📚 Letter Writing – Quick Navigation

🕰️Time Given, and Word limit.

Well, in task 01, you will be given a certain situation and its response, you will be asked to write a letter. The mandatory things are, the write-up should be of “150 words” at minimum level. You can always exceed the word limit if you want to; actually it is recommended to write 20,30 words more than the word limit. You can spend a maximum of “20 minutes” on it.

✉️Types of Letters in IELTS Writing

For those of you who are feeling scared about the types, CHEER UP because they are very easy if you understand them well.

There are only 3 types of letters in IELTS Writing that on the basis of which your writing abilities will be assessed. But you can ace them with practice.

1. Formal (where the letter would be written to someone you don’t know personally, such as professional or important business related)

2. Semi-formal (where you would have to write a letter you know but in professional and respectful way, for instance, your professor or landlady or colleague)

3. Informal (this letter would be addressed to your friend, whom you personally know for years or your sibling, which would give a friendlier tone to the letter)

🕵️ SO, HOW YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE LETTER?

Identifying the letter is easier than you think, you just need to focus on what the prompts are demanding from you.

For example,

If the prompt says to write a letter to someone you don’t know personally such as a new boss, a garment or shoe company, principal of a new college, phone company manager etc. anyone with whom you have to be fully professional, that would be a formal letter.

If the prompt says to write a letter to someone you are familiar with or have some relation with like your tutor, manager, university professor, colleague, former classmate etc. where you can be slightly friendly too but have to sound respectful and polite, that would be a semi-formal letter type.

Lastly, if the prompt asks you to write a letter to someone you know for sure and have deeper connection with such as your family member or your close friend, where you can use an amiable tone, that is where you have to write an informal letter.

📐Letter Structure

Since everything goes with a proper structure, the letter has one too.

So we shall start with,

Greetings:

This is the way to start your letter. When you address someone, you greet them first, right? Well, you have to do the same thing while writing a letter too. Here is how you do it.

For Formal: Dear Sir/Madam

For Semi-formal: Dear Mr. Hassan or Miss. Taylor

For Informal: Dear Ali or Dear Sarah

Opening Statement

You would have to initiate the letter by stating the purpose behind writing it. It shows that you are relevant and not beating around the bush. It is recommended that you describe the purpose of writing this letter in the initial sentences to make things more understandable.

Main Paragraphs

Every formal write-up has main paragraphs. There should be at least three points which you are addressing. This way, each paragraph will have some main idea to be discussed and you will not lose content to share.

Closing Statement

A closing statement is mandatory in letter writing. So you would have to write it as well. Here is an example of how you can end your letter in a pleasing note.

For Formal and Semi-formal:

“I am eagerly looking forward to hearing from you.”

For Informal:

“I really hope to hear from you soon.”

Words at the End

In the end, you should be using certain words to wind up your letter.

For Formal and Semi-formal:

Yours faithfully (if you are unaware of the name) / Yours sincerely (if you know the name)

For Informal:

Best wishes/ take care

🎯Some Tips and Tricks to Score Higher in Letter Writing

Letter writing is not as difficult as you guys think. It is just to test your writing abilities and how well you can communicate to certain people in different situations.

That is why, in the General Test, certain conditions or prompts are given to you so that you write accordingly. If you succeed in giving the right response, it benefits you in achieving a higher score.

There are many tips as well as tricks which can be used by you guys to score better in letter writing. Some of them are provided below for your ease.

📌TIP 01: UNDERSTAND THE TONE OF THE LETTER

It is extremely necessary for you to understand the actual tone of the letter prompts given to you. It exhibits your ability to assess how you would be responding to certain situations.

For instance, if the prompt is about you writing a letter to your manager, you would have to use a formal tone. Similarly, while addressing a friend or sibling living far away, you would be expected to be natural and informal.

Also, if you use informal tone in a formal letter, that might affect your score because that is not what you will do in a real situation, right?

Therefore, understanding the right tone and ability to use professional, semi-friendly or friendly words depending on the prompt is really significant.

📌TIP 02: FOLLOW A PROPER FORMAL STRUCTURE OF LETTER

Another gigantically essential step to take is to follow a proper structure of letter writing. It differs from writing an application in format so you should never confuse them both.

It also shows the examiner that you have practiced well and that you are familiar with the proper steps in letter writing. This leaves a great impression and helps you in scoring better.

You can look at the samples in IELTS Letter Writing at this page for more clarity.

There has to be a proper beginning, main body paragraphs and appropriate conclusions based upon the type of letter you are asked to write.

📌TIP 03: FOCUS ON BEING RELEVANT

Relevancy is the key to garnering marks in any test. Therefore, it would be required in IELTS Writing too. You have to understand that the examiner can detect if you start beating about the bush and become irrelevant while writing a letter.

For example, if you have to write a letter to your doctor asking for an appropriate diagnosis and you start talking about your uncle’s illness OR if you are supposed to write to your friend requesting him to give you a loan and you start talking about your academic achievements and failures, that would seem as irrelevant if the context is not connected. (In the first one, you are supposed to talk about your own illness and in the 2nd one, you should be talking about your financial achievements and failures, not the academic ones.)

NOTE: Do not use contractions like can’t, haven’t, didn’t, shouldn’t etc.

📌TIP 04: STICK TO COHERENCE AND CLARITY

Coherence and clarity are the foundations of a good and effective letter. In fact, any write-up is well-communicative only when it possesses clarity and is able to express itself in lesser yet coherent words.

While writing a letter for IELTS, make sure to stick to the prompts that are given to you. Your words should express the response with clarity. The letter you write is supposed to facilitate the examiner, not to confuse him/her by lack of clear message.

To exemplify, your sentences should be in proper manner. First, discuss the problem (if given), then reason behind it (if asked), then solution (if asked).

Also, the prompts given to you in a certain order, try to follow that same order.

And, using the linking words, such as “however”, “moreover”, “therefore” etc, can aid in giving more clarity. This way, clearness will prevail and higher scores can get in. Learn more about Coherence and Cohesion in IELTS Writing.

📌TIP 05: USE WIDE RANGE OF LEXICAL RESOURCES IF POSSIBLE

Lexical resources (vocabulary) are a range of words that enrich your write-up with diversity. They are like flowers that bloom your written and spoken work. And hence, using different types of words, if possible, can blossom your letter.

Similarly, the use of rich lexical resources exhibits your ability to communicate well in better and more precise manner. For instance, instead of saying “good”, you can say “beneficial or advantageous or helpful”.

This requires rigorous reading, listening and practice of English which can assist you in seeking the help of vocabulary to impress the examiner.

📌06: GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

As you know, grammatical accuracy is one of the marking criteria for IELTS. So, in any of the four sections, using the correct grammar is vital.

You can use a range of sentences such as simple, compound or complex, active or passive and even the conditionals if necessary. However, while writing your letter, if you make an error, it can directly affect your score.

To demonstrate, if you write, “I have been working in this company for 6 years”, it can lower your score because it is a perfect continuous tense where you have to use “have been” instead of “am”.

OR, if you write, “If he was a good friend, he would guide me through.” It again can be marked as an error because it is a 3nd conditional where the condition is unreal you have to use “were, not was”, similarly, the second part should be in “would have” form.

Therefore, having a deep knowledge of grammar along with practice can facilitate you in writing an effective and error-free letter. Learn more here about grammatical range and accuracy in IELTS writing.

📌07: BE BETTER AT MANAGING TIME

The final yet more important tip is time management. It helps you in completing your task ON TIME. If you have not practiced well, there is a higher chance that you might not be able to write the whole letter in 20 minutes (the standard time assigned for letter writing.)

It is significant to note that if you write less, owing to the time management problem, you can miss out on the details asked in the prompts. Likewise, if you write more, you might fall victim to repetition and redundancy. In both cases, your score will be affected.

Thus, be aware of the time (20 minutes) as well as the word limit (150 – 200 words) and try to practice well before appearing in the final IELTS test to get your desired score.

Don’t worry! You got this….

📝LETTER WRITING SAMPLES

💌INFORMAL LETTER TYPE

💬 Prompt

You went to visit your best friend during the summer vacations; however, you forgot your wallet which had many important things such as credit card and identity card.

Write a letter to your friend, in that,

• Tell him about the lovely time you spent at his home.

• Explain how you forgot your wallet.

• Ask him to send it to your address.

Dear James,

Hello! I really hope that this letter finds you fit and healthy. This is actually to request you to send my wallet which I had left at your place.

I would like to start by thanking you for letting me stay at your place throughout a week of summer vacations. The time spent with you was immeasurably precious. As you know that I live in a noisy, densely populated city which is why I need to take a break from that place in order to restore my peace with nature and your presence made it quite valuable.

As you know that I was getting late for my train which had arrived early that time, I mistakenly forgot my wallet at your place. I realized that it was missing once I reached my station.

So, you must know that it possesses my credit card as well as my identity card which I need as soon as possible. Thus, if you could send it to my address through a quick postal service, that would be really helpful.

Once again, really thankful to you for your time and efforts.

Best wishes,

Aslam.

💬 Prompt

You have been invited to a birthday party by your friend. Write a letter convincing him that you cannot attend it due to the burden of work.

In that,

• Thank him for his invitation

• Explain your situation

Dear Sam!

I recently received your invitation letter about your upcoming birthday party. This letter is to tell you that I would be unable to attend it.

Well, first, many congratulations in advance. You will turn Twenty Seven this Wednesday and I am so proud of you for what you have achieved so far. You developed a sense of responsibility quite soon. Also, you always had a kind heart and you helped me in need, which I will never forget.

I truly want to visit and celebrate your birthday with you. I am sure you would not doubt that either. But, I am swamped in my professional life right now which is not allowing me to take a break. My boss has given me a project to manage as well as a sharp deadline. If I do not do it on time, it can affect my efficiency as well as my credibility.

I really hope you understand what kind of situation I am in. But I can promise one thing. I will come visit you once I am over the deadline and we will celebrate it together. Till then, enjoy your time and my prayers are with you.

Best wishes,

Max.

📎 FORMAL LETTER TYPE

💬 Prompt

You ordered a shirt from an online store but it is not the one you ordered. Write a letter to the store manager asking to look into the matter and deliver the right one.

• Explain what you ordered.

• Tell him why it is bad

• Ask for delivering the shirt you paid for.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this specific letter in order to inform you about the recent order of a shirt which I gave to your online store.

Kindly note, even though I had made it clear before too, that I had ordered a Large sized shirt of dark grey color along with “Live Long and Prosper” written on it in a customized form. It was a gift that was supposed to arrive on February 2nd, but it was 2 days late.

On top of that, when it finally arrived and I opened the package, the size of the shirt was Medium while the color was Black. It was quite disappointing because I was supposed to hand it over to my friend immediately after its arrival but I could not.

Thus, it was requested of you to look into this matter. It is my humble request that your store sends me the right shirt which I ordered, within 3 days or else I will have no other choice but to ask for a refund.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Jason

💬 Prompt

You are interested in working overseas. Write a letter to an employment agent.
• Why are you interested?
• Which job would you prefer?
• Ask him to inform you of opportunity

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter particularly to let you know that I am eager to work overseas.

I have seen a couple of advertisements of yours where you offer jobs for locals abroad, mostly the United States, Canada and other European states. I am sure that I possess skills as well as experience required for some homely jobs abroad.

I have been working as a governess for a well reputed family for the past 2 years. Before that, I had been home tutoring an eleven year old kid, particularly the subjects of English, Math, and Science. I also have experience in cooking, cleaning, and managing house affairs with efficiency. I am fond of kids and love to spend time teaching them.

Although I enjoy working here, I would also like to expand my learning avenues and work overseas too in order to gain more experience. If you get any opportunity related to the skills I possess, kindly let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Khan

📮SEMI-FORMAL LETTER TYPE

💬 Prompt

Write a letter to your gym trainer that you would not come to the gym for 3 days because you have to go out of the city to attend your cousin’s wedding ceremony.

Dear Mr. John,

I am writing this letter to inform you that I would be able to come to the gym for some days because of some family business.

I would like to start by being grateful to you that I have started taking care of my health and shaping my body only because of your motivation. For the last one and a half year, you have been inspiring me to live an active and healthy life.

I had no intention to leave the gym even for a single day; however, owing to a recent invitation to my cousin’s wedding that is taking place out of the city, I cannot attend the gym. He is my best cousin and we have grown up together, which is why, on his special day, I cannot say no to him.

I assure you that I will rejoin as soon as possible and also, while being there, I will ensure a healthy diet and will not compromise on my gym routine.

Hope to see you soon.

Best regards,

Michael

💬 Prompt

Write a letter to your uncle, who lives in Australia, asking his help to guide you in moving abroad.

Dear Uncle Sam,

I am writing this letter to ask for your help in moving abroad.

Everything is great here and my family always remembers you on every special occasion. Ever since you moved to Australia, my family has been encouraging me to follow your footsteps and move overseas in order to build a well-developed career and stable lifestyle, which a developed nation can offer.

Before writing to you, I had asked one travel agent about the valid information regarding moving overseas . He was charging a high fee and I was not even satisfied with the knowledge he equipped me with. Therefore, I seek your guidance in the matter.

As you know that I have completed my graduation in Mechanical Engineering from a public university with a higher score, I believe that I have the potential to do better with my life while expanding my horizons in the relevant field. If you could assist me on different options of studying further abroad or applying for international employment opportunities and the process of them, I would be highly grateful.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Adam