Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just sent you some photos of your holiday.Write a letter to your friends. In your letter: - thank them for the photos and for the holiday - explain why you didn’t - write earlier - invite them to come and stay with you
Sample Response
Dear John and Jane,
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writingI’m just writing to thank you both for the holiday and for the photos you sent.
The photos arrived this morning in the post. They reminded me what a great time I had during my stay with you last month. You really were fantastic hosts,and I couldn’t have asked for better guides to show me around.
Sorry I didn’t write to you earlier, but I’ve been working flat out since I arrived homesince the moment I arrived home. Do you remember that I told youDo you remember I told you I had an assignment to finish? Well, the deadline was two weeks earlier than I had thoughttwo weeks earlier than I thought it was!
Anyway, I’m back to normal now and I’ve handed in all my assignmentsall of my assignments. Now that I’m freeInfact, now that I’m free, why don’t you both come and stay? I have a guest room availableThere’s a spareroom here, so you’re welcome to use it whenever you like.
Hope to see you soon, [Your name]Hope to see you soon,
Why this response received Band 8.0
This is a well-focused, friendly letter whose strongest feature is the natural development of every required point, especially the clear explanation for the delayed reply and the warm invitation. The main limitation is inconsistent proofreading in forms such as “hosts,and,” “Infact,” and “spareroom.” The highest-priority improvement is a final check for spacing and compound-word errors so the polished content is matched by equally polished presentation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly thanks the friends, explains the delayed reply in convincing detail, and extends a warm, appropriately informal invitation.
Make the invitation slightly more concrete by suggesting a possible time or activity for their visit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Each paragraph has a distinct communicative purpose, and the response moves smoothly from thanks to explanation and invitation.
Use a slightly fuller closing sentence to round off the invitation before the sign-off.
Lexical Resource
The response uses varied, natural informal vocabulary such as “working flat out” and “fantastic hosts,” although several words are incorrectly joined.
Proofread compound forms and spacing, especially “in fact,” “spare room,” and punctuation after commas.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures are varied and accurately controlled, including questions and complex explanations, with only minor mechanical slips.
Check punctuation spacing carefully so minor presentation errors do not distract from otherwise strong grammatical control.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just sent you some photos of your holiday.Write a letter to your friends. In your letter:
- thank them for the photos and for the holiday
- explain why you didn’t
- write earlier
- invite them to come and stay with you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.