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Writing Practice for IELTS Exam | How to Write A Letter

Writing Practice for IELTS icon - General Training, Task 1, Letter

Writing Practice for IELTS General Training Test Task 1 Question

IELTS Writing Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Your friend wants to start a new import/export business in the country where you live now.

Write a letter to him/her and say:
  • What product is better to import.
  • What part of the country does the product come from?
  • Why he/she should import that product.
Write at least 150 words



Writing Practice for IELTS General Training Test Task 1 | Sample Answer

Dear Mike,
It was good to hear from you and thanks for all your news. I like your idea about starting an import/export business, I think there’s a lot of potential in it. After thinking about possible products which might be appealing for people back home, here’s one idea which I think would be good.

You know how people there have been getting into wine a lot in the last couple of years; it was becoming quite the thing amongst a lot of our friends before I left. So I believe we could have an opportunity to offer something different to potential customers. The wine industry here is well established and wine from the south of the country in particular is extremely popular.

I think we should do some in depth research together regarding the opportunities to export some of the popular wine labels from here and sell them over there. What do you think? As far as I know nobody is doing anything like that yet, so it would give us an advantage if we are offering something unique in the market over there.

Look forward to hearing from you soon,
All the best,
John







FAQ | Writing Practice for IELTS

How can I improve my writing skills?

Start by trying to answer some authentic IELTS writing practice tests. Doing this will help you learn the format of each question and typical instructions used in IELTS writing test questions. You can also read model answers for Task 1 and Task 2 questions to learn how to structure high score answers, in your own words. The more IELTS writing tasks you try - the better your writing skills will become.

What IELTS marking criteria apply to the writing section?

The official IELTS marking criteria also known as band score descriptors are:

  • Task Achievement
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy
  • Lexical Resource
  • Coherence and Cohesion

How does the IELTS General Training writing test differ from the IELTS Academic writing test?

Some things are the same, but there are also some differences between the two writing tests.

Things that are the same:

  • Time limit: One hour (60 mins) to complete two tasks
  • Format of answer sheet
  • IELTS marking criteria

Things that are different:

  • IELTS Academic Task 1: you must describe data or visual information in a chart, table, graph, diagram, etc.
  • IELTS General Training Task 1: You must write a letter (informal, semi-formal, formal, etc.)
  • IELTS Academic Task 2: You must write an essay. Questions are typically in an academic style.
  • IELTS General Training Task 2: You must write an essay. Questions are typically about more general topics, unlike the academic test.

What kind of essay writing should I practice?

Be prepared to answer any of the essay types below:

  • Advantages and Disadvantages
  • Discursive
  • Opinion
  • Double Question
  • Problem and Solution
  • Agree or Disagree

When you do writing practice for IELTS, try to authentic sample answers to help you think of ideas that you can use in your own essay answers. Being familiar with the different essay styles will help boost your confidence so that you feel ready to tackle anything on test day.


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