General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Requesting Research Access to the London Library

You are going to travel to London for about one week and spend two days visiting the London Library. You are studying for a project and want to do some background studies.

Write a letter to the head of the library. In your letter:

explain what your project is about?
say what studies you want to do at the library?
say what facilities you need to use?

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 accessing the London Library for two days during my upcoming visit to the city from the 12th to the 19th of October. I am currently an academic researcher and would greatly value the opportunity to utilize your institution's extensive collections.

My project focuses on the socio-economic evolution of Victorian-era urban planning. Specifically, I am examining how municipal infrastructure policies influenced residential development patterns in London during the late nineteenth century. This research is intended for a forthcoming publication on historical urban geography.

To support this work, I wish to conduct background studies focusing on primary source archives and rare period journals held within your stacks. Gaining access to these specific historical documents is essential for verifying my current hypotheses regarding local architectural shifts.

Regarding facilities, I would require a quiet workspace with reliable Wi-Fi and access to your document scanning equipment to digitize relevant excerpts for further analysis. Please advise if a temporary visitor pass is available and what documentation I should provide to facilitate this arrangement.

Thank you for your time and assistance with this request.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by maintaining a consistently professional tone and clearly addressing all three bullet points with specific, relevant details. A common mistake for Band 6 candidates is failing to explain the research project clearly, instead providing vague descriptions that do not justify the need for specialized library access.

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

inquire: to ask for information from someone officially
extensive: covering a large area or having a wide range
socio-economic: relating to the interaction of social and economic factors
primary source: original materials from the time period being studied
hypotheses: proposed explanations made on the basis of limited evidence
facilitate: to make an action or process easier to perform

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.