You are going to spend your vacation in a city in a foreign country. You have never been there before. Your cousin has a friend who lives there. Write a letter to your cousin's friend. In your letter: - introduce yourself - say why you are making this trip - ask some questions about the city (e.g. places to see, things to do, things to bring)
Sample Response
Dear Mr Rudy, Hope this letter doesn’t come to you as a surprise since we have never met before. Actually, I am a cousin of Alex Turner, who is a friend of yours, and he suggested me that I should write to you and ask for some information from you before visiting "Athens" where you are currently living in. By the way, I am planning to visit Athens because I have got two weeks' vacation from my work, and I want to spend it in a beautiful European city and Athens is my first choice. Anyway, given the long period of time you have lived in this city, I am sure that you would be able to guide me properly and provide me with some information about the place before visiting it. So, can you please tell me about the weather of that place during the months of March and April? How expensive is the taxi service there? Besides, I would also like to get some information about what kinds of food and drinks are popular there, and what are my options as far as finding some affordable accommodation is concerned. I will wait for your response. Yours sincerely, David Russett
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add the subject Original: Hope this letter Suggested revision: I hope this letter Why it matters: An independent sentence needs the explicit subject “I” here.
- 2. Use natural possession Original: a cousin of Alex Turner Suggested revision: Alex Turner’s cousin Why it matters: The possessive form is more direct and natural in this introduction.
- 3. Correct suggest pattern Original: suggested me that Suggested revision: suggested that Why it matters: “Suggest” does not take an indirect object before a that-clause.
- 4. Use natural phrasing Original: ask for some information from you Suggested revision: ask you for some information Why it matters: This word order is the more natural way to identify the person being asked.
- 5. Remove unnecessary quotes Original: visiting "Athens" Suggested revision: visiting Athens Why it matters: A city name does not need quotation marks in this context.
- 6. Remove dangling preposition Original: where you are currently living in Suggested revision: where you currently live Why it matters: “Where” already supplies the location, so the final preposition is unnecessary.
- 7. Use natural leave wording Original: got two weeks' vacation from my work Suggested revision: been given two weeks off work Why it matters: This is a more idiomatic way to describe approved vacation time.
- 8. Make reference concise Original: weather of that place Suggested revision: weather there Why it matters: “There” refers to Athens more naturally and avoids a distant-sounding phrase.
- 9. Fix embedded question order Original: what are my options as far as finding some affordable accommodation is concerned Suggested revision: what affordable accommodation options are available Why it matters: The clause after “about” requires statement word order rather than direct-question inversion.
- 10. Separate letter sections Suggested revision: Use separate paragraphs for the introduction, reason for travelling, questions, and closing. Why it matters: The single-block format obscures the progression between the letter’s distinct purposes.
Suggested Rewrites
- Hope this letter I hope this letter
- a cousin of Alex Turner Alex Turner’s cousin
- suggested me that suggested that
- ask for some information from you ask you for some information
- visiting "Athens" visiting Athens
- where you are currently living in where you currently live
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly establishes the relationship, explains the reason for the trip, and asks a useful range of practical questions in an appropriately respectful tone. Its main weakness is that all the content is compressed into one paragraph and several linking phrases and expressions sound formulaic or awkward; separating the purposes into clear paragraphs and refining idiomatic phrasing would make the response more natural and easier to follow.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are addressed, and the practical questions are relevant and sufficiently developed.
Add a question about a recommended attraction or activity to broaden the city-focused enquiry further.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically, but the single-block presentation and repeated conversational linkers weaken the organisation.
Use separate paragraphs for the introduction, trip purpose, and questions, with fewer formulaic transitions.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a good range of vocabulary for travel, accommodation, and requesting information, despite several awkward collocations.
Replace unnatural phrases such as asking about the weather of a place with more idiomatic wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is used with generally good control, although a few construction and preposition errors remain.
Correct verb patterns and relative-clause phrasing, especially in expressions such as suggested that I write and the city where you live.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are going to spend your vacation in a city in a foreign country. You have never been there before. Your cousin has a friend who lives there. Write a letter to your cousin's friend. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- say why you are making this trip
- ask some questions about the city (e.g. places to see, things to do, things to bring)
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.