Letter Writing Essentials: General Training Task 1 Guide

For General Training candidates, Writing Task 1 is a letter. It seems simple compared to the Academic graphs, but it has a hidden trap: Tone.

If you write a formal letter to a friend, it sounds weird. If you write "Hey!" to a hiring manager, you will lose points for being inappropriate. Mastering the tone (or "register") is the key to a high score.

1. Determining the Tone

Before you write a single word, look at who you are writing to.

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  Formal: Someone you do not know, or someone in a position of authority.

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    Examples: Applying for a job, complaining to a company, writing to a landlord, writing to the council.
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  Informal: A friend or family member.

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    Examples: Inviting a friend to a party, apologizing for missing a birthday, giving advice to a cousin.
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  Semi-Formal: A colleague you know well, or a neighbor. (Treat this similar to Formal but slightly softer).

2. Structure of a Formal Letter

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  Salutation: "Dear Sir or Madam," (if name unknown) or "Dear Mr. Smith,"
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  Opening: State the purpose immediately.

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    "I am writing to inquire about..."
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    "I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with..."
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  Body: Address the bullet points clearly using formal vocabulary (e.g., "request" instead of "ask for," "inform" instead of "tell").
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  Closing: "I look forward to hearing from you."
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  Sign-off:

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    "Yours faithfully," (if you started with Dear Sir/Madam)
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    "Yours sincerely," (if you used their name)

3. Structure of an Informal Letter

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  Salutation: "Dear John," or "Hi Mary,"
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  Opening: Social opening.

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    "Hope you are doing well."
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    "It was great to hear from you."
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    "I'm writing to let you know..."
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  Body: Chatty style. You can use contractions ("I'm", "can't") and phrasal verbs.
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  Closing: "Let's catch up soon." / "Can't wait to see you."
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  Sign-off: "Best regards," "All the best," "Warmly,"

4. The Bullet Points Trap

You will always be given three bullet points. You must cover all three.

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  If the prompt says "Explain the problem, describe how it happened, and say what you want the manager to do," and you forget to say what you want the manager to do, your Task Achievement score is capped at Band 4 or 5.
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  Strategy: Write one clear paragraph for each bullet point.

Conclusion

Letter writing is formulaic. Once you memorize the standard openers and closings for formal and informal letters, the task becomes much easier. Identify the recipient, choose the tone, cover the bullets, and you will secure a solid score for Task 1.

Check out our other IELTS resources and practice tests to help you achieve your target band score!