Today I’ve prepared for you a Band 9 sample answer to an IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 topic. I’ll take you through the sample answer step by step and show you what you should do to meet each requirement examiners use to assess your answers. Ready?
Here’s our topic:
A friend has written to you asking your advice about whether to spend a year before starting university travelling or to work for the year.
Write back to your friend. In your email
Remember that Task 1 is worth one-third of the total Band Score. That’s why you should spend no more than 20 minutes on Task 1.
Now, we’ll look in detail at the main features and see how they match the Task 1 descriptors in the four areas tested: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
An important aspect in Task Achievement is the tone. It’s mentioned in Band 7 and assumed for Bands 8 and 9 as something that is “consistent and appropriate”. What it refers to is the level of formality and the language we use to show those levels.
You can see the different levels of formality in this example:
Letter to a bank manager
How’s everything at the bank?
Take care of yourself.
I am writing in reply to your letter dated October 15 in which you requested some information concerning...
Letter to a friend
How’s everything at home?
Take care of yourself.
I am writing in reply to your letter dated October 15 in which you asked me for advice concerning your gap year.
Another key requirement is to cover all three bullet points. According to the Task 1 IELTS Band Descriptors, a Band 8 requires that you “cover all requirements of the task sufficiently” and that means that you “present, highlight and illustrate bullet points clearly and appropriately”.
Now let’s check each paragraph, and analyse how this letter scores on Task Achievement.
Paragraph 1
Dear Monica,
It was great to hear from you and congratulations on your brilliant exam results! I’m sure you can’t wait to start university, but you’ve asked for my thoughts on what you should do over the next twelve months and I honestly believe getting a job is the answer.
Paragraph 1 opens by making it clear that this is a reply to a letter and states what the writer’s opinion is with regard to the two options. It’s a great way to open the letter because it paraphrases the task details (the friend asking for advice) and also has a friendly tone typical of personal letters (great to hear from you; congratulations on your brilliant exam results).
In other words, in the first paragraph, we have a friendly tone, we have a context and we have started to tackle the three bullet points.
Paragraph 2
Although travelling seems such an attractive option, I’m convinced that you wouldn’t enjoy it. You’ve never been the type of person who liked going without home comforts so I can’t imagine you sleeping in cheap student hostels. Remember that time we went camping and you were miserable all week!
Paragraph 2 follows with an explanation as to why travelling for a year is not the best option, exactly as stated in the first bullet point. The tone is friendly and sincere. It gives an impression of a friend using first-hand knowledge to support her point of view by mentioning “not the type of person who likes going without home comforts”.
Adding an example of that time you went camping is a good touch. Examiners like to see examples to back up the main points.
Paragraph 3
On the other hand, working abroad for a year would give you invaluable first-hand insight into another culture as well as the chance to improve your fluency and, as you want to study modern languages, the experience could be really worthwhile. Not only that, you’ll be making lots of new friends.
Paragraph 3 justifies the job option and that is done through the fact that the friend wants to study languages at university so it’s quite easy to show how a year working abroad would be a great preparation for such studies. The tone is neither overly formal or informal because it is the most serious part of the letter where she is trying to convince her friend that the job option is the best.
Paragraph 4
If I were you, I’d start looking at schools either in France or Spain that want assistant teachers. You won't need any previous experience and I’m sure it’d be very rewarding. An alternative might be working as an au pair, you know, living with a family and probably taking care of their young children though that has its pros and cons as you can imagine.
In the fourth paragraph, two job options are suggested together with reasons for taking them. Again, it’s a fairly neutral tone starting off with a classic conditional form of offering advice (If I were you, I’d …).
How does the letter end?
Of course, it’s up to you but, believe me, a year’s work experience is the best.
Take care,
Nicole
It’s good to finish your letter strongly, not only with an expression of farewell but also, as in this case, with a conclusion. And the tone returns to friendly (it’s up to you; Take care).
Our letter is hundred and twenty words long, excluding the name. This is a good length. A “short” letter may not develop all the bullet points and therefore not score so well on Task Achievement.
In Grammatical Range and Accuracy, a Band 8 will be given to a letter that includes a wide range of grammatical structures which are sufficiently complex where necessary. Very few IELTS answers are completely error-free so as long as you can produce a good number of error-free sentences, then you will get a high Band score.
In our letter, I counted just 10 sentences, all complex with the verb tenses handled well. We see good use of the present perfect to refer to events from the past that are still relevant (you’ve asked me, you’ve never been).
Above all, the letter has several examples of modal verbs and conditional forms. Altogether I counted 12 examples of these forms in the letter. This is expected because the objective is to discuss future possibilities and compare options. So, we see how the writer makes assumptions based on how well she knows her friend (you can’t wait; you wouldn’t enjoy it; I can’t imagine you; you can imagine).
She also gives advice and speculates on that advice (what you should do; would give you invaluable insight; could be really worthwhile; you’ll be making lots of new friends; you won’t need; it’d be really rewarding; an alternative might be) using a range of modal verbs. We also have the elegant conditional form of giving advice (If I were you, I’d...).
Dear Monica,
It was great to hear from you and congratulations on your brilliant exam results! I’m sure you can’t wait to start university, but you’ve asked for my thoughts on what you should do over the next twelve months and I honestly believe getting a job is the answer.
Although travelling seems such an attractive option, I’m convinced that you wouldn’t enjoy it. You’ve never been the type of person who liked going without home comforts, so I can’t imagine you sleeping in cheap student hostels.
On the other hand, working abroad for a year would give you invaluable first-hand insight into another culture as well as the chance to improve your fluency and, as you want to study modern languages, the experience could be really worthwhile. Not only that, you’ll be making lots of new friends.
If I were you, I’d start looking at schools either in France or Spain that want assistant teachers. You won't need any previous experience and I’m sure it’d be rewarding. An alternative might be working as an au pair, you know, living with a family and probably taking care of their young children though that has its pros and cons as you can imagine…
Of course, it’s up to you but, believe me, a year’s work experience is the best.
Take care,
Nicole
At the same time, remember that this is an informal letter and that’s why there are so many verbal contractions throughout, ranging from I’m and you’ve to I’d, it’s and wouldn’t, won’t. All are perfectly acceptable in a letter of this sort but in formal letters, they should not be used.
In this letter, the vocabulary used is familiar without being overly specialized. There is a mention of "insight into another culture" and "fluency" in relation to studying languages, as well as "assistant teacher" and "au pair" when discussing possible jobs.
However, these terms are not exceptionally unusual, which is appropriate to keep the letter personal and informal. The examiner is primarily interested in assessing how effectively you use English, rather than testing your insider knowledge on any particular topic.
Nevertheless, what is of interest is the use of collocation, that is, how you combine familiar words to make your English appear as good or even better than that of native speakers.
This letter provides some good examples, such as "make...friends," "a worthwhile experience," and "previous experience." Moreover, incorporating one or two colloquial phrases like "pros and cons" or "It's up to you" can emphasize specific elements that examiners seek when evaluating for a high score.
Dear Monica,
It was great to hear from you and congratulations on your brilliant exam results! I’m sure you can’t wait to start university, but you’ve asked for my thoughts on what you should do over the next twelve months and I honestly believe getting a job is the answer.
Although travelling seems such an attractive option, I’m convinced that you wouldn’t enjoy it. You’ve never been the type of person who liked going without home comforts, so I can’t imagine you sleeping in cheap student hostels.
On the other hand, working abroad for a year would give you invaluable first-hand insight into another culture as well as the chance to improve your fluency and, as you want to study modern languages, the experience could be really worthwhile. Not only that, you’ll be making lots of new friends.
If I were you, I’d start looking at schools either in France or Spain that want assistant teachers. You won't need any previous experience and I’m sure it’d be rewarding. An alternative might be working as an au pair, you know, living with a family and probably taking care of their young children though that has its pros and cons as you can imagine.
Of course, it’s up to you but, believe me, a year’s work experience is the best.
Take care,
Nicole
In the model essay, the paragraphs as well as the sentences within them are well-organised and well-connected. There are good examples of cohesive devices or linking words. Look at Paragraph 3:
“Although travelling seems”, “So I can’t imagine”.
Paragraph 4 then contrasts that by opening with “On the other hand” and the letter also has examples of “and”, “but”, “though” and “not only that”.
Dear Monica,
It was great to hear from you and congratulations on your brilliant exam results! I’m sure you can’t wait to start university, but you’ve asked for my thoughts on what you should do over the next twelve months and I honestly believe getting a job is the answer.
Although travelling seems such an attractive option, I’m convinced that you wouldn’t enjoy it. You’ve never been the type of person who liked going without home comforts, so I can’t imagine you sleeping in cheap student hostels.
On the other hand, working abroad for a year would give you invaluable first-hand insight into another culture as well as the chance to improve your fluency and, as you want to study modern languages, the experience could be really worthwhile. Not only that, you’ll be making lots of new friends.
If I were you, I’d start looking at schools either in France or Spain that want assistant teachers. You won't need any previous experience and I’m sure it’d be rewarding. An alternative might be working as an au pair, you know, living with a family and probably taking care of their young children though that has its pros and cons as you can imagine.
Of course, it’s up to you but, believe me, a year’s work experience is the best.
Take care,
Nicole
This model letter is just one example of how to answer this topic, but you can see how the paragraphs are all linked thematically, grammatically and lexically, the all-important aspect of vocabulary.
If you’d like to learn how to write letters of each type and more generally, how to meet all the IELTS Writing and Speaking requirements and answer each type of task, check out my IELTS General Pack below. It will help you prepare in less time and achieve a higher score.
How to Write a Band 9 IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay | Two Direct Questions
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