British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

10 Ways to Get Higher Marks on the IELTS Letter Writing Task

1. Identify the type of letter you are being asked to write. Is it a formal,
semi-formal or informal letter? The entire tone of your letter is based on
your answer to this question. Adjust your style and choice of words
according to the type of letter you have been asked to write.
2. Open and close the letter correctly.Remember that each type of letter
requires a different opening and closing. The chart below will help you
remember this:

Style Characteristics Opening Ending

To someone
you have not Dear Sir
Yours
Formal met, whose /
faithfully
name you Madam
don't know

To someone
you may or Dear Mr
Semi- may not have Brown, Yours
formal met, whose Dear Ms sincerely
last name you Stone
know & use

To someone
Dear Best
you know
John regards
Informal well, whose
Dear Warm
first name you
Anita wishes
know and use

3. Open a formal and semi-formal letter with a formal sentence. Don't

try to be friendly, as you do not know the person you are writing to. Get
right down to business and indicate the reason you are writing, as shown
below:
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to inquire about / I am writing in connection with...
Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to inform you ... / I am writing in connection with...
4. Open an informal letter with a general, friendly paragraph. With
friends whom we know, we care about the whole person. We have a broader
relationship in the context of which this communication is taking place. So it
is best to acknowledge that friendship first, before getting down to the

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reason for your letter. In fact, the first paragraph could be purely friendly
small talk, unrelated to the reason for your writing. Look at the example
below:
Dear Jane
I hope you and your family are all well. It was such a pleasure to see you
again last summer. We sure had a great time catching up with each other
after so many years. You have always been a cherished friend, no matter
how much of a gap there has been since we met.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is that I have some good news - I am
getting married this summer...
5. Identify the main purpose of the letter. Are you asking for help,
apologizing, inviting someone, complaining or thanking someone? Learn
appropriate and polite expressions that will support what you need to say.
6. Learn and use standard written phrases. Students sometimes
struggle to finish their writing in time. This happens when you are trying to
write every sentence from scratch. The fact is, in conventional letter writing
in English, we use a number of standard expressions and phrases and add
on to them the specific information we wish to communicate. By learning
how to use these expressions, you will find the letter writing task much
easier and will never have to fight for time.
7. Make sure you write at least 150 words. Practice writing letters till
you know what 150 words feels like and looks like. You will lose marks if you
write less. You will not lose marks if you write more; the only restriction on
writing more is in terms of time, not the number of words.
8. Learn the correct spelling of commonly used words. It is surprising
how many IELTS students make a mistake when spelling words such as
"sincerely", "faithfully", "in connection with" and so on. You can prevent
yourself from losing marks by learning the correct spelling of these words
and expressions which you are highly likely to use on your exam.
9. Stay on topic. In order to complete your letter within 20 minutes or less,
practice writing letters where you stick to the point. The General IELTS Task
1 does require you to make up a bit of a story to complete your letter, but
don't make your story so complicated that you run out of time.
10. Include all three bulleted points. If you exclude even one of the
points given to you in the question prompt, you will lose valuable marks.
Practice writing letters that include the three points and go back and check
that you have included them in each practice exercise you do.

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

KEY WORDS for IELTS WRITING

Stating Your Opinion

In my opinion, According to me,

In my view, To me,

From my point of view, I think

It seems to me that I believe

From my perspective To my way of thinking

It appears that I suppose

I realize I understand

I imagine I feel

Giving Examples

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

For example, For instance,

such as In other words,

as like

that is namely

To illustrate To paraphrase

Comparing
Similar to As...as

in common also

Either...or In the same way,

Neither...nor At the same time

Just as resemble

Contrasting
However, But

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On the contrary, On the other hand,

Differ from Nevertheless

Although Though

Otherwise Instead

Alternatively, Even though

Generalizing
Generally, Generally speaking,

Overall, On the whole,

In general, By and large,

It seems to me that I believe

All in all, Basically,

Essentially, As a rule,

All things considered For the most part

Expressing Certainty
Certainly, Undoubtedly,

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Doubtless, No doubt,

Definitely, Of course,

Expressing Partial Agreement

More or less, To some extent,

Up to a point, Almost,

In a way, So to speak,

Showing cause
Due to Because

Because of Owing to

Showing effect
Therefore, As a result,

Consequently, For this reason,

Thus, So,

thereby Eventually,

Hence, The reason why

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Marking time
First, Last

Second, Lastly,

Third, Then,

Firstly, First of all,

Secondly, Before

Thirdly, After

During While

To begin with At the same time

Simultaneously After this / that

Since Meanwhile

Afterwards Following this

When As soon as
Adding Information

Furthermore In addition

Also And

Moreover Similarly

Likewise As well as

Besides Too

Even What’s more

Expressing condition

If Whether

In case Unless

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Provided that So that

Concluding

To summarize In conclusion

Lastly, Finally,

To conclude with, In short,

KEY WORDS for IELTS WRITING

Stating Your Opinion

In my opinion, According to me,

In my view, To me,

From my point of view, I think

It seems to me that I believe

From my perspective To my way of thinking

It appears that I suppose

I realize I understand

I imagine I feel

Giving Examples

For example, For instance,

such as In other words,

as like

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

that is namely

To illustrate To paraphrase

Comparing

Similar to As...as

in common also

Either...or In the same way,

Neither...nor At the same time

Just as resemble

Expressing Certainty

Certainly, Undoubtedly,

Doubtless, No doubt,

Definitely, Of course,

Contrasting

However, But

On the contrary, On the other hand,

Differ from Nevertheless

Although Though

Otherwise Instead

Alternatively, Even though

Generalizing

Generally, Generally speaking,

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

Overall, On the whole,

In general, By and large,

It seems to me that I believe

All in all, Basically,

Essentially, As a rule,

All things considered For the most part

Expressing Partial Agreement

More or less, To some extent,

Up to a point, Almost,

In a way, So to speak,

Showing cause

Due to Because

Because of Owing to

Showing effect

Therefore, As a result,

Consequently, For this reason,

Thus, So,

thereby Eventually,

Hence, The reason why

Marking time

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

First, Last

Second, Lastly,

Third, Then,

Firstly, First of all,

Secondly, Before

Thirdly, After

During While

To begin with At the same time

Simultaneously After this / that

Since Meanwhile

Afterwards Following this

When As soon as

Adding Information

Furthermore In addition

Also And

Moreover Similarly

Likewise As well as

Besides Too

Even What’s more

Expressing condition

If Whether

In case Unless

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

Provided that So that

Concluding

To summarize In conclusion

Lastly, Finally,

To conclude with, In short,

IELTS Writing - Academic Task 1 -

Vocabulary
The following words and phrases will help you describe trends:
a rise
an increase
a surge
a growth
a peak
a fluctuation
Nouns a variation
a period of stability
a plateau
a fall
a decrease
a decline
a dip

to rise
to increase
to surge
to grow
to peak
to skyrocket
to fluctuate
Verbs
to vary
to fall
to decrease
to decline
to dip
to dive
to plunge

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

to show an upward
trend
to show a downward
trend
to hit the highest point
to hit the lowest point
to reach a peak
to show some
fluctuation
to fluctuate wildly
to remain stable
to remain static
Phrases to remain unchanged
to stay constant
to reach a plateau
to level off
to flatten out
the highest
the lowest
the second highest
the third highest

compared to
compared with
relative to

sharply
suddenly
rapidly
abruptly
dramatically
significantly
Adverbs steadily
considerably
markedly
slightly
gently
gradually
wildly

sharp
Adjectives sudden
rapid

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

abrupt
dramatic
steep
significant
steady
considerable
marked
slight
gentle
gradual

SAMPLE SENTENCES
 There was a substantial increase in the value of stocks on March 15th.
 House prices rose dramatically in July.
 The number of tourists visiting New York fell sharply in October.
 The percentage of students walking to school continued to rise gradually
over the ten year period from 2000-2010.
 There was a sharp increase in employee turnover after the strike.
 Interest in environmental issues has risen steadily over the last 10 years.
MORE USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
1. Percent – the word percent comes after a number

Examples:
More than 25% of the students are from Brazil.
More than 25 percent of the students come from Brazil.
2. Percentage - The word percentage comes after words like the, a, this
and that. Often, it is preceded by an adjective.
Examples:
A small percentage of residents have lived in the building for more than
20 years.
The percentage of students who live on campus has fallen sharply since
the fire.
3. For numbers up to ten, write the numbers in words. For numbers over
10, you can write the numbers in numbers.
Examples:
Five percent of the employees were late this month.
More than 50 percent of the students handed in their assignments late
after the long weekend.
4. If the sentence starts with a number, always write it in words.
Examples: Wrong: 25 students were from China.
Right: Twenty-five students were from China.

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

GRAMMAR
Take note of the following prepositions which you will need to describe
dates, numbers and comparisons:
Dates
In December,
In 2005,
From 2001-2010,
By 1998,
Between 1965-1969
Numbers
Increase of 25%
Decreased by 10%
Fell from 200 in July to 150 in August
Comparison
Compared to
Compared with
Relative to

IELTS Letter Writing - Useful Words & Expressions

Apologizing

I'm sorry about...

I am sorry that...
I'm very sorry about...
I'm very sorry for...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize for...
Please accept my apologies.
Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal)

Asking for Help

I'd be grateful if you could...

I would be grateful if you could...
I would appreciate it if you could...
Could you please...
I was wondering of you could help me.(informal)
I would like to know...

Asking for Information

I am writing to enquire about...
I am writing to find out about...

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What I am looking for is...

I would like to know about/if...
Closing

I look forward to seeing you.

I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to meeting you.

Complaining / expressing dissatisfaction

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with...

I'm writing to express my annoyance with...
I am not happy about...
...was very disappointing.

Conveying regards

Please give my best regards to your family.

Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.
Please give my regards to your parents.

Expressing satisfaction

I was delighted to hear that...

I was very happy to learn that...
I was thrilled to find out that...
I was glad to hear that...
...was very enjoyable.
I was sorry to hear about... (your accident/ illness)
I am writing to express my concern about...

Giving bad news

I regret to inform you that...(semi-formal)

I am sorry to tell you that...(informal)
I regret to advise you that...(formal)
I am afraid I have some bad news.(informal)

Giving good news

I am pleased to inform you that...(semi-formal)

I am delighted to tell you that...(informal)
I am happy to advise you that...(formal)
I thought you might like to know that...

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

Giving reasons
This is because...
This is because of...
This is due to... (formal)
This is as a result of...(formal)
This is owing to...(formal)

Making suggestions
Would it be a good idea to...
Perhaps it would be a good idea to...

Thanking
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you kindly.
I can't thank you enough.
No words can express my gratitude.
I am extremely grateful for...
I very much appreciate your ______ing

IELTS Writing Tips

 Work with a teacher. Write several sample essays and have them
corrected by a teacher. You cannot prepare for the writing section of the
IELTS alone, as you have no way of receiving feedback on your errors. If
you are short on money, at least invest in a teacher or class to prepare for
the writing and speaking sections of the IELTS, and then do the listening
and reading sections on your own by working with a good preparatory
IELTS guidebook.
 Read the questions very carefully. Often the question will ask you to do
three or four different things, aside from the main question. Jot them
down and make sure you address all of them in your answer. The IELTS
examiner will be checking for this.
 Practice writing tasks within the given time limits. It really doesn't
matter if you can write a beautiful answer in two hours. Always recreate
the conditions of the exam as closely as possible, when doing any kind of
practice exercises.
 Plan before you write. Even though you feel under pressure for time,
spend the first few minutes planning your writing. Decide what you're
going to say and how you'll expand on it. When you know whatto write,
you can concentrate on how to write it best. Experiment with the great
variety of outlining and mind-mapping techniques to help you sketch out a
plan quickly.

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 British Academy – IELTS [ Writing ]

 Write in an organized way. When you've planned in advance, you'll end

up with a more organized, logical piece of writing, which will earn you
higher marks. There are many ways to be organized – linear, circular, etc.
– but in the end the final product must be cohesive.
 Stay on topic. You will be penalized if you stray off topic. This is where
the initial few minutes of planning can help you a great deal.
 Divide your writing into paragraphs. It is confusing to be faced with a
block of writing, with no divisions. You wouldn't expect to read a magazine
article or book like this. Always divide your writing into paragraphs.
 Write clearly. This is not the time or place to experiment with new
vocabulary or idioms. Use simple, clear English to get your ideas across in
a powerful way.
 Write legibly. Though marks are not granted or taken away for poor or
messy writing, the examiner should be able to read what you have written
without undue difficulty.
 Spell correctly. Yes, this does affect your score so avoid careless
mistakes. A careless mistake is when you have spelt the same word in
various ways in the same piece of writing or when you misspell a word
which is already given in the exam topic and all you have to do is copy it
correctly. That's not okay. Watch for this when you're practicing and
resolve to overcome it.
 Don't use slang. This is the time to show off the best English you know.
Find the correct way to express your thoughts and convey your ideas,
without resorting to slang. Be aware that certain expressions, such as
"kids" instead of "children" and "guys" or "gals" instead of "men" or
"women", also fall into the category of slang and should be avoided.
 Don't use contractions in the Academic Writing tasks. In English,
contractions are used in informal writing, and the Academic tasks demand
formal writing.
 Use rich vocabulary. You have learned English for many years and this
is the time to use what you know. Stay away from over-used adjectives
such as "good" or "bad". Instead, use more dramatic, expressive words,
such as excellent, wonderful, superb, or adverse, horrible, terrible, etc.
Choose the more precise word over the more general one. This will make
your language come alive, in speech or in writing, and earn you higher
marks.
 Don't write more or less words than you need to. Writing too many
will take too much time, and there is a greater possibility of making
mistakes. Writing too few is worse – it will cause you to lose marks.
 In the essay, don't repeat major chunks of the question in your
answer. Instead, state what you understand of the questions and what
you plan to include in your answer.

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