The most important thing you have to do for any IELTS Writing Task is to answer the question. For General Training Task 1 questions you always have to write a letter and I would like to share with you a technique that helps you answer the question correctly every time.
You will notice that the question below states that you should write about why you are writing to your friend and then gives four bullet points for you to mention. These are the five main things you must write about and you should write about these five things and these five things only.
Now that you have your five main points you simply split your letter into five main paragraphs and deal with each main point in a separate paragraph.
In each paragraph you should make it very clear which point you are writing about in order to make it obvious to the examiner. You can do this by including keywords from the question, or even better, synonyms or paraphrases of those keywords.
If you follow this strategy you will always answer the question correctly and the examiner will be able to see this very clearly.
Take a look at the answer below to see this strategy in action.
A friend of yours is going on holiday soon and has asked you to recommend a destination.
Write a letter to your friend and recommend a good place for a holiday that you have visited before.
- say where you went,
- where you stayed,
- what you can do there and
- what the food was like.
Dear Annie
I hope you’re well. I’ve got a great place for you to visit when you get some time off work.
I went to Shanghai in China a fortnight ago and it was just perfect. It only takes about 3 hours from where you live.
We stayed in a little boutique hotel called the Dragon Inn. It wasn’t the biggest hotel, or the most expensive, but I really loved the personal service and the family who run it were so hospitable.
There are loads of things to do, but my favorite has to be the Bund. You can stroll along there in the evening and admire the view or grab a coffee and watch the world go by.
I also have to mention the delicious cuisine. You really should try the dim sum if you go there; it was the best I’ve ever had.
Anyway, let me know if you have any questions about your trip.
Best wishes
Chris
If you are doing the General Training paper check out our guides on how to write an informal letter and a formal letter.
Good day to you Mr Chris. I’m Shonubi Olatunji Yusuf, one of ur IELTS training from Nigeria. I really appreciate your efforts by giving us a perfect lectures on how each of us could easily be perfect in highest scores results on IELTS Exams. I’m so much in press by having such experience from you Sir. Sincerely speaking Mr Chris, I will always be here online to give more attention for having more knowledge on this IELTS training. bcause in two months time I’II also apply for my own personal IELTS exam by November 2019. So I need to pay… Read more »
Thank you very much for your kind words Shonubi, we really appreciate it. If you would like help from our team of IELTS teachers who can give you feedback on your work, please feel free to contact us here: chris@ieltsadvantage.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Why the informal letter written 4 bullet points, but during the module, it said only three bullet points , it is quit confused.
The title is a friend of yours is going on a hoilday soon, he asked you to recommend a destination. .
Is that matter about the bullet points ? Should l stick with three bullet points instead four bullet points
You will usually get three bullet points! However, it doesn’t really matter how many you get – the most important thing is that you answer the question.
If you have any remaining questions or would like to get feedback on your work, you should send our team an email: chris@ieltsadvantage.com
We’re always happy to help!
I am an Indian dentist .. I need help to score good in IELTS. My conversation in English is not so fluent but can understand british English .. I am having difficulty in reading section …I ‘m not able to score more than 5.5 ..please help me
Thanks for your comment, Shiffali. It sounds like you’re having a few different issues. To get support from our team of IELTS teachers, please send us an email here: chris@ieltsadvantage.com
We’re always happy to help.
Hi Chris,
Can we write regards at the end of a letter instead of yours faithfully or sincerely?
Yes, that is fine!
You should also check out this article for some IELTS General Training Sample Letters: https://www.ieltsadvantage.com/2019/09/17/writing-task-1-sample-letters/
Hi Chris. There is no comma after Dear Annie and best wishes. Why?
It is fine to either use a comma or not use a comma, as long as you are consistent with both.