General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · apology

Letter to a close friend apologizing for absence

You recently missed a close friend's wedding because of a sudden emergency.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

apologize sincerely for missing the wedding
explain the emergency that prevented you from attending
ask to see photos and suggest meeting up soon

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear [Name],

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sarah,

I am absolutely devastated that I missed your big day last weekend. Please accept my sincerest apologies for my sudden absence; I was genuinely looking forward to celebrating your marriage and watching you walk down the aisle.

Everything was set for my trip, but on the morning of the ceremony, my elderly father suffered a severe fall at home. It was a terrifying situation, and I had to rush him to the emergency room immediately for surgery. Everything is stable now, but it was an unavoidable crisis that required my full attention during those crucial hours.

I have been scrolling through social media, catching glimpses of how beautiful everything looked. If you have a moment, I would love to see some of your professional photos whenever you are ready to share them. I am sure you looked stunning.

Once things settle down here and you return from your honeymoon, could we grab a coffee or a bite to eat? I would love to hear all about the wedding and properly catch up with you. I hope you had the most magical day.

Best wishes,

James

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with a natural, empathetic tone and sophisticated vocabulary suited to a close friendship. A common Band 6 mistake is providing overly vague reasons for the emergency or using a tone that is too formal, which fails to reflect the closeness of the relationship.

Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.
Contractions, phrasal verbs and a warm opening line are expected; a stiff formal tone loses marks here.
Still cover every bullet in its own paragraph; friendly does not mean unstructured.

Useful phrases from the letter

devastated: feeling extremely shocked and upset by something
walk down the aisle: a common idiom for getting married
unavoidable crisis: a serious problem that could not be prevented
catching glimpses: seeing something briefly or for a short time
settle down: become calm or return to a normal routine
magical day: a very special and wonderful occasion

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?

Informal. Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.

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.