These IELTS letters tips to help you maximize your band score so that you impress the

examiner. A summary of these tips would be that letter writing may have its own conventions
but so does IELTS – so whatever else you do, make sure you answer the question and use good
English.

1. Make sure you answer the whole question

2.
This is probably the most common mistake. Each IELTS letter question contains 3 bullet points
and you need to make sure that you address all 3 points in your answer. If you leave one of
them out, you will be penalized on task response. A more detailed point is that you need to
make sure that you include the appropriate amount of detail for each point – this may mean
you need to write more about one topic and less about another.

2. Think about who you are writing to

Perhaps the one complex thing about letter writing is that you need to be aware of register. This
means that you need to be able to write in a more formal style if the letter is to someone you
don’t know and in a less formal style to a friend. Part of the problem here is that conventions
differ in different countries and cultures. One sensible piece of advice is to aim for a relatively
neutral style and don’t try to be too formal or too informal.

3. Think about the purpose(s) of the letter

Before you start writing, you should think about what the purpose of the letter is. IELTS letters
tend to be quite predictable and generally fall into one or more of these functions:
 complaint
 request
 explanation
 apology
 application
 suggestion
This information helps you because you can then use the appropriate letter writing vocabulary
for each of those functions.
 4. Don’t forget to use varied grammar
A common problem with letters is that candidates use language that is too simple. Just as in
essays, there is a band score for grammatical range and accuracy. This means that even if you
are writing to a friend, you still need to use varied sentences. You cannot just use short and
simple sentences.

5. Learn how to start a letter

When we write more formal letters, we tend to start with a sentence explaining exactly why we
are writing. A common phrase here is “I am writing to….”. We start like that because the person
doesn’t know us and needs to understand what the purpose of the letter is.
When we write to a friend, we normally start by talking a little about our relationship in a fairly
general paragraph. A common phrase might be, “I was so pleased to hear from you again. It’s
been ages since we’ve seen one another…”. It’s important not to forget to do this in IELTS
letters as it shows the examiner you understand the type of letter you are writing.

6. Learn how to end a letter

There are also conventional ways to end letters. If you are unsure how to do this, the best advice
is to think about what you expect to happen next. In a more formal letter where you have asked
for some information, you might write:
“I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
By contrast, in a letter to a friend who is coming to visit you, you might try:
“I can’t wait to see you. And don’t forget to give my love to all your family.”
You can learn some set phrases to help you do this but as I say the best advice is just to think
about what you expect to happen next.

7. Plan your letter

What? Plan a letter? Well you may not bother in life, but IELTS is a very peculiar form of life
and you should definitely spend time thinking about and organizing your letter. This means
that you should think carefully about:
 how many paragraphs you are going to use
 what the main points to include are
 what details you need to add
 what vocabulary you need


8. Make sure you write at least 150 words

This should be self-explanatory. You will be penalized if you write less than 150 words and
my general advice is that you should aim for about 175 words. I say this because the examiner
may not count any words you have directly copied form the question.

9. Check your spelling and punctuation

Perhaps because letters are often less formal than essays, candidates frequently make more
basic spelling and punctuation mistakes in letters. Don’t be one of those people: even if it is an
informal letter make sure you use correct English. This means:
 you may use short forms like “can’t” if it’s an informal letter
 you shouldn’t use abbreviations like “cos”
 be very careful with spelling of common words like “believe” and “sincerely”
 write in sentences with full stops and capital letters


10. Practice using standard letter writing phrases

Letters have their own language to some extent. One way to improve your letter writing is to
look at sample IELTS letters and find phrases which you can use in your own letters.

Sample IELTS letters

A lost certificate - request letter

Your company sent you on a training course in another country and at the end of the training
you got a certificate which you have lost. Write letter to the course organizer and tell him/her:

 How you lost your certificate.

 Why you need the certificate now.
 What you need him to do for you.

Informal letter questions

A holiday competition - invitation letter

You won a competition and received a vacation for two as a prize. Write a letter to ask them to
go on holiday with you. In the letter, you should:

 tell him/her about the competition you won,

 state what kind of vacation it is,
 explain why you would like him/her to go on holiday with you

Cancelling an arrangement - apology letter

You arranged to visit a friend in England but an important event at home now means that you
must change the dates of the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

 Explain the important event

 Apologize for the situation
 Suggest a new arrangement
Sample letter with advice for band score 8.0 candidates on how to improve their score.
Cancelling a visit to a friend - apology letter
A friend who lives in another country has invited you to come and stay with him/her on your
next holiday. You are too busy to accept the invitation. Write a letter to your friend. In your
letter

 Thank him/her for the invitation

 Explain why you cannot come
 Give him/her your other news
 Describing a national dish - advice letter

Your friend is an expert in international food and is going to publish a book soon. Write a letter
to him describing a special dish from your country. In your letter you should

 describe a special dish from your country

 explain what season people prefer to eat it in
 say why your friend should include this dish in his book

More formal letters

Changing your course - request letter

You are not happy with the course you are doing at college and would like to change to a
different course. Write a letter to the college director requesting to change your course. You
should include details about:

 what course are you doing now

 why you are not satisfied with that course
 what course would you like to change to

Rented accommodation - apology letter

You are staying in rented accommodation. You recently held a party to celebrate your birthday.
Several neighbors have complained about the noise to your landlord. Write a letter to your
landlord. In your letter:

 apologize for the disturbance

 explain the situation
 say how you will remedy the situation

A faulty mobile phone - complaint letter

You have just bought a new mobile phone from a website on the internet. When it was
delivered, the phone was faulty. Write a letter to the website. In the letter:

 introduce yourself
 explain the situation
 state what action you want to be taken
Part-time employment - application letter

You are looking for part-time employment. Write a letter to an employment agency. In your
letter

 introduce yourself
 explain what type of work you are looking for
 say what experience and skills you have

A formal request letter – a lost certificate

This lesson shows you some useful formal request language for IELTS letters. I show you the
question, a sample answer and also provide two exercises to help you with formal request letter
language.

The question

Your company sent you on a training course in another country and at the end of the training
you got a certificate which you have lost.
Write a letter to the course organizer and tell him/her:
1. How you lost your certificate.
2. Why you need the certificate now.
3. What you need him to do for you.

Analyzing the question

You should see that:

 you need to answer all 3 parts of the question – do not leave any out. It can be sensible to write
a paragraph on each to make it clear to the examiner
 this is a more formal letter and you should try and use more language
 you need to be able to make requests politely


Some more formal request letter language

Please is the magic word! To make the request more polite, try using Please would or please
could. The structure is
Please + could + you + verb e.g. Please could you send this back by return
Two alternative words are grateful and appreciate. They have slightly different structures so
be careful:
would appreciate + it + if e.g. I would appreciate it if you sent this back by return
would be grateful + if + e.g. I would be grateful if you sent this back by return

The sample answer

Dear Sirs
I attended your course in Marketing Strategies for the Ice Cream Industry which was held in
the Jubilee Centre in Brisbane in November. I am writing to ask if it would be possible to send
me a certificate confirming that I attended the course for all four days.
I lost the original on my flight back to Canterbury. I had put in my briefcase along with all the
course notes and foolishly I left the briefcase on the plane. Qantas were unable to find the case
when I contacted them and I suspect that a fellow passenger probably took the case by mistake.
Please could you send me the replacement certificate by post. Unfortunately, my company will
not accept a scanned copy as an email attachment.
I would appreciate it if you would treat this as a matter of urgency because I am in the process
of applying for a promotion and I need to have all my certificates for this process.
Thank you for your help.
Yours faithfully

.
A holiday competition letter
 This is the next in my series of sample IELTS letters for general training IELTS. In the lesson
below I focus on how to write a letter using informal language. I talk you through 6 different
ways to write informally and then show you an informal letter and analyze the informal
language in it.

The question – a holiday competition letter

You won a competition and received a vacation for two as a prize. Write a letter to ask them to
go on holiday with you. In the letter, you should:

 tell him/her about the competition you won,

 state what kind of vacation it is,
 explain why you would like him/her to go on holiday with you

Model answer

Dear Pablo,
I’ve got some really exciting news to share with you. Guess what? I’ve won a holiday for two
people in a competition. I do hope that you can come with me.
All I had to do to win the competition was write a slogan for a local travel agency. My winning
submission was “Fly LTC and see the world”. As I said, my prize is a holiday and it is a cruise
around the Mediterranean for a fortnight. The ship is the latest luxury liner and has all sorts
of entertainment facilities including a swimming pool, a cinema complex and onboard tennis
courts. It sounds as if it should be great fun.
I really hope that you are available sometime this summer. I’d love it if you could come with
me, as it sounds just your cup of tea and you could always act as an interpreter for me when
we get to Spain!
I need to book the cruise quite soon, so just drop me a line if you are free.
All the best
Angela

Changing your course – a more formal letter for IELTS

 This is the next in my series of IELTS letters. This one is a more formal letter as you are writing
to someone in authority – the director of your school. As well as giving you a model answer, I
also give you some advice on how to structure the letter, choose the right vocabulary and make
the letter more formal.

A more formal letter question

You are not happy with the course you are doing at college and would like to change to a
different course. Write a letter to the college director requesting to change your course. You
should include details about:

 what course are you doing now

 why you are not satisfied with that course
 what course would you like to change to


A sample answer

Dear Mr Jones,

I am writing to ask whether it is possible to change my course. I am currently studying on a

general English program and I would like to enroll on an academic IELTS course instead.

The principal reason why I would like to change my course is that I do not believe the general
English course is relevant to me because it is intended for students who wish to improve their
social English. My circumstances are that I require a band 7.0 in order to be accepted on the
master program at Aston University. Unless I obtain this score by the beginning of the next
academic year, I will lose my place on the course and will need to return to my country. This
being the case, I believe that it is essential that I get tuition in academic writing and IELTS
skills.

I understand that it may be difficult to change my course mid-semester, but this is an urgent
priority for me. If it would help, I would be delighted to discuss this with you in person.

Yours sincerely

Khaled Abdullah
Band score 8.0 IELTS letter

The letter question

You arranged to visit a friend in England but an important event at home now means that you
must change the dates of the visit.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

Explain the important event

Apologize for the situation

Suggest a new arrangement

The model letter

Dear Peter

It was a shame that we missed each other on Skype, so I decided to write a letter to you instead.
There’s some good and bad news I need to tell you.

The good news is that my cousin Ravindra has finally managed to persuade Shilpa to marry
him. As you know they’ve been going out together for over 5 years now and the family,
especially Auntie Geetha, had begun to despair that they would ever tie the knot. I’m sure that
you can imagine the celebrations being planned for the reception.

The bad news is that the wedding is just when I was due to come and visit you in England. I do
apologize for this but I’m sure that you’ll understand that I can’t miss my cousin’s big day.

I’d still love to visit you in England, if that’s still possible. It’s not just that I’m dying to see
you again, but I’m also longing to see the dreaming spires of Oxford you’ve told me about so
often. Would some time in November suit you? If not, just let me know when is best for you.

All the best

 Amy

An IELTS apology letter

The letter question

You are staying in rented accommodation. You recently held a party to celebrate your birthday.
Several neighbors have complained about the noise to your landlord.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:

1. apologize for the disturbance

2. explain the situation
3. say how you will remedy the situation

The model IELTS apology letter

Dear Mr Jones,

I am writing to apologize for the incident last week when some of my neighbors complained
to you. I am most embarrassed about this, because I am normally a quiet person and I do
respect the privacy of my neighbors.

The reason for the excessive noise was that it was my 30th birthday party and my
girlfriend threw a surprise party for me. She had invited around 20 of my friends to help me
celebrate the big day and perhaps she did not realize how much noise would be made by the
travelling disco she had hired. I would also explain that after I had got over the shock, I did
knock on the door of my immediate neighbors to ask if they wanted to come round and
offering to turn the music down after 11 o’clock. Unfortunately, I did not think of inviting the
other residents of the block.

Once again, please accept my apologies and rest assured that this situation will not be repeated.
I have since personally apologized to my neighbors, who were all very understanding.

Yours sincerely
 Spend 20 minutes on this task.
Do not rush it, it is 33% of your score.
Make sure you answer all 3 parts of the question.
Write in paragraphs.
Make sure you use the appropriate level of formality.
Remember to use a good range of vocabulary, just as you would in an essay.

IELTS letter vocabulary

Letters have their own vocabulary. These are guides to some of the most common vocabulary
areas. In each guide you will find lists of helpful vocabulary and exercises to help you practise
it.

More model letters

All these model answers come with exercises to help you write them and full lessons.

 A holiday competition – invitation letter

 Describing a national dish – advice letter
 Rented accommodation – apology letter
 Cancelling an arrangement – apology letter
 A faulty mobile phone – complaint letter
 Part-time employment – application letter
 Lost certificate - request letter
 Changing your course – request letter

Understanding IELTS letter questions

When you read IELTS letter questions you should see that

there are 3 main points you must include in your answer

you need to decide how informal or formal your letter should be
 One of your colleagues is leaving for a new job, your manager has asked you to arrange a
leaving party for him.
Write a letter to your manager and
 Suggest a suitable day and time for the party
 Recommend a place
 Discuss about the food and entertainment options available


A model IELTS letter

This is a band 9.0 IELTS letter. You should note how it clearly answers all parts of the question
and is organized into paragraphs. You will find more letters linked below.

Dear Mr Smith,
I am writing to let you know about the arrangements for Patrick’s leaving party.
It has not been easy to settle on a time and date that is convenient for everyone as the school
holidays are coming up and several members of staff have already booked time off. I’d suggest,
however, that 7.30 on Friday July 13th is the best option available as it is Patrick’s last day.
I have looked at a number of different venues and it would appear that Giorgio’s has the best
package. The catering there is slightly cheaper than the Armani Palace and it has the added
benefit of being right next to the Piccadilly Underground station.
Another benefit of choosing Giorgio’s is that they lay on a buffet with a good selection of dishes
with both vegan and vegetarian options. We could hire a DJ for the night too, but I think the
free Karaoke machine is likely to be more popular.
Please let me know what you think about these suggestions.
Your sincerely
Arnaud

Apology words and phrases for letters

Here are some useful words and phrases for apology letters. You should note that I have divided
into different categories as it is important that you choose you language carefully according to
the situation. The idea is that you need different phrases according to

How well you know the person – more formal/less formal

How big a problem you are apologizing for

You will find an exercise at the end of the lesson to test your skills.

How to break the bad news

The first step is normally to show that something bad has happened. The two key words and
phrases help you explain something bad has happened for which you need to apologize are

Unfortunately,
I’m afraid that
Another nice phrase for more informal letters is
I’ve got some bad news to break/tell you

A simple apology

If it is a small problem you may just need to say sorry. You should see though that you need to
think about whether you want to use but/that/for

I’m sorry but – “I’m sorry but I won’t be able to come to the party”
I’m sorry that – “I’m sorry that I broke you mug“
I’m sorry for – “I’m sorry for not having replied sooner“

A stronger apology

These are phrases that work when there is a bigger mistake

I do apologize for – “I do apologize for failing to meet you at the station”

I must apologize for – “I really must apologize for
I sincerely apologize for – “I sincerely apologize for the trouble this has caused you”
Being more informal

If you are writing to a friend you may choose to use a more informal phrase:

I’m ever so sorry – “I’m ever so sorry that we won’t see each other next week
I’m really sorry – “I’m really sorry that I’ve lost that book you lent me”

Being more formal

Again, if you’re writing to someone you don’t know that well you want a more formal phrase.
Typically, we use either the verb apologize or the noun apology.
I would like to apologize – “I would like to apologize for missing my appointment with you“
Please accept my apologies for – “Please accept my apologies for the disturbance caused”

Thinking about the consequences

Something else you may need to do is to apologize for any difficulty. These phrases should
help:
I’m sorry if this puts you out – an idiom appropriate for informal letters
I do apologize for any inconvenience caused – a more formal variation
I hope that this does not cause you any problems – a more neutral variation

A model IELTS letter

This is a band 9.0 IELTS letter. You should note how it clearly answers all parts of the question
and is organized into paragraphs. You will find more letters linked below.
Dear Mr Smith,
I am writing to let you know about the arrangements for Patrick’s leaving party.
It has not been easy to settle on a time and date that is convenient for everyone as the school
holidays are coming up and several members of staff have already booked time off. I’d suggest,
however, that 7.30 on Friday July 13th is the best option available as it is Patrick’s last day.
I have looked at a number of different venues and it would appear that Giorgio’s has the best
package. The catering there is slightly cheaper than the Armani Palace and it has the added
benefit of being right next to the Piccadilly Underground station.
 Another benefit of choosing Giorgio’s is that they lay on a buffet with a good selection of dishes
with both vegan and vegetarian options. We could hire a DJ for the night too, but I think the
free Karaoke machine is likely to be more popular.
Please let me know what you think about these suggestions.
Your sincerely
Arnaud

An informal letter to a friend

An informal letter to a friend - read and understand the question

As you read this question, you should note two key points:

 you are writing to a friend and so you can expect to use more informal language
 you have 3 items to include in your letter
A friend who lives in another country has invited to you come and stay with him/her on your
next holiday. You are too busy to accept the invitation. Write a letter to your friend. In your
letter
 Thank him/her for the invitation
 Explain why you cannot come
 Give him/her your other news
You should write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write your own address. Begin your
letter as follows: Dear __________

Understanding the dangers of informal letters

It is easy to get an informal letter wrong by forgetting the rules of good writing. Here are some
dangers:

You forget about a clear structure to your letter - so use paragraphs just like you would
elsewhere
You forget about range of vocabulary - informal doesn't mean over simple
You also forget range of grammar too
Informal letters are chatty - think beginnings and endings

You are supposed to be writing to a friend, so it is a good idea to do what friends normally do
- chat. In letters, this typically means that the letter opens with news and closes with the hope
that you will see each other soon. This helps structure your letter.

For better vocabulary - think synonyms and collocations

You should remember that vocabulary is 25% of your score in all parts of the writing test. One
problem with letters is that they may look too simple and that you forget to use a range of
vocabulary. One suggestion is that you think of synonyms and collocations for the words in the
question. See these variations from the word "invitation":

invitation - accept/refuse, generous/kind, take up/turn down

The most stylish ones to use are "to take up an invitation" meaning to accept it and "to turn
down an invitation" meaning to refuse it.

For better vocabulary - think about topic vocabulary

Another way you can improve your vocabulary score is to see how you can use specific topic
vocabulary. Here, you should see that both in the explanation why you cannot come and giving
your news, you have the chance to show off a little. The question is really just asking you to
write about what you know. In my answer, I write a little about IELTS but more about work.
This gives me the chance to use:

offer a promotion/senior accounts manager/more money/work longer hours

None of the vocabulary is very complex. It doesn't need to be - this is an informal letter to a
friend. It is, though, very specific. That's good.

Read the letter and see the language

 Dear Rashid,
It was great to hear from you and I’m really glad that things are working out for you down
under. It sounds as if you have landed on your feet!
Many thanks for your kind invitation to come and stay with you and Maybeline in Perth, but
I’m going to have to turn you down this time. The problem is that I’m just too busy studying
for my IELTS exam and I don’t have enough time in the day as it is. Perhaps I can take you up
on your offer sometime next year, when I hope that I’ll have got that magic band score 8.0.
My other news is that Acme have offered me a promotion and soon I should be the senior
accounts manager. Obviously that means more money but the downside is that
I’m almost certainly going to have to work much longer hours too. There’s a cloud to every
silver lining!
Anyway, I must get down to work again. So thanks once more for your kind invitation and I do
hope that we can get together sometime in the not too distant future.
All the best
Jefry
(188 words)

Notes

This is comfortably band score 9. Let me explain why.

Phrasal verbs in red

Phrasal verbs may look simple, but in fact they are extremely tricky to use well. But you should
also see that some phrasal verbs are quite simple ("stay with") and all you need to do is to
remember to use them.

 work out for = things are going well

 land on your feet = a set phrase meaning that you have survived a possibly difficult situation
(cats always land on their feet)
 stay with = a simple phrasal verb to replace "visit"
 turn someone down = note how the object comes between the verb and the preposition
 take someone up on an offer = note that here too the object comes immediately after the verb
 get down to work = start work
 get together = meet each other
 Idioms and set phrases in blue

When you are writing informally to a friend, remember you can use idioms. Idioms can be
tricky too, but some are more straightforward.

 things - this is poor in academia writing, but stylish when writing more informally
 down under - what the English call Australia - it's on the other side of the globe.
 not have enough time in the day - a set phrase for being too busy
 the downside - an idiom for "disadvantage"
 there's a cloud to every silver lining - the normal phrase is every cloud has a silver lining -
meaning that even when things look bad, there is normally a positive aspect too. Here, I have
just changed the phrase around.
 the not too distant future - a set phrase for "quite soon"

Other language notes in green

 I'm really glad that - "really" may look like a little word, but here it is much more stylish than
"very"
 I'm just too busy - "just" is another little word that makes a difference.
 I'll have got - I vary my tenses nicely in this letter. Spot the future perfect here.
 Obviously - don't forget to link sentences together in letters.
 Almost certainly - another phrase you may not have noticed. A top tip is to remember to use
qualifying phrases like this.
 Anyway - another linking word. This one is useful to come back to main point of the letter.
Dear Rashid,
It was great to hear from you and I’m really glad that things are working out for you down
under. It sounds as if you have landed on your feet!
Many thanks for your kind invitation to come and stay with you and Maybeline in Perth, but
I’m going to have to turn you down this time. The problem is that I’m just too busy studying
for my IELTS exam and I don’t have enough time in the day as it is. Perhaps I can take you up
on your offer sometime next year, when I hope that I’ll have got that magic band score 8.0.
My other news is that Acme have offered me a promotion and soon I should be the senior
accounts manager. Obviously that means more money but the downside is that
I’m almost certainly going to have to work much longer hours too. There’s a cloud to every
silver lining!
Anyway, I must get down to work again. So thanks once more for your kind invitation and I do
hope that we can get together sometime in the not too distant future.
All the best
Jefry

next year,

when I hope that I’ll have got that magic band score 8.0.
My other news is that Acme have offered me a promotion and soon I should

be the senior accounts manager. Obviously that means A friend who lives in another country
has invited to you come and stay with

him/her on your next holiday. You are too busy to accept the invitation

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

• Thank him/her for the invitation

• Explain why you cannot come

• Give him/her your other news

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write your own address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear __________

Dear Rashid

It was great to hear from you and I’m really glad that things are working out

for you down under. It sounds as if you have landed on your feet!

Many thanks for your kind invitation to come and stay with you and Maybeline

in Perth, but I’m going to have to turn you down this time. The problem is that

I’m just too busy studying for my IELTS exam and I don’t have enough time in

the day as it is. Perhaps I can take you up on your offer sometime more money but the

downside is that I’m almost certainly going to have to work much longer hours

too. There’s a cloud to every silver lining!

Anyway, I must get down to work again. So thanks once more for your kind
invitation and I do hope that we can get together sometime in the not too

distant future.

All the best

How to use the present perfect in IELTS

A quick introduction to the present perfect – it’s a present tense

This can be a tricky tense as it works differently to many other languages. One of the best ways
to think about it is to see it as a present tense – the clue is in the name!

We use it to connect the present to the past (that’s the perfect bit).

I have lived in Newcastle for 6 months = I live there now and I started living there 6 months
ago.

We use it to talk about experiences

One way to get it right is to think about when we use it. One of the most common ways of using
it is to talk about experiences. These are things that matter now but happened in the past.

I have worked in Egypt, Romania, China and the UK.

We use it with certain words

Another way to get it right is to see that we often us it with certain words:

Since/for: I have lived here since March. I have lived here for 6 months
Never/ever: I have never been to the USA.
Already: I have already finished my first book.
Just: I have just finished writing my first book.
Today/this week etc.: I have had at least three cups of tea so far today.
When we don’t use it

It can also help to think about when we don’t use it. Typical mistakes are people trying to use
it for events in the past when we should have a simple past. One way to think of this is that we
can’t use it with fixed time expressions from the past:

ago: I have gone there 3 years ago X = I went there 3 years ago
last week: I have been to a restaurant last week X = I went to a restaurant last week
2010: I have started this course in 2010 X = I started this course in 2010.

The continuous tense

This one can be harder. Very often there is no real difference with the normal present perfect
– it is just a little more emphatic. So

I have lived here for 6 months

I have been living here for 6 months

mean much the same thing. But there are times when there is a difference. The normal tense
shows something is finished, while the continuous tense shows it’s still incomplete:

I have read the book = I have finished it

I have been reading the book = I have not finished it

Using the present perfect in IELTS writing

Here are some examples how you can use this tense for yourself – accurate and varied grammar
is important so you shouldn’t avoid it.

Essay introductions
Very often you are given a topic about a current issue/problem. A natural way to start the essay
is to state what that is – talking about a present situation. Here are three quick examples:

Tourism has been increasing for a number of years now because air travel has become much
more affordable.
People now use their credit cards much more often and it is possible that this has become a
problem.
CCTV is now ubiquitous and this has led to concerns about how our privacy is being invaded.

Giving examples
You do of course want to illustrate your arguments/ideas with examples. The present perfect
can work well here too by talking about the current situation. Three more examples:

In many countries tourism has had a beneficial effect on the economy and led to greater
prosperity. For example, Menorca has an extremely vibrant tourist industry and it has
become one of the wealthiest regions of Spain despite the fact that in the past it was among the
poorest and least well-developed areas.
It is definitely the case that some people have fallen into debt because credit cards are too
easily available. An illustration of this is how many students who are unable to live off their
student loan have also taken out a credit in order to survive financially.
There is also an argument that surveillance fulfils a real function and makes our lives more
secure. For example, most people would accept that the police have the right to monitor
someone who has committed violent crimes and is likely to re-offend.

Using the present perfect in IELTS speaking

In the speaking test you are always being asked about your personal opinions and experiences.
Here too the present perfect can help. Note that we use the “I’ve” form most when we speak.
We only use the “have” when we are being emphatic.

part 1
You can use it to say more when you are asked questions in the present tense.

Do you live in the town or the countryside?

I live here in Wuhan. But I haven’t lived here all my life as I moved here when I was quite
young – around 2 or 3. My parents came here because there were more job opportunities.

Note that it is quite common to move from the present perfect to the past simple in this way.

part 2
Here you are very often asked to speak about personal experiences and so the present perfect
is a natural tense to use – but please note that you will be using the past to describe events that
happened in a fixed time in the past

I’m going to tell you about the Giant Panda. I haven’t actually seen one in the flesh but it is
still one of my favorite animals.
When did I start playing golf? Well, I’ve played it since I was about 10 – my mother gave me
some golf lessons for my birthday and I’ve been playing it ever since.
part 3
Here, just like essays, it can come in useful in giving examples.

I suppose I’d say that cars are still the most popular form of transport. That said, there are
more and more people in my area who’ve bought bicycles and you certainly see loads of
cyclists on the roads – and the pavements!