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Simone Braverman

Simone Braverman is the founder of IELTS-Blog.com and the author of several renowned IELTS preparation books, including Ace the IELTS, Target Band 7, the High Scorer's Choice practice test series, and IELTS Success Formula. Since 2005, Simone has been committed to making IELTS preparation accessible and effective through her books and online resources. Her work has helped 100,000's of students worldwide achieve their target scores and live their dream lives. When Simone isn't working on her next IELTS book, video lesson, or coaching, she enjoys playing the guitar or rollerblading.

IELTS Letter, topic: Inviting an old friend to your new house

This is a model response to a Writing Task 1 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 3 General Training book, Practice Test 11

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You recently moved to a new house and you want to invite an old friend to stay
with you. Write a letter to your friend.

In your letter,

– invite him to stay and suggest a date
– briefly describe the new house and garden
– say why you like your new house

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Jimmy,

Sample Band 9 Letter

Dear Jimmy,

Guess what! I have finally moved into my new house! The furniture is already arranged and the boxes that you saw at my old apartment last time containing all the decorations have disappeared.

I would love you to come over for a few weeks to stay. I would appreciate your company and we can finish off any last adjustments together. I know that you are creative and so maybe you have some tips for me on how to decorate the living room. Besides a huge bookshelf, a TV and a sofa, I am unsure about what else to put in there. What do you think about next Friday? You can come anytime, but this would be most convenient for me.

I am sure that you will like my new house, just as I do. The garden has exquisite flowers and herbs from its previous owners and the large stove in the kitchen gives you a feeling of nostalgia. In addition to this, the staircase creaks in a funny way, which reminds me of the old house where I lived in as a child.

I am looking forward to your answer and I hope that you can come as soon as possible!

Hugs,

Leah

Go here for more IELTS Band 9 Letters

IELTS test in Sri Lanka and Nigeria – January 2022 (Academic Module)

According to our friends M.H. from Sri Lanka and O.G. from Nigeria their IELTS exams on the same day in these two countries were the same. Here are the topics and questions they collectively remembered:

Reading test

Passage 1. A text about the effects of using up our ocean’s resources and overfishing on the marine life.
Passage 2. How insects make decisions as a group.
Passage 3. Appearance and personality: the way people’s faces correlate with their personalities.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given two plans of a university’s sport centre, one from 1990 and another from today, with some structures on them.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Friendly robots are now being developed to help people at work and at home. Do you think the positive effects of this development outweigh the negative? Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Speaking test

Part 1 (Interview)

– What is your full name?
– What shall I call you?
– Where is your hometown?
– Do you work or study?
– What is your day like at the office?
– Who has helped you the most at work?
– Let’s talk about dreams.
– How often do you remember your dreams?
– Do you think dreams have meaning?
– Do you enjoy hearing about other people’s dreams?
– Do you use a mobile phone?
– Do you send text messages on your phone?
– Are there places where you can’t use mobile phones?

Part 2 (Cue Card)

Talk about a gift you would like to give to a friend. You should say

– what the gift is
– how valuable it is
– why you chose this gift.

Part 3 (Discussion)

– Let’s talk about gift-giving in your culture.
– On what occasions do people receive gifts in your culture?
– What kind of things do people give as gifts on these occasions?
– What is more satisfying, gift-giving or receiving? Why?