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ielts writing

IELTS Letter, topic: Thanking a friend for a nice birthday present

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 1 General Training book, Practice Test 2

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

A friend of yours recently gave you a nice birthday present.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,

– thank her for the present and say why you particularly like it
– describe some other presents that you received
– explain some of the things you did on your birthday.

You should write at least 150 words.

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

Dear Sarah,

Sample Band 9 Letter

Dear Sarah,

Now that the weekend of my birthday party is over and you have hopefully arrived home safely, I just wanted to let you know again how much your birthday present means to me. I don’t think I’ve ever received something quite as original as this lovely, hand-made photo album with photos and notes reminding me of our childhood. I think that these memories have helped us stick together and I hope that, although we live a long way apart now, I can add to this album every year when we see each other. With the stationery collection that my mother gave me and the calligraphy set I got from my dad, I can easily continue to add to this work of art!

It’s sad that you could only be there for the party and not for my actual birthday. I went canoeing with my parents and my sister at Barley Creek, the lovely lake resort that we often used to go to when we were young. Do you remember the tall trees and the calm atmosphere there? Well, everything is still as it used to be. Even the castle restaurant is still there, where I topped the day off with a fancy dinner. What a memorable day it was!

I hope you can be there next time.

Lots of love,

Amanda

Go here for more IELTS Band 9 Letters

Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 – How to Describe Process Diagrams

You got a process diagram to describe and you want to write a Band 7 or higher Academic Writing Task 1 response. In this video Adam shows you step by step how it’s done. He starts by teaching you how to analyse the process diagram before you start writing, gives you tips how to reword the task prompt easily, how to write a great overview and how to group or separate the various stages in the body paragraphs.

In the 10 years Adam worked as an examiner at the British Council, he saw times and times again that test takers weren’t getting Band 7+ because they were writing their answers the wrong way (and NOT because they lacked vocabulary or didn’t know grammar).

So he made this video to show you the right way to answer the Academic Writing Task 1.

Watch this video and you will learn

– how to analyse a process diagram before you start writing
– what to pay attention to, and what to be aware of
– how to reword the task prompt
– how to organise the information in your answer (did you know you could group stages?)

By doing all of that right, you will save time on Writing Task 1 and use it for Writing Task 2, which carries more weight.

Watch the lesson on YouTube, or below:

 

In the video

1. What are you explaining?
In this particular diagram it is the process for producing biodiesel.

2. How many steps are there in the process?
Sometimes you may get a cyclical diagram (of a process that keeps repeating), and you need to find the best starting point. Adam shows you how.

3. When things are added?
Diagrams typically have things that are added to make the process possible. Be aware of that and look for things that are added.

4. What are the by-products?
By-products can often be seen in process diagrams. In this one it is the high protein residue and glycerine.

5. Can the stages be combined or separated?
In this diagram steps 1 and 2 are stand-alone ones, but steps 3 and 4 can be combined.

And there is a lot more to learn, so do watch the entire video, because Adam explains everything in a very easy to understand way. It won’t take you long to start writing Band 7+ reports!

Adam doesn’t give you a model response in this lesson, because he would like you to have a go and write your own. But if you’d like to see a Band 9 sample, check out our High Scorer’s Choice IELTS practice tests. This particular topic can be found in Package 2 and we also provide a model response for it, as well as all the other writing tasks.

Enjoy the lesson!