IELTS General Training letter writing samples
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 letter samples — formal, semi-formal and informal — each written at band 6.5, 7.5 and 9 with commentary on tone, purpose and the three bullet points.
Every letter below answers an original General Training Task 1 prompt three times — at about band 6.5, 7.5 and 9 — with commentary on each criterion. The prompt tells you who you are writing to, and that decides the tone: most lower-band letters lose marks not for grammar but for a tone that does not fit the reader, or a bullet point that is covered in half a sentence.
Formal letters
Used when you do not know the person, such as a company or a council. Open with 'Dear Sir or Madam' and close with 'Yours faithfully'; if you know their name, use 'Dear Mr Khan' and 'Yours sincerely'. No contractions or slang.
- Complaint to a delivery company about a damaged itemA formal complaint where the band 6.5 letter keeps slipping into the tone of a text message, and the band 9 letter gets angry without ever sounding it.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 165 / 196 / 212 words
- Objecting to a development on public landA formal objection to a local council, where the difference between bands is the difference between saying you are unhappy and giving an official something they can act on.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 177 / 199 / 216 words
- Speculative application to a company with no advertised vacancyA formal letter with no job advertisement to reply to, where the band 9 answer solves the real problem — giving a stranger a reason to keep reading.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 176 / 190 / 214 words
Semi-formal letters
Used for someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, a neighbour or a landlord. Use their name ('Dear Mrs Lee') and a polite close such as 'Kind regards'. Friendly, but still respectful.
- Asking a tutor for an assignment extensionA request rather than a complaint, where the band 9 letter wins by making the extension easy to grant instead of hard to refuse.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 180 / 194 / 214 words
- Repairs a landlord has not carried outA semi-formal letter to a named landlord — the register that trips candidates up most, because it is neither a complaint to a stranger nor a note to a friend.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 168 / 196 / 220 words
Informal letters
Used for a friend or relative. Open with their first name ('Dear Anna' or 'Hi Tom') and close with 'Best wishes' or 'See you soon'. Contractions and a conversational tone are expected here.
- Apologising for missing a friend's family eventAn apology to a close friend, where the band 9 letter takes responsibility instead of explaining itself — a distinction the lower bands miss entirely.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 170 / 198 / 217 words
- Inviting a friend who moved abroad to visitAn informal letter where the band 6.5 answer's problem is the opposite of the usual one — it is far too stiff for the person it is addressed to.Band 6.5 · 7.5 · 9 — 176 / 200 / 217 words
Reading samples is the easy half.
Write your own answer under the real clock and get an AI band for each criterion.
Common questions
How many words should a General Training letter be?
At least 150 words, with no maximum. Letters under 150 words are penalised. About 170–190 words written in 20 minutes leaves enough time for the Task 2 essay.
Do I need to write my address in an IELTS letter?
No. You do not need your address, the reader's address or a date, and they earn no marks. Start with the greeting.
What loses the most marks in General Training Task 1?
A tone that does not match the reader, and bullet points covered too briefly. Each of the three bullet points needs to be answered and developed, and the whole letter should read as if written to that particular person.