IELTS General Training Writing Task 1: how to write the letter

General Training Writing Task 1 is a letter. You get a situation, three bullet points to cover, about 20 minutes and a 150-word floor. IELTS says Task Achievement refers to how well your letter achieves its purpose, so the job is to get the purpose across, in the right tone, with all three points covered.

ScoreFluent is not affiliated with IELTS, or with the British Council, IDP IELTS or Cambridge University Press & Assessment, who jointly own it. This guide is for General Training candidates. If you are sitting Academic, read Academic Writing Task 1 instead.

What does General Training Writing Task 1 ask you to do?

You respond to a situation by writing a letter. IELTS says the situations are common, everyday ones, such as writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation or writing to a renting agency about the heating. The task tells you what to include in three bullet points.

• Length: at least 150 words.
• Time: the whole Writing test is 60 minutes for two tasks. IELTS says to spend no more than 20 minutes on Task 1.
• Style: personal, semi-formal or formal, depending on the task.
• Form: a letter in full sentences. No notes or bullet points. No addresses needed at the top.
• Weighting: Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026 against IELTS: General Training Writing format.

How is the letter marked?

Certificated IELTS examiners mark each Writing task on four criteria: Task Achievement (Task 2 uses Task Response), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. IELTS says the criteria are weighted equally and the task score is their average (IELTS: scoring in detail).

For the letter, the public band descriptors (updated May 2023) say what Task Achievement looks like:

• At Band 7, "all bullet points are covered and clearly highlighted but could be more fully or more appropriately illustrated or extended. It presents a clear purpose. The tone is consistent and appropriate to the task."
• At Band 5, "one or more" bullet points "may not be adequately covered", the purpose "may be unclear at times" and the tone "may be variable and sometimes inappropriate".
• At Band 4, "the purpose of the letter is not clearly explained and may be confused".

Three things follow. Cover every bullet point. State the purpose early. Keep one tone from the first line to the last. Read the full IELTS writing band descriptors (PDF). For how the criteria become one band, see IELTS scoring. For the other Writing tasks, see IELTS Writing.

How do you choose between personal, semi-formal and formal?

IELTS says the style depends on who you are asked to write to and how well you are supposed to know them. Its examples: a friend is personal, and a manager is semi-formal or formal. Read the recipient line in the task, then pick one register.

The table below is our summary of British letter conventions. These are conventions, not IELTS rules. The only IELTS rule is to match your audience.

Recipient	Register	Opening and closing	Language
Friend, cousin, someone you know well	Personal	Dear Sam, / Best wishes	Contractions and a warm, direct tone are natural
Manager or colleague you know a little	Semi-formal	Dear Ms Khan, / Kind regards	Polite and clear, few contractions
Council, company or an unnamed manager	Formal	Dear Sir or Madam, / Yours faithfully	No contractions, a clear request, polite phrasing

If you know the person's name in a formal letter, "Dear Mr Patel" pairs with "Yours sincerely". The rule that matters most is consistency. A formal letter that slips into "Hi" and "thanks a lot" is the tone problem the lower descriptors describe.

How do you cover all three bullet points?

Use the bullets as your plan, in the order given.

1. Opening (one or two sentences). Say why you are writing. This is your purpose, and the Band 7 descriptor asks for a clear one.
2. One paragraph per bullet. Start each with a sentence that answers the bullet directly. Then add a detail, a reason or an example.
3. Closing (one or two sentences). Say what you want to happen next, then sign off in your register.

Extend each point. The Band 7 descriptor says bullet points can be covered "but could be more fully ... extended", so one thin sentence per bullet leaves marks behind. Do not copy the wording of the bullets into your letter, and do not turn them into headings.

How should you spend the 20 minutes?

This split is our suggestion, not an IELTS rule:

1. 2 minutes: read the situation, underline the recipient, choose the register and number the bullets.
2. 15 minutes: write.
3. 3 minutes: check that all three bullets are answered, the tone stays steady, and the length is safe.

Aim for roughly 170 to 200 words so that a miscount does not drop you below 150. IELTS says a short answer may not give enough evidence for higher bands and that you will not be penalised for writing more. A longer letter also takes minutes from Task 2, which counts twice as much.

Which mistakes cost marks in the letter?

• A missing or thin bullet. Check all three before you finish.
• A tone that slips. Pick one register and keep it.
• A buried purpose. The reader should know why you are writing by the end of the first paragraph.
• Copying the bullets. Paraphrase them and add detail.
• Writing addresses. IELTS says you do not need them, so they use time you could spend on the bullets.
• Notes or bullet points. IELTS says you will be penalised for an answer that is not connected text.
• Writing off-topic. IELTS says you will be penalised if what you write is not related to the topic.

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions)

These four items come from our practice bank. They are not IELTS exam questions. The register is the one our bank assigns to each item.

Item 1. Register: formal. Recipient: the highways department of the local council.

The streetlight outside your block of flats has not worked for several weeks, and the road is now very dark in the evening. You have already reported the problem once online. Write a letter to the highways department of your local council.

• Describe where the streetlight is and how long it has been broken
• Explain why you are concerned about safety
• Ask the council to repair it and tell you when this will happen

Item 2. Register: informal. Recipient: a friend.

A friend of yours has just been offered a job that he has wanted for a long time. You were unable to go to the celebration dinner because you were away on business. Write a letter to your friend.

• Congratulate him on the job
• Explain why you could not be at the celebration
• Suggest a time and place for you to meet and celebrate

Item 3. Register: formal. Recipient: the manager of Riverside Fitness Club.

You joined Riverside Fitness Club on a twelve-month contract, but you have been transferred to a job in another city and can no longer use the club. The club has refused your request to cancel by telephone. Write a letter to the manager.

• Explain why you can no longer use the club
• Say what the club told you when you telephoned
• Ask the manager to cancel your membership without a penalty fee

Item 4. Register: informal. Recipient: a cousin who has asked to borrow money.

Your cousin has written to ask whether you can lend her a large sum of money to start a small business. You would like to help but you are saving for a house of your own. Write a letter to your cousin.

• Say what you think of her business idea
• Explain why you cannot lend her all the money she wants
• Offer other ways in which you could support her

Item 4 has the highest difficulty rating of the four in our bank. The tone has to stay warm while you say no, and the third bullet needs a real offer, not a vague one.

What does a formal letter answer look like?

Here is an answer to item 1. It is meant to show structure and register, not to be copied.

Notice four things. The purpose is in the first sentence. Each bullet gets its own paragraph, in order. The register is formal throughout, with no contractions. The closing asks for a specific action. We have not marked this answer and it carries no band.

How does ScoreFluent mark letter practice?

ScoreFluent returns a practice estimate for your letter against the four published criteria. Writing feedback marks the sentences that need work. It is a practice estimate, not an official IELTS band or an examiner's mark.

Reading and listening practice is free. Speaking and writing examiner reports use credits. New accounts start with 40 free credits, credits never expire and there is no subscription. See pricing, then start with 40 free credits →

Where do these facts come from?

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026:

• IELTS: General Training Writing format: the letter, word count, timing, styles, addresses, weighting, penalties.
• IELTS: scoring in detail: criteria and equal weighting.
• IELTS writing band descriptors (PDF): quoted phrases above.

The register table, time splits, paragraph plan and the illustrative letter are our own technique and are labelled as such.

Next: Writing Task 2 and Academic Writing Task 1. Back to the IELTS hub or all IELTS task-type guides.