I want to look at the letter which forms task 1 for General Training students. There are things regarding the letter that also need to be taken into account, very important amongst these is the ability to use different tenses and organise a series of events logically and clearly. However, if you follow these three things when constructing your letter you should be able to manage the grammar and vocabulary easily.
1. Identify the type of letter required
There are three types of letter in IELTS General Training Task 1: formal (to someone you do not know), informal (to someone you know well) and semi-formal, this could be to someone you know well about a formal matter or to someone you don’t know very well about an informal matter (you may be inviting former classmates to a formal reunion or you may be writing to a restaurant thanking them about a wonderful meal you had there).
The language you use for each of these will be different.
- Formal:
You need to be objective, polite and clear. State the facts clearly and say what you want the person to do. Don’t blame them - we tend not to do this in English. To avoid blame or being too familiar we use the passive – so this will feature in your letter quite substantially. Don’t give too much detail about your story or include too much emotion – be dispassionate. Be precise and to the point and state clearly what you want them to do. - Informal
Here you need to be friendly and write as if you are speaking. Use contractions, idioms and phrasal verbs. Imagine you are speaking to your friend or sibling. Add in pleasantries such as I hope you are well, we must meet up soon, I can’t wait to hear from you etc. Include something about your shared experience – do you remember when… and don’t jump straight to the topic - have a preamble first. Try to include some emotion, be friendly and enjoy the experience of writing this type of letter. - Semi-formal
This is probably the hardest as it is a mix of both formal and informal. You can be a little chatty but not too much and you can be quite formal in parts but make sure it’s clear that you know the person - don’t be too detached
2. Imagine the situation in your head
If the event that you are asked to write about happened to you then have this in your head as you write. What happened, what did you do. How did it end? A picture in your mind is very helpful as you can imagine the scene and write in a logical step-by-step way. If you haven’t experienced it then use your imagination and think about how it might happen and how you would feel. What would you want the person to do and how would you ask then to do this?
If your holiday were ruined by the travel company – how would you react, what would you expect them to do about it?
If you needed your friend to look after your dog for a few days – how would you ask them. What instructions would you give?
If you wanted to make suggestions to your boss about something at work – how would you approach them, what would you say? How would you persuade them?
3. What reply do you want to your letter
You should write your letter to achieve a certain outcome. Think about the response of the person when they receive your letter. What will they do? How will they respond? What will the letter of reply look like. Will it be what you expect?
Construct your letter to get this reply and make sure that each sentence tells them exactly how you feel and what you expect them to do whether this is to replace your credit card, look after your dog really well, or book a ticket for your high school reunion. If you think about your desired reply as you write then the chances are you will construct a great letter!