General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · request

Letter to a friend asking for help with event

You are preparing an event in the countryside.

Write a letter to your friend and ask for help with the arrangements. In your letter:

describe the event
mention what arrangements have already been made
say how your friend can help

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Jamie,

I hope everything is going well with you. I am currently busy organising an outdoor summer solstice gathering at my family's cottage in the Cotswolds, and I was wondering if you might be available to lend me a hand with the final preparations.

It is going to be a casual garden party for about twenty people, featuring a bonfire and some acoustic music. We want to celebrate the longest day of the year by enjoying the countryside air and some home-cooked food under the stars.

So far, I have managed to secure the venue and have already booked a local folk band to play throughout the evening. I have also organised the catering, which will be a mix of traditional barbecue items and some vegetarian options, so the food side of things is well and truly under control.

Would you mind helping me with the decorations and setting up the string lights around the garden? Since you have such a great eye for design, your input would be invaluable. If you could arrive a few hours early on Saturday, we could get everything ready before the guests arrive. Let me know if you can make it!

Best wishes,

Alex

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

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response fully addresses all three bullet points with a natural, consistent informal tone and clear, cohesive paragraphing. The most common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide specific details about the event or the help required, resulting in a vague response that does not fully develop the prompt.

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

solstice: The longest or shortest day of the year
lend me a hand: To provide assistance with a specific task
invaluable: Extremely useful or helpful for a situation
secure: To succeed in obtaining or arranging something
under control: Managed or dealt with in an organised way
acoustic: Music played without the use of electronic amplification

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.