General Training Writing Task 1 · semi-formal · apology

Letter to former teacher declining conference invitation

Your previous English teacher has invited you to attend a conference he is hosting but you can't go to his invitation.

Write a letter to the teacher. In your letter:

thank him for the invitation
explain why you can not attend
say you are sorry for this time and will attend in the future

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

It was a genuine pleasure to receive your invitation to the upcoming linguistics conference you are hosting next month. Thank you very much for thinking of me; it is an honour to be included in such a prestigious event.

Regrettably, I will be unable to attend on this occasion. My firm has recently assigned me to an intensive project that requires my presence in Singapore during those exact dates. As this is a critical stage of the international rollout, my travel schedule is inflexible, making it impossible for me to join you in London.

Please accept my sincere apologies for missing what promises to be a fascinating seminar. I have followed your recent publications closely, and I was genuinely looking forward to hearing your insights firsthand.

I truly hope that you might consider inviting me to future sessions, as I would be delighted to participate in any upcoming events you organise once my current project concludes. I wish you the very best of luck with the hosting duties and hope the conference is a resounding success.

Best wishes,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with a natural, consistent semi-formal tone and sophisticated vocabulary. A common Band 6 mistake is using overly repetitive, template-style opening sentences or failing to provide specific, logical reasons for the absence.

Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.
Polite and friendly at once: a few contractions are fine, slang is not. Close with Yours sincerely or Kind regards.
State the purpose in the first two sentences; small talk costs words you need for the bullets.

Useful phrases from the letter

prestigious: having high status or being very respected
regrettably: used to express that you are sorry
inflexible: unable to be changed or adapted
resounding success: a very great or complete success
firsthand: coming directly from experience or personal observation
concludes: brings to an end or finishes 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?

Semi-formal. Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.

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.