You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will be looking after your house while you are away. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - say where you are going - describe how to look after your pet - explain some of the things your friend should do to look after your house
Sample Response
Dear Donna, I trust you are doing splendidly and enjoying the season. Thank you very much for agreeing to house-sit for me while I am in Irelandwhile I will be in Ireland to see my sister this summer. If you need to reach me for any reason, please call me on my mobileplease ring my mobile phone. I trust you already have my number. Alternatively, you can find it on a sticky note placed on the landline tableland phone table. I will stay with my sister in Limerick city in Ireland and will return on 24 Octoberwould return on 24th October. It was a relief when you agreed to house-sit for me. I owe you a big one! My dog needs to be fed three times a dayfed thrice a day - morning, noon, and eveningmorning, noon and evening. Please put dog food in his dish at the proper time. You will find the food containers in the kitchen pantry. Also, please check throughout the day to make sure he has fresh water. Please take him outside in the evening if you have timeYou can take him outside in the evening if you like. He is very friendly and does not bark at night. I would like you to close the doors and windows in the evening and check the mailbox every other day. If someone asks about me, please inform them that I am away and can reach me on my mobile phonecould be reached on my mobile phone. Finally, water my plantsplant every evening. The indoor cactus plants need water only when the soil is dry. Keep the outside lights on at nightKeep the outside lights on at night. I look forward to seeing you on my return. Warm wishes, Elsa
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter succeeds by giving Donna clear, practical instructions about the trip, dog care, and household duties in a warm, appropriate tone. Its main weakness is the dense single-paragraph presentation, alongside a few awkward phrases and minor tense or preposition slips. Prioritise dividing the content into focused paragraphs and polishing time and contact expressions so the instructions are easier to scan.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter covers the destination, pet care, and house-care duties in useful detail. It gives practical information such as food location, mailbox checks, plants, and lights.
Add the exact departure date and separate emergency contact details from the main instructions for even clearer task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence is logical, but the response is presented as one long paragraph after the greeting, which makes the instructions less easy to follow.
Use short paragraphs or bullet-like instruction paragraphs for travel details, dog care, and house care.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is natural and friendly, with good household and pet-care language. A few phrases are slightly unnatural or too general.
Use standard household wording such as 'landline table', 'three times a day', and 'contact me on my mobile'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is well controlled overall, though some tense choices and small phrase errors remain.
Check future time clauses and prepositions in phrases such as 'while I am away' and 'on the landline table'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will be looking after your house while you are away. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- say where you are going
- describe how to look after your pet
- explain some of the things your friend should do to look after your house
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.