How to Write IELTS GT Writing Task 1


Although writing a letter or email is quite easy for most people, it can be tricky in IELTS GT Writing Task 1 because it is completely different to Task 2. The most important part is tone, also known as register. This article has some sample General Training Task 1 answers.

Tone

Tone or register are how you communicate with the other person. In Task 2 essays, for example, everything needs to formal whereas in GT Task 2, it can vary dramatically.

Examples

Think about the way you would communicate with your bank manager, especially if you want the bank to lend you money. Of course you would be formal so the bank manager believes you are a reliable person who is not going to disappear with the bank’s money.
Now think about how you would write a letter of complaint to the manager of a shop where you recently bought a new washing machine that is now faulty. You want to express how angry and disappointed you are, so you need to use a different tone.
Also consider the difference between writing to someone you know and to your best friend. You may be informal with the former and extremely informal with the latter. Also, neighbours usually fall into the middle where the tone should be semi-formal.

How to Write in Different Tones


IELTS Task 2 requires formal language, which means you should follow certain rules:

  • Do not use personal pronouns, such as ‘we’, ‘you’, ‘us’, or ‘our’.
  • Do not use contractions such as it’s, can’t and wouldn’t.
  • Do not use slang or jargon.
  • Do not use common vocabulary, such as ‘have got’, ‘nice’ or ‘things’.
  • Do not use conversational phrases.
  • Do not use generalisations or assumptions.
  • Do not use bullet points.


Therefore, to write extremely informally, you can use ALL or most of these methods and the more formal you would like to be, the less you use. Adding contractions, for example, can decrease formality quickly and easily as can using conversational phrases.


As in Task 2, read the question three times to make sure you answer it correctly. Make sure that you are going to answer the question that is asked, not the one you presume is asked because you have only read half of it.


You need to know three things to get the tone right.

  • Who you are
  • Who you are writing to
  • Why you are writing

If you know these points, your essay writing will be much more successful and your Task Response score higher.

Structure


Start off with a greeting

Greetings

GreetingTone
Dear sir / madamformal
To whom it may concernformal
Dear Mrs Smithyou know her, but it’s formal (a teacher for example)
Dear Jamessomeone you know well
Hi Jamesa friend of yours
Hia close friend

Then write an opening sentence to explain why you are writing

Opening Phrases

FormalSemi-formalInformal
I am writing about ……I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply, but . .How’re you doing, you ok?
I am writing to complain about …I just wanted to write to say ….It’s been too long, we should catch up more
I am writing to thank you for ….I haven’t seen you in ages, how are you?About that email you sent …
I am writing to invite you to ….
I am replying to your letter of the 20th of June

Paragraphs


In most IELTS GT Writing Task 1 questions, there are three points to cover.
Apart from the first paragraph, have one point to a paragraph.
As we talked about above, in the first one, you should start with something to explain why you are writing or maybe some small talk.

For example:
●what the favour was
●how this favour helped you
●an offer of compensation
or
●say why he/she would not enjoy going to college
●explain why getting a job is a good idea for him/her
●suggest types of job that would be suitable for him/her


In the last of these three paragraphs, you can add a concluding sentence to say what you are going to do next or perhaps to wish your friend good luck.

Concluding Sentence

FormalSemi-FormalInformal
In conclusion, thank you for your time and I hope we can come to an agreementLastly, if you could phone and arrange a time to meet, I’m sure we can agree on a solution.Ok then, let’s try and work this out between us, I’m sure we can find a way we both agree on.
To conclude, I will wait for your reply stating the date we can meet.To sum up, I’ll wait for your call, then arrange time off my work.Anyway, just give me a call when you’re ready and I’ll take a day off.
In conclusion, thank you very much again for all your help, it really made a difference.To conclude, thanks again for your help, I don’t know what we would have done without you.I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done, if there is anything I can do in return just let me know.
To sum up, if I don’t here from you before Saturday at the latest, I will contact my lawyer.Anyway, I’ll speak to my daughter and tell her to keep the noise down in the future, sorry again.As I said, I’ll read my daughter the riot act and maybe even confiscate her music system, you deserve your sleep as much as anyone. Sorry again.


Miss a line, then add a closing phrase which comes just before your signature.

Closing Phrases

FormalSemi-FormalInformal
Yours sincerely (never met the person before)Best regardsSee you soon
Yours faithfully (met the person before)Kind regardsHope to see you soon
RegardsLots of love
Love
Bye


Signature

Miss another line after the closing phrase, then sign your name. If the letter/email is formal, then sign your full name, if semi-formal, use only your first name. If very informal, you can only use your initials if you want.

Remember, an email relationship which starts formally can move on to semi-formal and even to informal if you contact each other often.

Proofreading

Once you have written your essay, try to take some time to check what you have written.

If you just read what you have written, you may find several errors that you can fix quickly, but it’s much much quicker if you look for certain types of error. Which ones do you look for? The ones you have made in your practice essays.

If you look for them, then

1/ it should be easier for you to find them

2/ you should know how to fix them by now

3/ read once for each kind of error, it’s quicker and more effective than trying to read once for them all.

Doing this will increase the chances of getting a better score in your test, but if you do this each time you practice, it becomes habit and will become much more effective.

Using a teacher to mark your practice essays will show you which errors you make consistently and how to check for them after you have finished.

I hope that helps clear up any doubts you had about letter or email writing in IELTS GT Writing Task 1. Happy writing