Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Correction

Your former homestay family is coming to see you in your home country and stay from January 31st to February 10th. Write them a letter. In your letter: make plans to meet them at a convenient location specify a time and date suggest some activities you may all participate in during their visit

Sample Response

Dear Mr & Mrs Johnson, I trust you are doing fine and enjoying the season. I am surprised to hear that you are visiting the United Kingdom in a few days and I am really happy about it. I am sure you will enjoy your holiday here and the climate at this time of the year is bright and sunny. I cannot wait to meet you. As you have already said, you are going to stay in a hotel in London. My house is almost 10 hours driveway from London city centre. I hope you will be free on February 4th so that we can meet on that day. When you come to Belfast, give me a ring or send me an SMS two hours prior so that I can meet you there. Early morning (around 9:00 am) would be better but I can meet you anytime you want. We will have our lunch together in a restaurant where I went many times and I quite like their environment and food. There are many tourist spots in Belfast so I am sure you both will enjoy your time. I will be very glad if you agree to stay at our home for a couple of days as my parents are very eager to meet you. I have told them about you and they are expecting you. During your stay at our home, we can go to see popular historical museums, beaches, amusement parks and other attractive places near my hometown. We would love to give you a taste of our traditional food. Looking forward to seeing you both soon. Sincerely yours, Sonia Vincent

IELTS Writing Correction

  • 1. Meaning nuance I am delighted to hear
  • 2. Wrong collocation a ten-hour drive
  • 3. Too vague I will meet you at Belfast Central Station at 9:00 am on February 4th
  • 4. Tense choice where I have been many times
  • 5. Restaurant phrase its atmosphere and food
  • 6. Natural phrase There are many tourist attractions
  • 7. Preposition choice with us
  • 8. Word choice places of interest
Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.

TA

Task Achievement

7.5
Feedback

The letter makes plans to meet, gives a date and approximate time, and suggests several activities. The arrangement is somewhat loose because the exact meeting place depends on the visitors contacting the writer later.

Next step

Give one definite meeting location and time, then add flexibility as a backup.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0
Feedback

The message is friendly and generally well sequenced, moving from greeting to meeting plan and activities. One-paragraph formatting and some overlong sentences limit cohesion.

Next step

Use separate paragraphs for reaction, meeting arrangement, activities, and closing invitation.

LR

Lexical Resource

7.0
Feedback

Vocabulary is warm and mostly appropriate, but several collocations are unnatural, such as 10 hours driveway and environment and food.

Next step

Replace awkward travel and hospitality phrases with more idiomatic wording.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.5
Feedback

Meaning is clear, but there are tense, article, and verb-form errors in several sentences.

Next step

Check fixed forms such as have been to, a ten-hour drive, and stay with us.