This involves writing a letter to address one of the following; complaint, invitation, application, inform, ask for information or to advise. The question tells you the type of letter to write and to who you are writing but it is up to you to gauge the tone and how formal it should be. The word limit for this section is 150, so you should write about this amount.
The tone of the letter is set by the type of letter that you are sending and to who. For instance, you wouldn’t send an informal letter to find out more information about a job you are interested in.
Some example questions and answers are listed below:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task
You live in a room in college which you share with another student. However, there are many problems with this arrangement and you find it very difficult to work. Write a letter to the accommodation officer at the college. In the letter you should say:
- describe the situation
- explain your problems and why it is difficult to work
- say what kind of accommodation you would prefer
The sample answer for this question is as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a student at Brighton University and have been staying in room B2 in the halls of residence for the last month. I really love the university, however, I am having problems with my roommate, which makes it very difficult to study or even sleep sometimes.
The main issue is the volume of the music that he listens to. Most of the time he wears headphones but he cranks up the volume so high that I can hear every word very clearly. Also, he is an incredibly messy individual and never seems to wash his clothes. There is now a very musty and unpleasant smell in the room, which was not there before.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could find me some other accommodation. I think a private room may be more suitable for me. if you could let me know what you have available as soon as possible, I would be much obliged.
Regards
Simon Nguyen
163 words
These are some more examples of the types of letters that you may have to write. Try answering a few so you can get used to writing different types of letters.
You have a complaint about the hotel you stayed at while attending a meeting that was booked by the organiser of a company meeting. Write a letter to the organiser of the meeting and include
- Details about the meeting
- The problem you face
- What should be done
Write a letter to the manager of a cinema (movie theatre) about a jacket you have left behind after a film. In your letter:
- Describe the jacket
- Describe where you were seated
- Explain what you want to be done
You recently attended a conference and would like to give a presentation to your colleagues about it. Write a letter to your manager and include:
- The topic of the conference
- Why you want to present about it
- When it could be done
Try writing some letters in response to the above questions. The only way to get better is to practice.
Good luck with your IELTS preparation.
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