General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · making arrangements

Letter to a friend regarding changing holiday plans

You have decided to go on holiday with your friend. However, you must change your plans.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

tell them how much you are looking forward to the holiday
explain why you must change your plans
suggest alternative arrangements

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sarah,

I hope you’re doing well! I’ve been counting down the days until our trip to the Lake District next month; I honestly can’t wait to escape the city and spend some quality time hiking with you.

However, I’m incredibly sorry to say that I need to change our plans. My manager has just informed me that a critical project deadline has been moved forward, and I am now required to be in the office for the entire week we were supposed to be away. It is completely unexpected, and I feel terrible about the timing.

Could we perhaps postpone the trip by two weeks? I have checked my calendar, and I am completely free from the 20th onwards. Alternatively, if that doesn't suit your schedule, I am more than happy to book a long weekend in the autumn instead. Please let me know if either of these options works for you, and I will handle any necessary booking adjustments immediately.

I really hope we can still make this work, as I was looking forward to it so much.

Best wishes,

Jamie

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

Why this scores well

This response reaches Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with a natural, consistent informal tone and clear, logical transitions. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a specific, plausible reason for the change, or using overly formal language that sounds unnatural in a letter to a friend.

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

counting down the days: excitedly waiting for an event to happen soon
critical: extremely important and needing urgent attention
moved forward: rescheduled to happen at an earlier date
postpone: to arrange for something to happen later
suit: to be convenient or acceptable for someone
adjustments: small changes made to improve or fix something

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.