IELTS Preparation Series 2, Episode 26: General Task Writing
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Hello. I'm Margot Politis. Welcome to Study English, IELTS preparation.
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Today we're going to talk about letter writing.
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IELTS Task 1 in the General Training module asks you to write a letter. We write letters
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to friends, strangers, businesses, government departments and institutions.
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The tone of a letter can be formal or informal, depending on who is going to read it.
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There are several purposes for writing letters:
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giving or requesting information
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giving instructions
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relating an event
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giving good or bad news
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complaining
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describing
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Some letters can include several of these purposes at the same time.
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Here are some examples.
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Letters for giving information might include: travel plans
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arrival details what to see and do on holidays.
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Letters requesting information might be for: course information
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library hours timetable information.
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Some letters for giving instructions include: how to get to your house
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how to operate a machine how to open an account.
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And relating an event: a an incident or accident
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a wedding or function or a holiday.
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giving good or bad news cancelling an appointment
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accepting a job offer informing of the birth of a baby.
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Letters complaining might include: poor service in a restaurant
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loud noise in your district or a problem with faulty goods.
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And letters describing might be about: lost property
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a friend or a place.
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OK. That's an overview of different types of letter. Now let's consider the organisation
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of the letter.
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Letters have a clear and familiar structure. Formal letters begin with a greeting: Dear
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___, and end with a closing: Yours sincerely.
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In between the top and the bottom, is the body. But what sort of body? How do we decide
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about the shape of the letter between the greeting and the closing?
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Well, we write because we have a purpose. It is important to indicate at the beginning
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of a letter what its purpose is.
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Let's consider some examples.
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If your letter is for giving information, you might start with: I am writing to advise
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that
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or for requesting information: I am writing to request information about
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for giving instructions: I am writing to explain how to
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relating an event: I am writing to describe the accident I saw
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giving good or bad news: I am very happy to tell you that
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complaining: I am writing to complain about
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describing: I am writing to describe some lost property
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It's easier for the reader of the letter if it's organised coherently.
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In Task 1, the way the IELTS General Training question is laid out will help you in organising</