General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · giving information

Letter to a friend regarding my new home

You have recently moved to a different house, and you want to give the news to an English-speaking friend who lives in another country.

Write a letter to this English-speaking friend. In your letter:

explain why you have moved
describe the new house
invite your friend to come and visit

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 are doing well and that life in Melbourne is treating you kindly. It has been a while since we last caught up, so I wanted to share some big news: I have finally moved house!

I decided to relocate because my previous apartment was becoming far too cramped, especially since I started working from home full-time. I really needed a dedicated office space, and the commute to the city centre was becoming quite tedious. This new place is much closer to the train station, which has made my daily life significantly more manageable.

My new home is a charming Victorian terrace with high ceilings and a lovely garden out the back. It is flooded with natural light, and the kitchen is an absolute dream for someone who loves to cook. I have spent the last few weeks painting the walls and settling in, and it finally feels like my own sanctuary.

I would absolutely love for you to come and visit soon. There is a comfortable spare room waiting for you, and I would be thrilled to show you around the neighbourhood. Let me know when you might be free to plan a trip.

Best wishes,

James

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with natural, cohesive, and well-developed details while maintaining a warm, informal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide specific descriptions of the new house or using overly formal, rigid phrasing that sounds unnatural for 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

cramped: uncomfortably small with not enough space for movement
tedious: something that is too long, slow, or dull
Victorian terrace: a house built in the 19th century style
sanctuary: a place of refuge or a peaceful retreat
thrilled: feeling sudden and intense pleasure or excitement
relocate: to move to a new place to live

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.