You have just rented an unfurnished flat and a friend has told you that the Opportunity Shop in the shopping centre has cheap second-hand furniture. Write to the shop owner. In your letter: - describe what furniture you need - ask whether the shop has these items - ask what the items cost
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I have recently moved here from overseasjust arrived from overseas and rented an unfurnished flatpurchased a flat which needs some furniture. A friend has recommended your store to merecommended me your store and he told mehe and told me that you sell affordablebudget-friendly second-hand furniture and I am writing to inquire about a few itemsa few of them that I intend to purchase. Regarding the furniture I needRegarding my intention to purchase furniture, I would like a single bed, a kitchen table, four chairs, a wardrobecupboard for clothes, a bookcase and a wooden cabinet. If you sell home appliances, I would like a microwave oven, a television set and a rice cooker. The furniture shouldmust be in good condition and the electrical applianceselectronic goods must be products from reputable brandsbranded products with at least six months of valid warrantyat least six months valid warranty remaining. I would really appreciate it if you could inform me of the availability of those items along with their prices and details. I hope you can offer me a good priceoffer a good bargain as I am looking for affordable itemssomething cheap. If you do not supply electrical goods, can you recommend another shop which does? Could you also let me knowAlso, could you let me know when I can comewhen can I come and inspect the items in person? I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Garcia Hall
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response covers the requested furniture, availability, and price questions clearly, and its formal tone and detailed item list make the purpose easy to follow. Its main weakness is reduced accuracy: it changes the rented flat to a purchased one, adds somewhat distracting appliance requirements, and contains several grammatical slips; the priority is to stay faithful to the scenario and proofread sentence structures, especially indirect questions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly describes the needed furniture and asks about availability and prices, although it alters the flat's status and gives substantial space to appliances.
Keep the background consistent with the rented-flat scenario and focus the supporting detail more tightly on second-hand furniture.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically ordered and cohesive devices guide the reader, but the single-block presentation and some repetition reduce clarity.
Divide the letter into short functional paragraphs and streamline repeated references to purchasing furniture.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and appropriate for a polite enquiry, with only a few awkward combinations such as 'recommended me your store.'
Use more natural collocations, for example 'recommended your store to me,' and choose concise wording for warranty requirements.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response demonstrates a useful range of structures, but errors such as 'he and told me,' the warranty phrase, and inverted word order in an indirect question are noticeable.
Proofread complex sentences and use statement word order after indirect questions, as in 'when I can come and inspect the items.'
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have just rented an unfurnished flat and a friend has told you that the Opportunity Shop in the shopping centre has cheap second-hand furniture. Write to the shop owner. In your letter:
- describe what furniture you need
- ask whether the shop has these items
- ask what the items cost
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.