General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Booking Request for Local Community Hall Event

You are planning to hold a community event and need to book a local hall.

Write a letter to the manager of the hall. In your letter:

introduce yourself and the event
explain what facilities you need
ask about the availability and cost

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear Sir or Madam,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a resident of the Oakwood district and the lead organiser for our upcoming neighbourhood cultural festival, which aims to celebrate local diversity through food and music. We are currently scouting for a suitable venue to host this gathering on the afternoon of Saturday, 15th June.

Regarding the facilities, our event will require a spacious main hall with a stage area for musical performances. Furthermore, access to a fully equipped kitchen would be essential, as we intend to serve refreshments to approximately one hundred attendees. It is also vital that the premises offer reliable audiovisual equipment, specifically a sound system and a projector for our presentations.

Could you please confirm if the hall is available for hire on the aforementioned date? Additionally, I would appreciate a detailed breakdown of the rental fees, including any supplementary costs for cleaning services or security personnel. If the facility is free, I would be grateful if you could provide information on how to proceed with the booking process and the deadline for payment.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Sterling

186 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific, relevant details while maintaining a consistently professional tone. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to specify the required facilities clearly or omitting the cost inquiry, which results in an incomplete response to the prompt.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

scouting: searching for a suitable place or person
aforementioned: mentioned previously in the same document
supplementary: additional things added to complete something
premises: a building and the land it occupies
attendees: people present at an event or meeting
rental fees: the price paid for using a property

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.