IELTS Writing Samples

You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will be looking after your house while you are away. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
– say where you are going
– describe your house
– explain some of the things your friend must do to look after your house.

Dear Sam,

Thank you in advance for looking after my house and my lovely puppies I am on vacation. You know how excited I am to go to Bali! It is indeed a dream coming true now.

I just want to let you know that my house has been renovated and since you haven’t been to my place for a couple of months, you have to use the stairs next to the car park using the main entrance door. The ground floor will not be accessible and will be locked for maintenance reasons.

I need to mention a couple of things which you need to look after during my absence. My dogs will be staying on the top floor and I be very grateful if you feed them thrice a week.

Last , could you please clean as well. Please feel free to contact me in case of any emergencies on my cell phone 04245681112 or via email as well xxyyzz@gmail.com. Yes I know, I have not forgotten your treat as I owe you this one mate

Thank you once again for your help.

See you soon,
Jane

The candidate has fairly addressed all the parts of the task statement. The information is organized well and conveyed coherently. The level of formality is suitable for a personal letter. In terms of sentence formation the writer has done well. The range of vocabulary is adequate for the requirements of the task response, although there are minor problems with word choice and grammar (bring the mouse over the words in blue to see suggested corrections). Overall, this letter is a good one, and seems worthy of Band 8.

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You are not happy with the course you are doing at college and would like to change to a different course. Write a letter to the college director requesting to change your course. You should include details about:
– what course are you doing now
– why you are not satisfied with that course
– what course would you like to change to

Dear Mr. Hodgkins,

I am currently enrolled in an Italian cooking class at St. James and am writing regarding some difficulties I have had this subject for the past two weeks. I would like to know if it is to change my course.

I believe that the last day allowed for students to make any changes was Wednesday 5th June but, . The fact is that, during the enrolment session, no one mentioned that I needed to be literate in Italian, which not. Therefore, you will comprehend that for me, getting an understanding of what the teacher is saying is beyond comprehensible.

Thus, I am requesting that my current enrollment be transferred from the Italian course to the French cooking class. unlike in Italian, I am fluent in French.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to you and the staff and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Sandrine Mo

The student’s response covers the task question very well, the sentences have good structure, the level of formality is adequate and the vocabulary is suitable for the purpose. Some expressions would sound better in different wording (see suggestions underlined in blue). Overall, this letter is a very good one, and seems worthy of Band 8.5.

Click here to see more IELTS letters of band 8