An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - say how you feel about the visit? - suggest what you could do on his/her birthday? - ask what your friend thinks of your idea?
Sample Response
Dear Sam,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I was delightedflabbergasted when you told me about your tripvacation to India. I remember meeting you in person three years agoback before migrating to Australia, and it was an emotional moment. I am overjoyed at the prospect of seeing youoverwhelmed with happiness to meet you and have longeternal conversations with you, which I have missed all this timewhich we missed all these days.
During your visitFurthermore, during your visit, we can celebrate your birthday in a special wayin an affluent manner, and it is my responsibility to make your day filled with wonderfuleternal memories. Let’s invite our school friends at midnight, and we can throw a party for all our peers, which includes dinner and music. The next morningThe next day morning, we can go for a road trip to Meadow Caves. It is one of the best hangout spots to visit within the city limitswithin city limits, and it is feasible to return hometo return to our home as early as possible. I read online thatI browsed on the internet that there is a resort near the cavesnear caves and we can have our lunch there. I speculate they serve delicious dishescuisines with a mix of international flavours. After a scrumptious meal, we can return homereturn to my home.
These are the plans which I thought of celebrating your birthday. I anticipate that you will be fine with my plan; if not, then help me with some suggestions, and we will alter it.
Can’t wait to celebrate your birthday and hope to see you soon.
Best regardsRegards,
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter addresses every bullet point, offers a detailed birthday plan, and is easy to follow from the writer's excitement through to the request for the friend's opinion. The main limitation is the repeated use of unnatural or overly formal vocabulary for a personal letter; prioritise natural collocations and a warmer conversational register so the language matches the relationship more convincingly.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All parts of the task are clearly addressed and the birthday suggestions are well developed, though the register is sometimes too formal for a close friend.
Express excitement and suggestions in more natural, friendly language throughout the letter.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has a clear sequence and appropriate paragraph divisions, although the long planning paragraph contains several ideas with limited internal signposting.
Separate the party and road-trip plans or connect them with clearer time-based progression.
Lexical Resource
The writer demonstrates good range, but frequent miscollocations such as 'eternal conversations,' 'affluent manner,' and 'delicious cuisines' reduce precision.
Choose common, context-appropriate combinations such as 'long conversations,' 'a memorable celebration,' and 'delicious food.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are attempted successfully and meaning remains clear, but article, preposition, and clause-structure errors recur.
Review articles and natural time expressions, especially in phrases such as 'the next morning' and 'a resort near the caves.'
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- say how you feel about the visit?
- suggest what you could do on his/her birthday?
- ask what your friend thinks of your idea?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.