IELTS General Training Writing Task 1Â Topic:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Your friend from England is making a business trip to your town. She has never visited your country before and wants to know what you can do together in her free time.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter
• describe some activities for her free time
• suggest some restaurants/food in your town
• offer to meet her
Write at least 150 words.
You do HOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter:
Dear…,
PLAN YOUR ANSWER:
Sample Answer for IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 Topic:
Dear Sally,
I was delighted to hear about your visit to Kyoto in September. I’m sure you will find my city a fascinating place and I’ll enjoy the chance to show you some of its beauty.
I’m not sure how much free time you’ll have but any visitor to Kyoto loves to see the famous temples so why don’t we do that on one or two of the days. There are too many to describe but I’d love to be your guide. Perhaps singing with
microphones is not a common leisure activity in western countries but how about trying at least one evening of karaoke – Japanese style? Most karaoke places have the words to songs in English so don’t worry! Just treat rtasa
chance to unwind.
I know that you love interesting food so let’s try some while you are here. There are some great udon noodle bars and I know a nice restaurant that specialises in tofu dishes – very healthy!
Let me know your arrival times and I’ll meet you at the airport. I don t want you to get lost here on your first day!
Please write again soon,
All the best,
Sachiko
(197 words)
Notes
• The use of future tense forms is common in letter which talks about future actions (eg HI enjoy the chance to show you… / III meet you at the airport)
• The letter has conversational features which add to its friendly feel (eg …how about… / Just treat it as a chance… /1 don’t want you to get lost… /1 know that you…)
• Use of ‘so’ as an informal link between a description and suggestion/advice (eg Most karaoke places have… so don’t worry / any visitor… loves to see the…temples so why don’t we…)
IELTS General Training Writing Task 2 Topic:
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
To leant a foreign language successfully you need to spend time in the country where the language is spoken.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
PLAN YOUR ANSWER
Exercise:
Band 8.0 Sample Answer:
It is not clear that learning a foreign language necessitates time in the country of that language but this essay will argue that it is extremely beneficial to learning.
When children learn foreign languages at school, they probably have classes for only a few hours a week. It’s possible that the culture of that foreign language is very far away and their thoughts are on other things. If a child is lucky enough to have opportunities to visit the country in which the language is spoken, that is excellent. Ever, better is the opportunity to speak with people from the target culture in the new language on a regular basis. Unfortunately, however, most children emerge from their school years with very little command of a foreign language, and whatever
command they have often is lost through lack of practice.
Many schools now have schemes whereby pupils car, take as much as a year of their school studies abroad, and this gives excellent opportunities to become really proficient in a foreign language, since inside its own environment, the language is embedded in its natural social context. Many adults too are taking several months or longer away from work to study languages intensively overseas. It seems a successful way both of lifting language proficiency and of understanding the cultural patterns of native speakers.
It is true that some successful language learners have never been to the county where that language is spoken. Such learners probably have a gift for learning languages and would be successful under any circumstances with regular effort. For most people, however, learning In a social context is central to motivation and enjoyment in learning.
With the availability of language learning options online, it will be interesting to see If the quality of language learning improves, especially for those people in isolate places who don’t have the resources to afford expensive courses overseas.
(314 words)
Notes
• The introduction is short but clear.
• The writer has generated a good range of ideas and examples to maintain interest.
• There is not a conventional conclusion summarising again the main points, but the speculation about the future acts to round off the essay in a reasonable way.
• Because the essay topic is open to debate, the writer uses a fair amount of language to show uncertainty (“is not clear’, ‘seems’, ‘is possible’, ‘probably’, ‘it will be interesting to see’)
