General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · giving information

Letter to a club secretary requesting membership information

You are interested in joining a local sports club.

Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter:

state which sports you are interested in playing
ask for information regarding membership fees
inquire about the club's training schedule

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 writing to express my keen interest in becoming a member of your sports club. Having recently relocated to the area, I am eager to find a local facility where I can maintain my fitness and engage in regular athletic activities.

Specifically, I am an enthusiastic badminton player and have also been looking to join a competitive squash league. I would appreciate it if you could confirm whether your club offers facilities or organized sessions for these two sports.

Could you please provide me with comprehensive details regarding your membership structure? I am interested in knowing the current annual or monthly subscription fees, as well as any initial registration costs or additional charges for court bookings.

Furthermore, I would welcome information concerning your training schedule. I am particularly curious about whether you host social play sessions during weekday evenings or if there are specific weekend slots allocated for club members. If you have a seasonal calendar or a weekly timetable available, please kindly share it with me.

Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

This response earns a Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with specific, natural details while maintaining a consistently formal tone suitable for a club secretary. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to ask for both the fees and the schedule, or using overly casual language that does not match the formal context.

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

keen interest: a strong desire or enthusiasm for something
relocated: moved to a new place to live
comprehensive: including all or nearly all elements or aspects
subscription fees: regular payments made to belong to a club
allocated: distributed for a particular purpose or time
kindly: a polite way to request an action

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

On your phone? Get the BandLadder app.

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.