IELTS General Training Writing – Task 1
Task Description
What do candidates need to do to answer Task 1?
They need to write an informal, semi-formal or formal personal letter of at least 150 words.
How do candidates know what to write about?
The task instructions give them information about a problem or situation and tell them what kind of information they must give when responding to this problem or situation in the form of 3 bullet points.
What kind of information must candidates give?
They need to request or give information and/or explain a problem. To do this, they may need to do some of the following:
- ask for and/or provide general factual information
- express needs, wants, likes or dislikes
- express opinions or complaints
- make requests/make suggestions/recommendations.
What kind of problem or situation do candidates write about?
The problems or situations they are asked to write about are common everyday ones such as:
- writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with accommodation
- writing to a new employer about time management problems they are having
- writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport
- writing to a renting agency to sort out problems with the heating system in their house
- writing to an English-speaking friend inviting them to a party.
What style must candidates write in?
It depends who they are asked to write to and how well they are supposed to know them, i.e. the audience. They need to write in a style that is appropriate for their audience and that will help them to achieve their purpose for writing e.g. writing to a friend (informal), writing to a manager (formal).
What other skills must candidates have to complete this task?
- Analysing exam questions accurately
- Following exam instructions
- Following English letter writing conventions i.e. what order to put information in, what style to use, how to start and finish a letter, how to lay out a letter
- Using language accurately and appropriately
- Organising and linking information coherently and cohesively.
Candidates do not need to include any addresses on their letters.
How is Task 1 assessed?
Examiners assess the answer according to these criteria:
- Task Achievement (i.e. how clearly the purpose of the letter is presented, and how fully and appropriately the bullet points are addressed)
- Coherence and Cohesion (i.e. how well the information and ideas are organised, and how well the information is linked)
- Lexical Resource (i.e. the range of vocabulary used, how accurately it is used and how appropriate it is for the task)
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy (i.e. the range of structures used, how accurately they are used and how appropriate they are for the task).
Are there any other regulations candidates need to know?
- Candidates must write their answers on the Answer Sheet provided.
- If they write less than the minimum word limit they will be penalised.
- They will be penalised for irrelevance if the response is off-topic.
- They will be severely penalised if their writing is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source).
- They will be penalised if their answer is not written as full connected text (e.g. using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form, etc).
Understanding the Task
For Writing Task 1 it is very important that candidates are able to read and follow instructions given in the task. They must be familiar with letter writing conventions and should cover all three bullet points in their response.
To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the activity yourself and analyse what you had to do to produce a good answer.
Look at this sample Task 1. Complete the task, thinking about how you are doing it.
Things to consider
Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers.
- Why is it so important to read and follow the instructions carefully?
- Is the answer long enough?
- Are there any rules about writing letters in English?
- How do you order information in letters in English?
- How can you make sure your writing is well organised?
- What style must you use to write the letter?
- How important is language accuracy in the answer?
