The task
In General Training, Task 1 is a letter. You get a situation, a recipient, and three bullet points. You have twenty minutes and at least 150 words.
Two things cap scripts here, and neither is grammar.
- Missing a bullet. All three must be covered. Leaving one out caps the task criterion, exactly as leaving out part of an essay prompt does.
- The wrong register. Writing formally to a friend, or casually to a manager, is a tone error — and tone is marked.
Reading the register from the prompt
The prompt always tells you who you are writing to. That single fact decides the whole letter — greeting, closing, contractions, and how directly you may ask for things.
| The prompt says… | Register | Greeting / close |
|---|---|---|
| to the manager · to the company · to a landlord you don't know | Formal | Dear Sir or Madam, → Yours faithfully,<br>Dear Mr Smith, → Yours sincerely, |
| to your neighbour · to your tutor · to a colleague you know | Semi-formal | Dear Mr Patel, / Dear Anna, → Best regards, / Kind regards, |
| to a friend · to your brother | Informal | Dear Tom, / Hi Tom, → Best wishes, / All the best, |
The error that actually costs marks: mixing registers
Very few candidates get the register completely wrong. Most get it right at the top and then leak the other register in the middle, which is worse, because it looks like you cannot control tone at all.
| In a formal letter, do not write… | Write… |
|---|---|
| I'm writing 'cause… | I am writing because… |
| Can you sort this out? | I would be grateful if you could resolve this matter. |
| Thanks a lot! | Thank you for your assistance. |
| It was a total disaster. | The situation was extremely unsatisfactory. |
| Get back to me soon. | I look forward to hearing from you. |
And the reverse is just as costly. A letter to a close friend that says I am writing to express my dissatisfaction is not safely formal — it is wrong, because the register does not fit the reader.
| In an informal letter, do not write… | Write… |
|---|---|
| I am writing to inform you that… | I just wanted to let you know… |
| I would be grateful if you could… | Could you do me a favour and…? |
| I look forward to your response. | Let me know what you think! |
The three bullets are three paragraphs
The structure is handed to you, so use it. One bullet, one paragraph. Nothing to invent.
- Greeting — matched to the register.
- Purpose (1 sentence). Say why you are writing, immediately. I am writing to complain about… / I'm writing to ask if…
- Bullet 1 — one paragraph.
- Bullet 2 — one paragraph.
- Bullet 3 — one paragraph.
- Close — matched to the register.
Each bullet paragraph needs development, not just a sentence answering it. If the bullet says explain what happened, then explain: what, when, and what the consequence was. A bare answer to a bullet is the letter equivalent of an undeveloped essay idea.
Say the difficult things properly
Most GT letters ask you to do one of a few things, and each has a natural English shape. These are worth having ready.
| Function | Formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|
| Complain | I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with… | I've got to tell you what happened with… |
| Request | I would be grateful if you could… · Would it be possible to…? | Could you possibly…? · Any chance you could…? |
| Apologise | I apologise for any inconvenience caused. | I'm really sorry about… |
| Invite | I would like to invite you to… | Do you fancy coming to…? |
| Explain / give a reason | This was due to… · The reason for this is… | It was because… |
| Propose a solution | I would suggest that… · One possible solution would be to… | How about we just…? |
Note how English softens a request even in the informal column. Being direct — Send me the money — is not casual, it is rude, and rudeness is a register error in any letter.
The mistakes that cost the most
- Covering only two bullets. It caps the task criterion, and it is entirely avoidable — count them before you write.
- Mixing registers. Formal opening, casual middle. It reads as a lack of control.
- Mismatching faithfully and sincerely. Small, visible, free to fix.
- Answering the bullets without developing them. A one-line answer to a bullet is not a paragraph.
- Being direct where English is indirect. Fix this immediately is a tone error even in a complaint.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if an IELTS letter should be formal or informal?
The prompt tells you who the recipient is, and that decides everything. A manager, a company or a stranger means formal. A neighbour, a tutor or a known colleague means semi-formal. A friend or a family member means informal — and writing formally to a friend is a genuine error, not a safe choice.
When do I use 'Yours faithfully' and when 'Yours sincerely'?
It depends on whether you know their name. 'Dear Sir or Madam' pairs with 'Yours faithfully'. 'Dear Mr Smith' pairs with 'Yours sincerely'. Getting the pairing wrong is a small, visible error and it is free to avoid.
Can I use contractions in an IELTS letter?
In an informal letter, yes — I'm, don't and can't are expected there. In a formal letter they are wrong. Contractions are one of the fastest register tells an examiner has, in both directions.
What happens if I miss one of the three bullet points?
Your task score is capped, in the same way that leaving out part of an essay prompt caps it — regardless of how good the English is. Count the bullets before you start and give each one its own paragraph, developed rather than merely answered.