Today, we are going to discuss about the preparation of IELTS General Writing Task 1. The Writing Task of IELTS general is quite different from the IELTS academics. In this IELTS General Training Writing Task 1, you will usually be asked to write a letter to someone responding to a given situation, explaining the situation or requesting information, with some given bullet points which you include in your letter. For this you will get 20 minutes and you have to write at least 150 words and if your letter is long enough with required word limit, has no spelling errors, grammatically correct and written using the appropriate tone and vocabulary, you don’t need to worry about but you are supposed to add all the bullet points given in letter to increase coherence and logical progression.

There are 3 main formats to write a letter in IELTS Writing Task 1  (GT):

Formal Letters: Writing to company or to someone you don’t know personally.

Semi-Formal Letters: In this type of letter you know the person but not very well.

Personal Letters / Informal Letters: Writing to someone you know very well, such as a close friend or a relative. 

Important Components: 

In any type of letter examiners will be looking for some important components. So be careful about these components for Best IELTS exam preparation: 

Structure: Your letter must have at least 3 Paragraphs. In first paragraph purpose of your letter must be defined. In the second paragraph the reason of your letter writing must be explained and the third or you can say final paragraph must say about the kind of answer you expect.

Lexical Resources: In a letter there should be some ‘smart’ words. Like in a complaint or a job application letter, you must use formal language, but not in a personal letter. Phrases or expressions can be used to make the letter more relevant.

Opening and Closing:

Moreover, you have to give opening and closing lines in all these types of letter. There are different ways to open and close a letter based on who you are writing to: 

Formal Letters: 

Opening should be with – Dear Sir/ Madam

Closing should be with – Yours Faithfully + Your Name

Semi-Formal Letters:

Opening should be with – Mrs./Miss + The last name of the person

Closing should be with – Yours Sincerely + Your Name

Personal Letters:

Opening should be with – Dear + The first name of the recipient

Closing should be with – Best regards + Your Name

Example:

Here below we are going to give you some introductory, closing and general lines for Formal, Informal and Semi-formal letters to state the purpose of your letter. You can use these lines in the letter writing section of IELTS General Writing.

Introductory lines for Formal and Semi-formal letters:

Closing lines for Formal and Semi-formal letters:

If it is request:

For apology:

For Complaint:

Introductory lines for Informal letters:

Closing lines for Informal letters:

Here we are going to give you some general lines that you can use in your letter.

So this is the Structure of IELTS GT Writing Task 1. You can use these strategies in your IELTS exam preparation to score high. So prepare well and best of Luck for Your IELTS GT Test.