Here's what I see happen every test session: a student finishes their letter, looks at the clock with 8 minutes left, and thinks "I nailed that." Then the results come back. Band 6.5. Sometimes 6.
The problem? They didn't understand what the IELTS examiners actually want from a letter.
I've been teaching IELTS writing for over a decade, and I can tell you this: most students fail Task 1 not because they can't write, but because they don't know the specific rules of the game. They treat letters like essays. They use formal language when they should sound like a real person. They hit the word count but miss the actual task requirements.
Let me fix that for you right now.
The General Training IELTS is different from Academic IELTS in Task 1. You're not writing about data or processes. You're writing letters. Real letters. The kind you'd actually send to someone.
Here's the thing: examiners mark IELTS Task 1 letters using four criteria.
Notice something? Task Response gets 25% of the marks. That's the same weight as grammar. Most students focus entirely on grammar and ignore whether they actually answered the question. That's backwards.
You have 20 minutes. You need at least 150 words. Not 160 or 200. At least 150. Go below that, and you lose marks automatically. There's no upper limit, but most successful answers sit between 160 and 190 words.
The question always tells you who you're writing to. That changes everything about tone.
Formal letters go to strangers, organizations, companies, or officials. You're complaining to a hotel, asking your landlord something, or writing to a university.
Informal letters go to friends, family, or people you know. You're catching up, asking a favor from someone you know, or sharing news.
This matters because the language has to match. I've seen students write to their cousin using phrases like "I am writing to bring to your attention." That's wrong. That's what you write to a bank manager.
Weak (to a friend): "I am writing to inform you of my intention to visit your country in the upcoming summer months."
Good (to a friend): "I'm planning to visit you this summer and I'd love to stay with you if that's okay."
The second one sounds like an actual human being. The first one sounds like you're reading from a textbook. When you're unsure about the difference, check out our guide to formal vs informal language for more examples.
Every letter needs a structure. Not because it looks nice, but because examiners expect it and it makes your ideas clearer.
Opening example (formal): "Dear Mr. Johnson, I am writing regarding the booking confirmation for my stay at your hotel from June 5th to 10th."
Opening example (informal): "Hi Sarah, Hope you're doing well! I wanted to ask you something about that trip you mentioned."
The opening tells the reader exactly why you're writing. This is where you start fulfilling the task response requirement. Don't bury the reason in paragraph two. Put it upfront.
Body paragraphs develop your points. One idea per paragraph. Not three ideas crammed into one. That kills your coherence score. Each paragraph needs 3-5 sentences.
The closing wraps things up and tells the reader what happens next. "Looking forward to your reply" or "Let me know what you think" works perfectly.
Formality check: Formal letters use "Dear [Name]" or "Dear Sir/Madam." Sign off with "Yours faithfully" (if you used Sir/Madam) or "Yours sincerely" (if you used their name). Informal letters use "Hi," "Hello," or "Dear [First name]" and sign off with "Best," "Thanks," "Love," or "All the best."
Let me show you actual task types so you see what you're up against.
Example 1 (Formal complaint): "You recently stayed at a hotel for a business trip. The service was poor and you were overcharged. Write a letter to the hotel manager describing the problems and requesting a refund."
Here's what students typically do wrong: they write five paragraphs about everything that went wrong. The bathroom was bad. The breakfast was late. The WiFi didn't work. The staff was rude.
That's too much. You have 20 minutes. Choose your two strongest complaints and develop them properly. Then ask for the refund.
Good structure: Opening (state the problem) / Paragraph 1 (complaint 1 with specific detail) / Paragraph 2 (complaint 2 with specific detail) / Closing (request refund and expect response).
Example 2 (Informal request): "A friend invited you to their wedding, but you cannot attend. Write a letter explaining why you can't go and suggesting an alternative way to celebrate with them."
This is where tone kills students. You can't sound cold and distant. You're writing to someone you care about. Use conversational language. Contractions. Real expressions.
Weak: "I regret to inform you that my professional commitments will prevent my attendance at your nuptials."
Good: "I'm gutted because I can't make it to your wedding. Work's sending me abroad that week and there's no way around it."
The second one sounds genuine. That's what examiners want to see.
You don't need fancy words. You need appropriate words. There's a massive difference.
For formal letters, use phrases like these:
For informal letters, use natural phrases:
Now here's the part that gets you a higher band: show vocabulary range. Don't use "good" five times. Use "excellent," "impressive," "brilliant," "satisfying." Don't use "bad" repeatedly. Say "disappointing," "inadequate," "frustrating," "unacceptable."
Weak: "The hotel was bad. The food was bad. The staff was bad. Everything was bad."
Good: "The accommodation was disappointing, the catering was inadequate, and the customer service was unacceptable."
That second version shows examiners you have vocabulary range. You're hitting that 25% lexical resource criterion.
I'm going to be direct: most students lose marks here because they rush. You have 20 minutes. Budget it like this: 3 minutes planning, 15 minutes writing, 2 minutes checking.
In those 2 minutes of checking, look for these specific things: subject-verb agreement errors ("The service were poor" is wrong; "The service was poor" is right), verb tense switching (don't mix past and present randomly), missing articles ("I stayed in the hotel" not "I stayed in hotel"), and sentence fragments (every sentence needs a subject and verb).
Weak: "During my stay, many problems occurred. The room was dirty. Also noise from next door. Staff not helpful."
Good: "During my stay, I encountered several problems. The room was dirty, and there was excessive noise from the adjacent room. Additionally, the staff was unhelpful when I asked for assistance."
The second one has complete sentences, correct verb forms, and proper punctuation. That's Band 7+ territory for grammar.
Writing one letter and asking "how'd I do?" doesn't work. You need structured feedback.
Here's what I recommend: write your letter, then score yourself using the band descriptors. Does your opening clearly state the purpose? Check. Have you organized ideas into separate paragraphs? Check. Is every sentence grammatically correct? Check.
But here's where most students fail: they don't check if they actually answered the task completely. Reread the question. Did it ask for three things? Count. Did you provide all three? If not, you've already lost marks on Task Response, the most important criterion.
Do this with 3-4 practice letters. Pay attention to what feedback you get. If your score jumps from 6.5 to 7 between your first and third attempts, you're learning. If it stays flat, you're repeating the same mistakes. Use our free essay grading tool to get detailed feedback on your writing.
Critical: Time yourself. Always. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Writing under pressure is different from leisurely writing at home. You need to practice the real conditions, or test day will feel impossible.
You're ready. But before test day, verify these things:
If you can check all five, you're ready. If you can't, spend 30 minutes on whichever one trips you up. Want to understand how your letter compares to Band 7 and Band 8 standards? Check our band score guides for detailed examples.