You have recently gone to live in a new city. You want to let an English-speaking friend who lives in another country know about it. Write a letter to your English-speaking friend. In your letter: - explain why you have gone to live in the new city - describe the place - where you are living - invite your friend to come and see you
Sample Response
Dear Anna, I hope you're doing great. I'm sorry that I've not been in touch with you lately, and to be honesthonestly speaking, over the last couple of weeks, I've rarely hadduring the last couple of weeks, I rarely had any time for myself! I'm very excited to let you know that II've moved to Denver a few days ago. As you know, I was expecting a promotion, and last month our companyoffice administration promoted me to a senior manager positionthe Senior Manager position atof their new branch in Denver. Therefore, I had to move to Denver, whichmove to Denver which, in my opinion, is a great city to live in. Situated in the South Platte River Valley, this modern city draws openness from the Great Plains to the east and features spectacular Rocky Mountain views to the west. I've rented a house in the northeast part of the city and it has magnificent surroundings. The house I am living in has two bedrooms, a guest room, a large kitchen and a garden. I've planted a few flower plants and can't wait to show them to you. Please arrange some time and visit me sometime next month. I'm sure we will enjoy our time together. I can't wait to see you.Waiting to see you soon. Warm wishes, Emily
Why this response received Band 8.0
This engaging letter fully addresses the move, the reason for it, the new home and city, and the invitation, while maintaining a warm, natural tone throughout. Its strongest feature is the specific, appealing description of Denver and the house; the main limitation is a small number of awkward or inaccurate phrases. Greater precision in tense choice and collocation would make an already effective response more polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fully achieves its purpose, covers every bullet point with relevant detail, and uses an appropriately friendly tone.
Make the invitation slightly more specific by suggesting a particular date or activity for the visit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses clearly from the reason for moving to the city, home, and invitation, with cohesive links used naturally.
Use visible paragraph breaks to separate the move, accommodation, and invitation more distinctly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective descriptive language such as references to the valley, plains, and mountain views.
Replace slightly awkward collocations such as 'draws openness' and 'flower plants' with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of structures is handled accurately, and the few errors do not impede communication.
Refine tense control in phrases such as 'I've moved ... a few days ago' and review article and preposition choices.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently gone to live in a new city. You want to let an English-speaking friend who lives in another country know about it. Write a letter to your English-speaking friend. In your letter:
- explain why you have gone to live in the new city
- describe the place
- where you are living
- invite your friend to come and see you
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.