Below is a sample letter for Task 1 of the General IELTS Writing Section. It is an informal letter, which can be identified in several ways:
- the tone, which is warm, friendly and conversational
- the use of first names (Eva, Brenda)
- the use of contractions (you’ve, wasn’t)
- the use of informal expressions (“Sorry, but…”, “how about you?”)
- the closing salutation ( “Warm wishes”, instead of the more formal “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully”)
WRITING TASK 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You have recently started work in a new company.
Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter,
- explain why you changed jobs
- describe your new job
- tell him / her your other news
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any address.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear __________,
Dear Eva,
How are you? I hope you’ve been well. Sorry for having been out of touch for a short while. There have been some changes in my life and I wanted to let you know the latest from my side.
The big news is that I have finally changed my job! Do you remember when you were here on holiday, I always talked about how I hated my boring bank job? Well, it was clear I needed a change. So, finally, I took a part-time TESL course and trained to be an ESL teacher. Now I’m working full-time in a private language school. I teach General English, Business English and IELTS. Each day, I look forward to going to work. My students come from all over the world and I love teaching them as well as learning from them.
Aside from that, I also moved to a new apartment near the school where I work. It’s small, but downtown, so I am right in the heart of the city, instead of way out in the suburbs. Suddenly, there’s so many fun things to do, in the evenings too. I am a much happier person today because of these recent changes.
So, how about you? I hope you’ll have a chance to visit Canada again soon. In the meantime, please write and let me know what’s new with you.
Warm wishes
Kim
(226 words)
