You are going to visit New Zealand for an 'English and Homestay' program. You have just received details of your homestay host family. Write your first letter to the family. In your letter: - introduce yourself - ask the family some questions to get information that is important to you - tell the family about your arrival date and time
Sample Response
Dear Mr Johnson, I have just received details of my English Homestay programme withat your family and am writingand writing to introduce myself and ask for some information. I would like to thank you for agreeing to host me. My name is Anna Ferra, I am 21 and live with my family in Lyon, France, which is my hometown. My native language is French and I am looking forward to improving my English during the trip to New Zealand. I will enrolget enrolled in university soon and I am passionate about computer programming. I would be grateful if you could provide me with some information about your house and family. To begin with, I would prefer to live in a single room which has good ventilationenough natural airflow. Besides, I am a vegetarian and hope that it would not be a big problem for you. Secondly, I would like to learn more about your family’s daily routines, such as the gameslike the games you like to play together, the type of TV programmes you watch and so on. This could help me to join in your daily routines as a member of the familyparticipate in all your routines like a relative. I am very eager to meet you in person. Regarding my arrivalBy the way, I have already bought the plane ticket and would be happy if you could meet me at the airport. This is my first time in New Zealand. I am due to arrivewill hopefully arrive on September 18, at 10:00 am, Wellington time. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely yours, Anna Ferra
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter establishes a warm, suitable relationship with the host family and addresses the introduction, personal needs, family routines, and arrival details with helpful specificity. Its main weakness is a cluster of awkward expressions and a few sentence-level grammatical lapses that reduce naturalness. The priority is to phrase requests as clear questions and edit collocations and clause structure for smoother, more idiomatic communication.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter has a clear purpose, covers all three bullet points with relevant personal detail, and maintains a friendly, respectful register.
Phrase the room, dietary, and airport-pickup needs as explicit questions so the requested information is completely unambiguous.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear progression from self-introduction through practical questions to travel details and an appropriate closing.
Strengthen the transitions between accommodation, dietary needs, and family routines so each request forms a more distinct stage.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for personal background, accommodation, routines, and travel, but several word combinations sound unnatural.
Replace awkward phrases such as “at your family,” “get enrolled,” and “participate in all your routines like a relative” with idiomatic wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses varied complex structures successfully, though the opening omission, a comma splice, and occasional awkward clause construction remain noticeable.
Proofread sentence openings and boundaries, especially adding the missing subject and verb after “and” and separating independent clauses correctly.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are going to visit New Zealand for an 'English and Homestay' program. You have just received details of your homestay host family. Write your first letter to the family. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- ask the family some questions to get information that is important to you
- tell the family about your arrival date and time
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.