You stayed over at a friend’s house last weekend and think that you left your watch there. In your letter: - Thank your friend - Describe your watch - Tell them what you want them to do
Sample Response
I had such a pleasant time staying over at your place last weekendthe other week and I wanted to write to thank yousay thanks and ask a quick question. The party you threw was so chilled out and I can’t wait to meet up for the next partyone. Please let me know if you plan on having another partydoing this type of thing again and let me know if I can help out in any way at all!
The only problem after the weekendThe only issue with the weekend was my fault (as usual). I had a bit too much to drink (also as usual) and I somehow misplaced my watch. It’s a brand new watch, with a brown leather band and a faux-gold casea faux gold clock on it. Its faceThe face of it is really distinctive because the hands are silver and the design is minimalistit’s minimalistic, without any markings for the hours.
If you can locate it, I’d really appreciate it ifappreciate if you could send it to me by mail (to the address enclosed). If that’s inconvenient for you, you could also pass it on to Mike the next time you see him because he often stops by my place at the weekend. Both those options are fine by me!
Thanks again for the party and here’s hoping you can find my watchrustle up my watch!
Regards,
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response fully handles the practical purpose with a warm, convincing informal voice, and the watch description and delivery alternatives are especially clear. The main limitation is minor awkwardness in a few expressions and the absence of a personal greeting, which slightly weakens the authenticity of the letter format. Add an appropriate salutation and polish phrases such as 'appreciate it if' while preserving the natural conversational tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed, and the friendly, humorous tone is highly appropriate for writing to a friend.
Add a personal salutation to make the informal letter format complete from the opening line.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress naturally through thanks, the watch description, and practical return options, with cohesive devices used unobtrusively.
Keep the opening slightly more focused by trimming the extra discussion of helping with a future party.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is flexible, vivid, and naturally informal, with only occasional slightly imprecise choices such as 'faux gold clock.'
Use the more precise phrase 'gold-coloured watch case' while retaining the effective conversational expressions elsewhere.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is controlled accurately, with only a minor omission in 'I'd really appreciate if.'
Use 'I'd really appreciate it if' and continue checking fixed grammatical patterns in otherwise fluent complex sentences.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You stayed over at a friend’s house last weekend and think that you left your watch there. In your letter:
- Thank your friend
- Describe your watch
- Tell them what you want them to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.