General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · making arrangements

Letter to Museum Manager Requesting Educational School Visit

You are a teacher at a secondary school (high school). You have been asked to arrange a visit to a local museum or tourist attraction for some of your students.

Write a letter to the manager of the museum or tourist attraction. In your letter:

who you are
which school do you teach at
why the school would like the students to visit the museum/attraction
ask about educational facilities or information that the museum/attraction can provide

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to inquire about the possibility of arranging a guided tour of the City History Museum for a group of my students. I am a history teacher at Oakwood Secondary School, and I am currently coordinating an enrichment programme for our Year 10 cohort.

We are eager for our students to visit your facility as it perfectly aligns with their current curriculum module on the Industrial Revolution. Seeing the machinery and artefacts in person would provide them with invaluable context that classroom resources simply cannot replicate, helping to bring their academic studies to life.

Could you please advise if you offer any specific educational facilities for school groups, such as a dedicated lecture space or access to primary source archives? Furthermore, I would appreciate knowing if your museum provides information packs or worksheets tailored for secondary students to assist with their learning during the visit.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding potential dates and any associated group costs. Thank you for your time and assistance in supporting our students' education.

Yours faithfully,

Eleanor Rigby

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

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with a professional, coherent tone and precise vocabulary. The most common mistake for Band 6 candidates is using overly casual language or failing to explicitly ask about the educational facilities requested in the prompt.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

cohort: a group of people with a shared characteristic
enrichment programme: educational activities designed to supplement the core curriculum
aligns with: corresponds to or matches something else closely
artefacts: objects of historical interest made by human beings
replicate: to make an exact copy or reproduce something
tailored: specially designed or adapted for a particular purpose

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?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

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.