IELTS General Training Writing Task 1: How to Write Letters for Band 7+

In the General Training version of IELTS, Writing Task 1 is not a chart or graph, it is a letter. You are given a situation and three bullet points, and you must write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. This is one of the most learnable parts of the whole exam, because letters follow predictable conventions. Once you can identify the tone and lock in a structure, Task 1 becomes a reliable source of marks rather than a guessing game.

How General Training Task 1 Differs from Academic

Both versions of IELTS share the same Listening and Speaking tests, but the Writing differs. Academic candidates describe a visual in Task 1 (see our guide to describing charts and graphs). General Training candidates instead write a letter responding to an everyday situation, complaining to a landlord, asking a manager for time off, or inviting a friend to visit. Task 2 is an essay in both versions, so most of your essay preparation carries across.

How Task 1 Is Marked

Your letter is assessed on four equally weighted criteria:

• Task Achievement: Do you address all three bullet points, write in the correct tone, and reach 150 words?
• Coherence and Cohesion: Is the letter logically organised into paragraphs with clear linking?
• Lexical Resource: Do you use a range of vocabulary suited to the situation?
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Do you use varied structures with few errors?

The most common reason candidates lose marks here is using the wrong tone, so identifying the register correctly is your first and most important decision.

Step 1: Identify the Tone

Read the prompt and decide who you are writing to. There are three registers:

• Formal: writing to someone you do not know, often by title (a company, a manager you have never met, a council). No contractions, no slang, polite and distant.
• Semi-formal: writing to someone you know but must remain respectful toward (a landlord, a colleague, a neighbour). Polite but slightly warmer.
• Informal: writing to a friend or family member. Contractions, friendly openers, and casual vocabulary are all fine.

A quick test: if the prompt names a person ("your friend Sam") the letter is almost always informal; if it names a role ("the manager") it is formal or semi-formal.

Step 2: Choose the Right Greeting and Sign-off

Openings and closings must match the tone, and mismatching them is an easy way to lose marks:

• Formal, name unknown: "Dear Sir or Madam," ending with "Yours faithfully,".
• Formal or semi-formal, name known: "Dear Mr Brown," ending with "Yours sincerely,".
• Informal: "Dear Sam," or "Hi Sam," ending with "Best wishes," or "Take care,".

Step 3: Structure the Letter

A dependable four-part shape works for almost every prompt:

1. Greeting — the correct salutation for the tone.
2. Opening sentence — state your purpose clearly. Formal: "I am writing to complain about..." Informal: "I just wanted to let you know that...".
3. Body paragraphs — one short paragraph per bullet point, so the three bullets naturally give you three chunks of content. Expand each with a specific detail.
4. Closing line and sign-off — a polite wrap-up ("I look forward to your reply") and the matching closing.

Step 4: Cover All Three Bullet Points

This is where marks are won and lost. Each bullet point must be addressed, and ideally developed with an example or explanation rather than a bare sentence. If a bullet says "explain what happened," do not just name the event, describe it briefly so the paragraph feels complete. Skipping or under-developing a bullet point caps your Task Achievement score no matter how good your English is.

Useful Functional Language

Letters reward the right functional phrases for the job:

• Requesting: "I would be grateful if you could...", "Would it be possible to...?"
• Complaining: "I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with...", "Unfortunately, the...".
• Apologising: "I am sorry for any inconvenience caused...", "Please accept my apologies...".
• Inviting (informal): "I'd love it if you could come...", "It would be great to see you...".

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Mixing tones. Do not open formally then slip into contractions and slang.
• Ignoring a bullet point. All three must appear, this is non-negotiable.
• Writing under 150 words. You lose marks automatically, so aim for roughly 160 to 190.
• Spending too long. Keep Task 1 to 20 minutes and protect the 40 minutes Task 2 needs.

Practise Under Timed Conditions

Letter writing improves fast because the structure and functional language repeat on every prompt. Write full letters in 20 minutes, then check that you nailed the tone and covered all three bullets. Find authentic prompts on our IELTS Writing Questions page, and to see how your Writing band feeds into your final result, read our guide to how the IELTS band score is calculated.

Identify the tone, match your greeting and sign-off, structure around the three bullet points, and develop each one, do that consistently, and General Training Task 1 becomes one of the easiest marks in the entire exam.