You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - Explain why you are selling the television - Describe the television - Suggest a date when your friend can come and see it
Sample Response
Dear John, 6 months ago I bought a brand new LG 42' LCD screen television since, at that time, I was moving to a new house and wanted all my stuff to be new: this TV was placed in my living room along with my new sound system. I had one TV and brought it with me, too, but I decided to put it in my room. That one is not so modern but it has a Wi-Fi connection, so it suitswi-fi connection, so it suits my needs. The problem is thatIt happens that all my moving expensesall the expenses with my moving were higher than I had plannedwere beyond my plans and I decided to sellended up deciding to sell this new TV to make some extra money. When thinking about someone who might want itsomeone that could have it, I thought of youyou came to my mind. I remember that you were after a 4K TV with an integrated Wi-Fi connectionintegrated wi-fi connection and lots of HDMI portsslots and mine does have all of that! Besides, it is so lightweight that even your little brother can carry it. I know you are inaround town this month, so why don’t you come over and have a look at it? I’ll be at home at home all weekendall day long on weekends. If you want to stop by on weekdays, just let me know. I can make it after 18PM if you wish. We can agree on a fairgreat price. Let me know what you think! Call me or texton my phone of text me. Best, Maryme. Mary.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The friendly tone and specific television details make the offer convincing, and all three required areas are covered. The main limitation is that the response is presented as one long block and includes several awkward expressions and small errors, particularly around the proposed visiting time. Organise the reason, description, and invitation into separate paragraphs, then state one clear date and time while proofreading phrases such as “18PM” and “of text me.”
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter explains the sale, describes the television in useful detail, and informally invites the friend to inspect it.
Give one specific proposed date and time instead of offering only broad weekend and weekday availability.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content follows a sensible sequence, but the single-block format and lengthy opening reduce ease of navigation.
Divide the letter into clear paragraphs for the reason for selling, the television’s features, and the visit arrangements.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of relevant and informal vocabulary, although a few collocations sound unnatural.
Replace awkward phrases such as “expenses with my moving” and “someone that could have it” with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are used with generally good control, while several local errors remain noticeable without obscuring meaning.
Proofread time expressions, prepositions, and slips such as “of text me,” and simplify sentences that carry too many clauses.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- Explain why you are selling the television
- Describe the television
- Suggest a date when your friend can come and see it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.