Your parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary next month. You are planning a big celebration and want help making it memorable. Write to a friend who is a professional event planner. In your letter: - explain why the occasion is special - ask for your friend's assistance - set up a convenient time to meet and discuss your plans
Sample Response
Dear Amelia, I hope you are doing well.Hope you are doing fine. It was so delightful to hear that you had a memorable trip around Europea memorable tour in Europe, and I'm sure that would have left you feeling completely refreshedwould revive you to the fullest. I'm writing to ask for your help with my plansseek your advice regarding my plan to celebrate my parents’ 40thmy parents 40th marriage anniversary. I'm sure you can help me make this a grand celebration. Spending 40 years together is a great reason to celebrate and my parents have provided a true example ofshown a true testament of what a marriage really is and I am absolutely blessed to be a part of this remarkable family. 4 decades with blessing, love, affection, true commitment and care is absolutely remarkable. I only hope I will bewish I would be that fortunate! As I want to make this event unforgettable, I need your help. The 40th anniversary, also known as the ruby anniversary, should be a joyous occasion filled with family and friends who’ve been a part of theiryour lives over the years. I know how well known you are for makinghow famous you are for making such an occasion a success and although I have a few rough ideasdespite some superficial ideas, I am not sure how to organise such a monumental occasionmake arrangements for such a monumental occasion which is on 24th March. I hope you can meet me next weekmeet me someday to discuss and finalise the arrangementsplanning. I can come over to your office to discuss the planshave the conversation at your convenience. Do inform me when you can meet. Hope to meet you soon. Warm wishes, Karina
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter conveys genuine warmth and explains the significance of the anniversary with substantial, relevant detail. Its effectiveness is reduced by repetition, an overlong single-paragraph structure, and a meeting request that leaves the timing entirely open. Organise the content around the three bullet points and propose one or two specific meeting times so the practical purpose is completed more decisively.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The occasion and need for help are developed clearly in a friendly register, but the meeting arrangement remains vague rather than establishing a convenient time.
Offer specific options for when to meet and ask the friend to confirm which one suits her.
Coherence and Cohesion
The message follows a generally logical sequence, although one long paragraph and repeated statements about the occasion weaken cohesion.
Group the explanation, request for assistance, and meeting arrangements into separate paragraphs and remove repeated praise of the anniversary.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often expressive, but some choices such as revive you to the fullest and superficial ideas are imprecise or unnatural.
Prioritise natural collocations and precise everyday language over elaborate expressions whose meaning is less secure.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter demonstrates varied complex structures with generally good control, despite occasional fragments, missing possessive marking, and awkward constructions.
Proofread sentence completeness and possession, especially in phrases such as my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary next month. You are planning a big celebration and want help making it memorable. Write to a friend who is a professional event planner. In your letter:
- explain why the occasion is special
- ask for your friend's assistance
- set up a convenient time to meet and discuss your plans
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.