cooked dinner for me every evening, and even took a day off work to show me around the city. What I enjoyed most was our walk along the old canal on Saturday morning. I would never have found that place on my own, and the photos I took there are my favourite ones from the whole trip.
I would love to return the favour. My flat in Tokyo is small, but there is a spare room, and the city is beautiful in early April. We could go and see the cherry blossoms together, and I would be happy to take you to the quiet neighbourhoods that most visitors never reach. Please let me know if you can come next spring.
Once again, thank you for everything.
Best wishes, Yuki
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Avoid an absolute claim Original: it was all thanks to you Suggested revision: your hospitality made the trip especially memorable Why it matters: This wording expresses gratitude more precisely without sounding exaggerated.
- 2. Use a concise noun Original: favourite ones Suggested revision: favourites Why it matters: Favourites conveys the same meaning more naturally and concisely.
- 3. Remove a redundant word Original: from the whole trip Suggested revision: from the trip Why it matters: Whole adds no necessary meaning in this phrase.
- 4. Use a direct verb Original: go and see Suggested revision: see Why it matters: The shorter verb expresses the proposed activity more directly.
- 5. Choose a natural verb Original: reach Suggested revision: visit Why it matters: Visit collocates more naturally with neighbourhoods in this context.
- 6. Make the visit explicit Original: come Suggested revision: visit Why it matters: Visit states the intended purpose more precisely than come.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: I would love to return the favour. Suggested revision: I would love to host you in Tokyo in return. Why it matters: This revision turns the implied offer into a direct invitation while preserving the intended meaning.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: My flat in Tokyo is small, but there is a spare room, and the city is beautiful in early April. Suggested revision: My flat in Tokyo is small, but it has a spare room, and Tokyo is beautiful in early April. Why it matters: The revision clarifies both the flat-room relationship and the reference to Tokyo.
Suggested Rewrites
- it was all thanks to you your hospitality made the trip especially memorable
- favourite ones favourites
- from the whole trip from the trip
- go and see see
- reach visit
- come visit
Why this response received Band 9.0
The letter fully achieves its friendly purpose, with vivid personal details, a warm invitation, and exceptionally natural progression from thanks to shared memories and future plans. The main limitation is that some phrasing remains relatively conventional for such a strong response. The highest-priority refinement is to add one or two even more distinctive, precise expressions while preserving the effortless informal tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed with specific, persuasive details in a consistently warm and appropriate personal tone.
Maintain this level of detail while ensuring every added example continues to serve the letter’s friendly purpose.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing and progression are exceptionally clear, and cohesive links guide the reader naturally without drawing attention to themselves.
Preserve this economical paragraph structure in future letters, with each paragraph continuing to fulfil one clear communicative function.
Lexical Resource
The response uses flexible, natural informal vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions such as 'went out of your way' and 'return the favour.'
For further refinement, replace a conventional phrase or two with wording even more specific to the shared experience.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide variety of sentence forms is used with consistently accurate grammar and punctuation throughout the letter.
Continue varying clause patterns this naturally while retaining the same high level of control.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently stayed with a friend while you were visiting their city. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- thank your friend for their hospitality
- say what you enjoyed most about your stay
- invite your friend to visit you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.