IELTS General Writing Task 1 – Letter Writing

3 types of Letters:
Formal letters:
writing to someone you don’t know, such as a company

Semi-formal letters:
writing to someone you don’t know well, such as your professor

Informal \ Personal letters:

writing to someone you know very well, such as a friend.

Structure of a Letter:
Dear [X]

Paragraph 1- State purpose of the letter

Paragraph 2- First bullet point

Paragraph 3- Second bullet point

Paragraph 4- Third bullet point

Sign off

Your name
Use Proper Opening and Closing
There are different ways to open and close a letter based on who you are writing to.

Formal letters
Opening: Dear Sir/Madam
Closing: Yours faithfully + your full name

Semi-formal letters
Opening: Dear Mr./Miss/Mrs.+ the last name of the recipient
Closing: Yours sincerely + your full name

Informal \ Personal letters

Opening: Dear + the first name of the recipient
Closing: Best regards + your first name

Salutation (Informal Letters):

Personal Letter: Dear Rohan, My dear Rex.
Do not write: Rohan, Hi Rex, Hello Nicole, Rini, is everything fine?
N.B. Personal letters are also called informal letters where you address a friend or relative. You might have built a
habit of writing a short email or a message using styles like "Hi Elizabeth, Rohan, Hi Rex, Hello Nicole, Rini, is
everything fine?, You would not believe what happened today", but these are not recommended styles while
writing a letter (even not in a personal or informal letter).

Salutation (Formal Letters):

Official Letter: Dear Sir or Madam, Sir or Madam (If you don't know who are you writing to; use only sir or
madam)
Do not write - My Dear Sir, My Dear Madam, Dear Mr Alex, Mrs Cathy, Sir Rex.
Business Letter: Dear Sir or Madam, Sir or Madam. (If you don't know who are you writing to; use only sir or
madam)
Do not write - My Dear Sir, My Dear Madam, Dear Mr Alex, Mrs Cathy.

Beginnings (Personal/Informal letters)

Thank you for your (recent/last) letter.
Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter
It was nice to hear from you recently/lately.
I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for such a long time.
I’m sorry I haven’t written you for such a long time.
It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your family are well.

Beginnings (Formal letters- Describing the Purpose):

Proposed Starting:
I am writing this letter to you ...
I am writing to you ...
I am David Moore and writing you to ...
I am writing to…
I am writing with regard to…
I am writing on behalf of…
Example:
1) I am writing you to inform the problem with the library of our University...
2) I am writing to you for informing you about the problem with our new debate team...
3) I am David Moore, a local resident at the Canterberry area, and writing you to explain the reason I'm against the
decision to establish a new supermall in our locality.

Describing the Purpose with Reference:

Proposed Starting: (formal and semi-formal letters)
In response to your letter/ invitation/proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/ written claim ......
In reply to your letter /invitation/ proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/ written claim ......
With the reference of your letter/invitation/proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/written claim ......
Example:
1) I am writing you in response to your invitation..........
2) With the reference to your proposal..........

Situation:
Apology:
• I am very sorry but..........
• I am terribly sorry, but..........
• I must apologise about..........
• Please accept my apologies..........
• I'd like to apologize for..........
• Please accept my sincere apologies.......... (very formal)
Request:
• Could you please..........
• Could you possibly..........
• I would be great full if you..........
• I would highly glad if you..........
• Would it be possible to..........
• I wonder if you could..........
• Would you be kind enough to..........
• would you mind doing..........

Seeking Help:
• I would appreciate it if you could..........
• I would be grateful if you could..........
• Could you please..........
• I was wondering if you could help me.......... (informal)
• I would like you to..........

Complaint:
• I feel something should be done about..........
• I must complain about..........
• I cannot resist myself to inform you that..........
• I am very much unhappy with..........
• I want you to know that..........
• I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction about/with..........
• I'm writing to express my annoyance with..........
• I am not happy about/because..........
• ..........was very disappointing.
• .......... was utterly disappointing.

Satisfaction:
• I was very happy to learn that..........
• I was very happy to hear that..........
• I was delighted to hear that..........
• I was thrilled to find out that..........
• I was glad to hear that..........
Suggestion:
• Perhaps we could...........
• Perhaps you can............
• I would like to suggest that...........
• May I suggest that............
• Could you please...........
• I would highly appreciate if you...........
• Would it be a good idea to...........
• Perhaps it would be a good idea to...........

Asking for Information:

• I would like to know about/if...........
• I am writing to inquire about...........
• I am writing to find out about...........
• What I am looking for is...........
• I would like you to inform me...........
• I would appreciate if you could provide me...........

Providing Information:
• I would like to inform you that...........
• Perhaps you should be informed that............
• I guess you would glad to know that...........
• Please be informed that............
• For your kind notification...........
• I should let you know that...........

Giving good news:

• I am happy to advise you that... (formal)
• I am pleased to inform you that... (semi-formal)
• I am delighted to tell you that... (informal)
• I thought you might like to know that... (informal)
• I am happy to inform you that... (semi-formal)

Giving bad news:

• I regret to advise you that... (formal)
• I regret to inform you that... (semi-formal)
• I am sorry to tell you that... (informal)
• I am afraid I have some bad news... (informal)
Conveying regards:
• Please convey my greeting and best wished to your parents.
• Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.
• Please give my best regards to your family.
• Please give my regards to your parents.
• My best wishes for your parents.

Concern/sympathy:
• I am/was sorry to hear about...
• I am writing to express my concern about...
• It breaks my heart to hear that... (informal)
• I wish I could revert it in any way... (informal)

To End the letter:

Apology:
• Once again, I am sorry for any inconvenience caused..........
• I hope I did not cause you too much problem..........
• Please accept my apologies once more..........
• I am so sorry for the whole thing..........
• I hope you will accept my apologies..........
• Kindly accept my apologies ..........

Complaint:
• I expect to hear from you soon..........
• Hopefully, you will pay immediate attention to this matter ..........
• I highly expect your kind attention about the situation..........
• I want you to take immediate action about the misunderstanding..........

Request:
• Thank you again for your attention to this matter..........
• Could you possibly resend the papers?..........
• I expect to hear from you again..........
Thanking:
• Thanks.
• Thank you.
• Thanks a lot for.
• Thank you very much.
• I can't thank you enough.
• I am extremely grateful for.
• No words can express my gratitude.

Wishing Good Luck:

• I wish you a good trip ahead.
• I wish you good luck with your interview.
• Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well.
• Wishing you all the best.

Providing Information:
• I would like to inform you that I have already sent the papers you asked me to...........
• Perhaps you should be informed that the last date has already been over............
• I hope this information will be helpful for you, please contact me for any other information ...........
• This is all I would like to inform you. Please feel free to contact me for any information............

Expecting a reply from someone:

• I am looking forward to hearing from you .......
• I am waiting to hear from you soon...........
• I look forward to hearing from you soon............
• I am expecting to hear from you soon...........
• I am eagerly waiting for your response............

Closing the Letter:

• I look forward to hearing from you.
• I look forward to seeing you.
• I look forward to meeting you.
• I look forward to getting a reply from you soon.
• I really look forward to your cooperation in this.
Signing off:
Personal Letter: Yours truly, Yours ever, Best regards, Best wishes, Many thanks, Love, Lots of love, All the best,
Best wishes.

Official Letter: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours obedient.

Business Letter: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully.

Transition words \ Keywords:
Paragraph 1: Directly state the purpose of your letter in formal and semi-formal letters. Here are some
useful sentences you can use in your writing.

Formal and semi-formal letters:

I am writing this letter with regard to…

I am writing to express my…

I am writing to inform you…

Informal \ Personal letters usually include a greeting first and then state the purpose:
How are you doing?

I hope you are doing well.

How have you been?

Main body: In the main body, you can use three paragraphs to cover the bullet points one by one. Also,
think of some relevant details to enrich the content of your letter.

Conclusion paragraph: Usually, you can use the last paragraph to call to action, express thanks or ask
for a response. Here are some examples.

Formal/Semi-formal letters:
If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Informal \ Personal letters:

I can’t wait to hear from you.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

[1] Structure of a Formal Letter
Dear Sir/Madam

Paragraph 1- Say why you are writing to them. (I am writing with regard to…)

Paragraph 2- Bullet point 1 and supporting details

Paragraph 3- Bullet point 2 and supporting details

Paragraph 4- Bullet point 3 and supporting details

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

[Your Full Name]

Useful Language for a Formal Letter:

Below is a selection of useful language for you to use in a formal letter. The phrases you choose will
depend on the context of the question.

Beginning

 I am writing this letter with regard to…

 I am writing to bring to your attention…
 I am writing to inform you that…
 I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with…..

Requests and Suggestions

 I would be grateful if you would…

 I would like you to…
 I am entitled to request that you….
 I was wondering if it would be at all possible to….
 I would like to suggest that….

Ending

 I look forward to hearing from you.

 I look forward to receiving your response.
 I await your prompt service.
 I thank you for your consideration.
 Please respond at the earliest convenience.
Band 9 Sample Formal Letter
On a recent holiday you lost a valuable item. Fortunately, you have travel
insurance to cover the cost of anything lost.

Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter

 describe the item you lost

 explain how you lost it
 tell the insurance company what you would like them to do

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to inform you that I recently lost my digital camera while on holiday in Vietnam.

The camera is a black Canon 70d and cost $1550 when I bought it new last month. It has a resolution of
20 megapixels, a Canon 67 millimeter lens and was in a brown leather case with my name on it.

I lost it when I was having coffee with my husband in the backpacker area of Ho Chi Minh City. I believe
the coffee shop was called Highlands Coffee and it was on Pham Ngu Lao Street. We had been at the coffee
shop for around 45 minutes when I noticed it was missing.

I am entitled to make a claim for the value of the above mentioned item and request that you send me
details on what I need to do to in order to proceed.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully

John Smith

(162 words)
[2] Structure of an Informal Letter:

Dear [First name only of friend]

Paragraph 1- Say why you are writing to them (I’m just writing to let you know that….)

Paragraph 2- Bullet point 1 and supporting details

Paragraph 3- Bullet point 2 and supporting details

Paragraph 4- Bullet point 3 and supporting details

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

All the best

[Your first name only]

Useful Language for an Informal Letter:

Below is a range of informal language that you can use in your informal letters. Which ones you use will
depend on the context.

Stating Purpose:

I’m just writing to let you know that….

I’m writing to tell you about….

Apologising:

I’m very sorry about…..

I’d like to apologise for….

Asking for help:

I’d be really grateful if you could…..

I was wondering if you would give me a hand with…..

I was wondering if you would do me a favour.

Expressing Satisfaction:

I was over the moon to hear about….

I was thrilled to find out that/about……

Giving bad news:

I’m afraid I’ve a bit of bad news for you.

Ending:

All the best.

Keep in touch.

Band 9 Sample Informal Letter

You have recently started work in a new company.

Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter

 explain why you changed jobs

 describe your new job
 tell him/her your other news

Dear Tom

I’m just writing to let you know I quit my old job and found something new.

I was really fed up with being a brain surgeon because it wasn’t really much of a challenge anymore. You
know me; if I’m not learning new tricks, I get bored too easily and have to find something new.

I’m now teaching English as a foreign language in Vietnam and it suits me down to the ground. I teach two
adult classes and a kindergarten class, which is not only challenging but also rewarding too. Can you
believe it?

I also have some other amazing news- I’m getting married. She was one of my first ever students and I
guess it was love at first sight for both of us. Make sure you keep the first weekend in July free, so you can
come and celebrate with us.

Keep in touch

Chris

(150 words)
Useful Application Writing Vocabulary:
This section deals with vocabulary and phrases that are particularly useful to write an application. In GT writing task
1, you often need to write an application and the purpose of the application varies. Sometimes it is a simple job
application, and sometimes it is a more complex. You will find the following vocabulary list useful for your application
writing. Applications are generally formal and can be semi-formal in some special occasions.

Salutation:
Dear Mr/Ms ..., (... should be replaced by the surname ...)
Dear Sir/Madam,
Sir or Madam,

Reason for writing:

I am writing to apply for the post/position of ….... as advertised in the Daily …... on (...date...)
I am writing in connection with your advertisement in the Daily ...... on (...date...)
With reference to your advertisement ......

Stating Experience/qualification:
My qualifications include …
I have two years job experience in the related field...
I have been working for ...… for the last five years.
I worked part-time for three years as …... at .......
At the moment I am employed by …... and my job responsibilities include .....
I have experience in ......
I have a post-graduation degree on .......
I have a diploma in …...
I have hands-on experience in ......
I graduated from ...... University three months ago and my major was......
I have finished my post-graduation from the ...... University and have been awarded .......

Curriculum Vitae (CV):

Please find attached my Curriculum Vitae
I am attaching my CV for your kind consideration
The CV and reference letter have been attached
Endings:
I look forward to hearing from you.
I can further discuss my candidacy for the post in a formal interview.
I am available for an interview at your convenience.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if/should you require further information.
Please contact me anytime for any other information you might require.
I shall be available for interview any day apart from Saturday.

Signing off the letter:

Yours sincerely, (if you start the letter with "Dear + Surname")
Yours faithfully, (if you start your letter with "Dear Sir/Madam/ Sir /Madam")