You have a friend who lives in a city abroad. You have decided that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in that city. Write to your friend explaining what you would like to do. In your letter: - tell him/her of your plans - tell him/her what type of work or studies you have been doing recently - ask for help in contacting a college.
Sample Response
Dear Guri,
How are you? It’s been a long timeIt’s been a long since we talkedwe’ve talked with each other. You will be thrilled to hearto get the news that I have decided to take a coursemade a plan to do a course at one of the colleges in London.
Let me tell you that I have decided to pursuedo a degree in special education. I got to know from my professor that the field has excellent prospects overseasit has a great scope overseas. Also, I willwould be able to work in special schools, and this practical experience will be helpful for me to secure employment there.
Furthermore, I have been teaching psychology atin a school. Although my job is not full-timenot round the clock, during the rest of the day, particularly in the eveningsthe rest of the day, particularly evenings, I help my communityI do help to improve my community by taking part in an awareness programme.
Would you be kind enough to supply me with the required informationsupply me required information about the best colleges? In addition, it would be great if you could help me locatehelp me in locating a college which provides scholarships to studentsscholarships to the students. You have a better knowledge of the areabetter understanding of the place and can also help me reserve a roomassist me in reserving my place for accommodation in university hallsUniversity Halls.
Eagerly waiting for your reply.
Best wishes,Yours Loving,
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter addresses all three requests with a clear study plan, relevant background information, and specific questions for the friend. Its main limitation is uneven naturalness, as several collocations and the closing sound awkward or overly formal for a personal letter. The highest-priority improvement is to use more idiomatic phrasing and maintain a consistently friendly register throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are developed, and the response provides relevant detail despite some inconsistency in the friendly register.
Use a natural informal closing and phrase the requests more conversationally to sustain an appropriate tone for a friend.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically through the plan, current work, and requests, with clear paragraphing and generally effective linking.
Reduce reliance on overt transitions such as Furthermore and In addition so that connections between ideas feel more natural.
Lexical Resource
A good range of topic-specific vocabulary conveys the plans and requests clearly, although several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as great scope, supply me required information, and reserving my place with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied sentence structures successfully, but recurring article, preposition, and clause-construction errors reduce accuracy.
Review article and preposition use in longer sentences, especially around requests, locations, and descriptions of work or study.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have a friend who lives in a city abroad. You have decided that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in that city. Write to your friend explaining what you would like to do. In your letter:
- tell him/her of your plans
- tell him/her what type of work or studies you have been doing recently
- ask for help in contacting a college.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.