General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · invitation

Letter to a high school friend about a party

Your high school friend who has moved to another country will be visiting your country for a month. You have arranged a party for him/her.

Write a letter to this friend. In your letter:

give the date and location of the party
say who is coming to the party
and mention things that he/she has missed during his/her stay in another country

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mark,

I was absolutely thrilled to hear that you are finally returning for a month-long visit! It feels like ages since we last caught up properly, so I have taken the liberty of organising a homecoming party for you on Saturday, 15th July, at my place in the city centre.

I have invited our old crew from high school, including Sarah, Dave, and even Mike, who is flying in specifically for the weekend. We are keeping the guest list small and intimate, just the group we used to hang out with before you moved abroad, so it should be a fantastic evening filled with nostalgia.

I know you must have missed the simple things, like our Friday night tradition of grabbing authentic street food at the night market and the legendary local craft beer we used to rave about. I have already arranged for a massive spread of all your favourite local snacks, and I have stocked the fridge with a few crates of that IPA you always loved.

I cannot wait to see you and hear all about your life overseas. Let me know if you can make it!

Best wishes,

Alex

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

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by fully addressing all three bullet points with natural, cohesive details and maintaining a consistent, warm tone suitable for a close friend. The most common mistake in Band 6 answers is failing to provide specific details for the bullet points, often resulting in vague or repetitive sentences that lack the required depth.

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

taken the liberty of: decided to do something without asking permission first
old crew: a group of friends one has known long
nostalgia: a sentimental longing for the past
authentic: of undisputed origin; genuine and traditional
rave about: to speak very enthusiastically about something
spread: a large meal laid out for many people

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.