IELTS General Writing Task 1

In this task you will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information or
explaining the situation. You can write the letter in a personal, semi-formal or formal style.

How to answer IELTS General Task 1?

Think about the given situation. The situation is imaginary and you often have to make up explanations
and inquiries for your letter.

Once you have thought out your answer, you should write a letter with the following structure:

Briefly give reasons for writing

First paragraph
a letter.

Issue 1
Write about each issue you
Middle Issue 2
were given in a task.
Issue 3

Last paragraph Write a polite letter closing.

Letter structure

How to start and end the letter?

A. Formal letter

When you don't know the recipient’s name:

o Dear Sir … Yours faithfully

o Dear Madam … Yours faithfully
o Dear Sir or Madam … Yours faithfully

When the recipient’s name is known:

o Dear Mr Green … Yours sincerely

o Dear Mrs Green … Yours sincerely
o Dear Miss Green … Yours sincerely
o Dear Ms Green … Yours sincerely
B. Semi-formal letter

When you are writing to a good friend or colleague:

o Dear Jonh … Best wishes/ Best regards

o Dear Jonh ... Many thanks

C. Informal letter

When you are writing to a good friend or colleague:

o Hello Jonh … Best wishes/ Best

o Hi Jonh … See you/ Missing you/ Love

When you are writing to someone you love:

o Dear Mary … Yours always/ Lots of love

Letter openings

The letter's first paragraph is letter opening. In your first paragraph you should:

1. introduce yourself
2. state the purpose of the letter.

Examples of formal letter openings:

 I am writing to enquire about … .

 I am writing to request ... .
 I am writing to explain why ... .
 I am writing to express interest in ... .
 I am writing to inform you that/about… .
 I am writing to complain about (the fact that I)… .
 After having seen your advertisement in … , I would like to… .
 After having received your address from … , I … .
 Thank you for your letter regarding/about … .
 In reply to your letter of 18 June, … .

Examples of informal letter openings:

 Hi! My name is Noah and I've been assigned your drama coach… .
 Hello, My name is Julia and I'm volunteer conducting student excursions… .
 Hi there, I hope you're enjoying your holidays/ trip/ college year/ honeymoon… .
 Hello, thanks very much for asking me to visit you ... .

Letter closings

You may need a letter closing to express gratitude, to repeat an apology, to offer help etc.

Examples of formal letter closings:

 If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.

 I look forward to your reply.
 I look forward to hearing from you.
 Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.
 I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
 I would deeply appreciate it if you could ... .
 Thank you in advance!
 Thanking you for your assistance in advance, I look forward to hearing from you.

Examples of informal letter closings:

 Anyway, I‛ve got to go now. Write again if you need any more information.
 Well, let me finish here. I am eagerly waiting for your reply to this letter.
IELTS Writing task 2 (or IELTS essay) is the same task for Academic and General IELTS. You will be
presented with a specific topic and asked to write a 250-word essay about it. You should normally spend
40 minutes on IELTS Writing task 2.

IELTS Writing task 2 question sample

You can get a lot of different topics for your IELTS Writing task 2. You can be asked to give your
opinion, to state solutions to some problem, to describe advantages and disadvantages of something and
so on.

Here's an example of how your IELTS Writing task 2 may look like:

Immigration has a major impact on the society.

What are the main reasons of immigration? To what consequences can it lead?

Write at least 250 words.

How to write IELTS Essay?

1) Determine your opinion on the topic

Usually, IELTS essay is one of the following types:

 Giving your opinion

 Agree/disagree
 Suggesting a solution
 Pros and cons

Depending on the topic, decide what is your opinion on it and why. Have a clear position, don't hesitate
between two opinions! Then find examples you will use for this task. You should spend a few minutes on
planning.

2) Write an answer using the following structure:

Paraphrase the topic and briefly give

Introduction
your opinion.

Develop your point, giving reasons

and supporting them with appropriate
Body
examples. Write at least 2 and no
more than 5 paragraphs.

Sum up what you have written and

give your final thoughts on the
Conclusion
problem. They should not differ from
those in the introduction.

Note that this description is very general.

3) Style your essay

Use various words and structures, linking devices and avoid repetition.

Use some words from academic word list .

Do not use informal style and avoid irrelevant information, you will receive less points for your work.

Also, don't forget to write at least 250 words, writing less will affect your mark negatively. You should
aim at 260-280 words. You won’t get more points for a longer essay.

Other things that might affect your mark:

a. Fluency: if your handwriting is not illegible for the examiner and he/she can’t read it properly,
you are likely to lose points.
b. Unoriginal answer: if you learnt a topic by heart and wrote it, you might get a low score for your
essay. IELTS examiner assesses only your own thoughts and opinions.
c. Limited answer: if you only answer half of the question and don’t expand your opinion, you will
not get more than a band score 5 for the task.