It should be noted that an address has been made up by the author in order to make the letter feel authentic. In this case the scenario is well developed with the problem not being fixed on several occasions. This makes the paragraph long and ensures that the word limit is comfortably reached. In order to provide authenticity, dates are included in the paragraph.
Essays often include dates and students should pay attention to ensure they use acceptable forms. The second body paragraph describes the action that the writer of the letter wants to be taken. It is normal to explain why the requestor wants action to be taken. Letter - Restaurant You had a very good experience in a local restaurant with your family.
Write a letter to a newspaper to tell them about it, describe what you liked about it, and why you think the restaurant is worth visiting. The staff were friendly and welcoming and the overall quality of service was excellent. Our orders arrived quickly, were hot, of a good size and inexpensive. In addition the drinks were reasonably priced.
We were particularly impressed that when our children became a little impatient towards the end of the meal, the staff provided pencils and drawing material for them and greatly eased the burden of what had been a long and tiring day. I hope that you will publish this letter so that many other people in the area can enjoy this excellent restaurant and that it will thrive and be a part our community for a long time to come, Yours sincerely, Felicity Maxwell Notes This question should be reasonably straightforward for most students as they have most likely been to many restaurants.
However, the challenge in this question is having an opening that is realistic because normally people will not write to newspapers about restaurants they enjoyed. In this case the author has chosen the letter to be a response to a request from a local newspaper to support local business in order to make the letter feel authentic to the reader. The opening sentence of the letter explains the reason for the letter. The letter has only one main paragraph that describes the positive experience the writer had at the restaurant.
Different writers will choose very different restaurants, sometimes very high quality restaurants with an excellent atmosphere. The choice of restaurant is not important but the believability of the response is critical. The final paragraph is to explain what the result the author hopes to achieve by writing the letter.
In this case it is to bring awareness of a good restaurant to other people. In order to further increase the authenticity of the letter the name of the person who wrote the letter is female.
This is a deliberate choice by the author because in most families such a letter is much more likely to be written by the mother rather than the father of a family.
Letter — Coming for a Holiday A friend wants to spend a four-week holiday in your country and has written asking for advice about the trip. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: offer to find somewhere to stay, give advice about what to do, give information about what clothes to bring. Dear Chris, I was absolutely delighted to hear that you are able to finally come to Australia and visit Melbourne in September.
Spring is a great time to visit Melbourne because there are many mild, clear days, but the nights are much cooler so make sure that you bring at least one light jumper. I hope that you will spend a couple of days living with us but I also recommend spending a night or two in a hotel in the centre of town so you can experience the nightlife and enjoy the parks and galleries at your leisure. While you are there you should also visit Healesville Sanctuary, which has many native Australian native animals including kangaroos and koalas.
I will be working during the week but on the weekend I hope that you will agree to join us on the Great Ocean Road and can enjoy the beautiful coastline and spectacular views. It is advisable that when answering questions that students write about areas that they are familiar with, if possible. Tone is important in this letter. It is written to a friend so the tone should not be too formal.
It is always critical to ensure that all aspects of the question are answered. In this case the elements are what to do, where to stay and what to wear.
However, it is also important that the response is natural and these elements do not have to appear in the same order as the question. Students need to ensure that they fully analyse questions and do not assume that the information provided by examiners is correct and provided in a logical order. In this case, the most important question for any host is when and this is addressed in the first paragraph of the letter and time of year naturally leads to recommendation about clothing which is the final element mentioned in the question.
The second paragraph focuses on where to stay and is extended in this case by recommending staying at a hotel and coming to stay with their friend. The final paragraph focuses on places to visit and is an opportunity to provide longer descriptions of desirable places to visit if there are problems reaching the word limit.
Letter - Accommodation You will move to a new city because of you work. Ask some friends who live there for help finding accommodation. Tell them where you would like to live. Tell them the type of accommodation you are looking for.
Dear Jin, I am really pleased to let you know that I got the job at Zhongshan International Secondary School and am moving to Zhongshan early next year.
I will spend at least a year teaching there and was hoping that you could help me find a suitable place to live. Since a number of family members and friends are planning to come and visit me I am hoping to rent an apartment that has three bedrooms and a good size living area so that I can entertain. I would really like one in one of the newer estates because most of them have beautiful gardens, a lake that you can sit beside and read and a swimming pool.
I am not too concerned about the location as Zhongshan is not that big but it would be great if the apartment is located in the East District so I am close to work. I am happy to pay up to yuan per month for the apartment. I am arriving in Zhongshan on the 14th of January and it would prefer to move straight in. I am sorry to trouble you but I would be really grateful if you could arrange something like this. Thank you! Your friend, Tom Notes This question should be fairly straight forward as most students will have little difficulty in creating a reason and a list of requirements for accommodation that will allow them to comfortably reach the minimum work length.
It is generally best if students describe a place that they are familiar with. The style of the letter should be semi-formal as the recipient of the letter is a friend but the request is important to the writer.
It is worth noting that place names and the name of the workplace are both mentioned in order to give the letter a more authentic feel. The second paragraph focuses on the requirements for the apartment. To ensure that the word limit is met a number of different requirements including for location, the type of accommodation, the size and some of the facilities are included.
The final paragraph describes the specific request and the date of arrival. As the request could require significant effort on the part of the recipient, expressing sincere thanks is important. Letter — Car Accident You hired a car from a rental company and while you were driving on holiday, you have a small accident. You will have to write a report to the company to explain it.
You need to explain the following: 1. Where you hired it and when? Describe how the accident happened? What you did after the accident? I was driving slowly on West Mains Rd. I was paying attention and braked however the car skidded on line markings and ran into the back of the car in front at low speed causing a small amount of damage to both cars. As the damage is very minor I have continued to use the car but felt I should let you know of the accident. After the accident I exchanged details with the other driver and have enclosed them on the attached sheet of paper.
I have hired the car for two weeks and would like to understand what I need to do to fix the problem. I would be grateful if you could advise me of any other action I need to take. I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused, Kind regards, Paul Richards Notes This letter requires the writer to describe a car accident in a car hired from a hire car company and to ensure that both the car company is informed about the details of the accident and also to request what the writer needs to do in order to meet their obligations.
The subject of the letter is a business transaction and requires a high level of formality. The first paragraph explains the purpose of the letter, including basic details of the circumstances surrounding the incident. The second paragraph describes the accident in detail and the actions taken after the accident and is the explanation contained within the letter. The details including places, times and dates are provided and the letter informs the company of the details of the driver to ensure authenticity of the letter.
The final paragraph includes the request, which is that the company informs the writer of any further action that they need to take in order to fix the problem.
This paragraph also includes an apology to the company for the problems caused. Write a letter to the manager complaining about the service. Say how and when you ordered the chequebook. Tell them when you need the chequebook by and ask the manager to send it to you before this date. I run a small business that uses many different suppliers and need to write many cheques to ensure that I pay them on time and do not damage the good relationships I have with them.
After realising that I would need a new chequebook on the 12th of April I went to the Bayswater branch of the Bank of Southern England to request a new chequebook and was told that it should arrive within five working days.
As of the 26th of April it still has not arrived and I have now used up all the remaining cheques in my current book. I would be most grateful if you could ensure that I receive a new chequebook no later than the 30th of April because that is when many of my bills fall due, Yours sincerely, George Mathieson Notes This question asks students to write a letter in regards to a simple request for a new chequebook that has not yet been received.
The request is short making it difficult for students to reach the word the limit unless they develop a scenario that is detailed. In this case the letter includes the impact of not having the chequebook as well as the urgency of the request in order to reach the word limit. The first sentence in this paragraph is used to describe the importance of the request. The second to describe what action has been taken by the writer and their expectations, while the third paragraph describes the current situation.
The second paragraph is slightly over words and the details of the scenario that have been imagined are critical in ensuring that the word limit is reached. The third paragraph is one sentence and describes the request that is being made and the reason that it is important that the author receives the chequebook on time. Letter - Dogs Write a letter to complain about a dangerous situation when some adolescents let their dogs run wild in public.
Often on a Saturday morning there are a group of young people at Springfield Park who allow their dogs to run free throughout the park and threaten other users of the park, particularly the elderly and small children.
On one occasion a large dog ran into a small child. Fortunately, the child although very frightened, was not harmed by the incident. However, there is the risk that one of these dogs could attack a small child or an elderly person leading to very serious consequences. I am requesting that some of your rangers visit the park on the weekend and observe the problem and take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the community, Kind regards, Michelle Harris Notes This question is challenging because the request is a simple complaint and it can be challenging for students to reach the word the limit.
To reach the minimum word limit in this case it is necessary to develop a reasonably complex scenario and describe an incident involving dogs at the park. The opening paragraph describes the problem of allowing dogs to run free in a park. It should be noted that the author has used names of the park, suburb and council involved in order to give the letter an authentic feel. The third paragraph describes the specific action that is being requested. Overall the letter is just over the word minimum length.
Letter — Philosophy or Computer Science You have a friend who is about to go to a university, and he wants you to suggest to him on which course to take — philosophy, in which he is very interested, or computer science, which offers better job prospects. Dear Mike, Thanks for your letter; it was great to hear from you again. Also, many congratulations for getting a place at Princeton. Princeton is undoubtedly one of the best universities in the world and I am sure your parents are very proud of your achievement.
With regards to the question of whether you should study Philosophy that you have been passionate about for many years or Computer Science, which would give you much better career options, I think you have a really difficult decision to make.
My suggestion is to do a double degree. I think it is important to have a backup plan so I would consider focusing on your Philosophy as that is your true passion but have Computer Science in case you are not able to find a job related to Philosophy.
I think this choice is a very personal one, but my choice would be to go with your passion and choose Philosophy if you are unable to do a double major. You only live once and it is important that you do things that you love. Congratulations on getting into Princeton and good luck with your choice.
I am confident you will choose wisely, With very best wishes, Harold Kostas Notes This question is interesting from a cultural perspective as the purpose of education is viewed differently in different cultures. This is one of the few Task 1 questions that have cultural elements to the question. The writer is asked to give advice on whether a student should study subjects that they are passionate about or subjects that lead to a good career. For many people education is seen as a means to improve their lives through financial gain or the ability to migrate.
It is certainly reasonable to advise students to make that choice in the letter because this is the kind of advice that many people would give. As a consequence many students may feel more confident about writing a letter expressing this view. In this case the author has chosen to write a letter encouraging the recipient to follow their passion. Mostly, students will not choose to make this recommendation in their letter because it is not what most people around them would normally recommend.
In Western society many more students choose to follow study paths that they are interested because employers are more likely to employ graduates with a range of backgrounds and will more often choose people who demonstrate excellence rather than specific, marketable skills. In addition, many people in the West have not experienced significant hardship in their lives and are therefore more likely to choose to study subjects that they are interested in rather than subjects that protect their future.
This letter is to a friend and should have an informal style. The opening paragraph of the letter is designed to make the letter feel authentic to the reader and does not address the question. The second paragraph explains the two choices and the advantages and disadvantages of the two paths.
The second sentence acknowledges the difficulty of making a choice. The recommendation is clearly stated in the third sentence of the paragraph. The fourth sentence explains the detailed position of the reader, which is that it is better to do what you love but it is also a good idea to have a backup plan. The first sentence of third paragraph is to make it clear to the reader that they must make the choice for themselves and be happy with that choice.
This sentence also has a strong cultural element because in Western culture people generally believe that it is better to give people the freedom to make their own decisions as this typically leads to fewer regrets.
The intention of the writer is to give information and their opinion but at the same time give freedom to choose to go against the advice that is given. It is also culturally normal to write positively, be supportive and focus on advantages of a particular course of action rather than give warnings about choosing an undesirable path. The last paragraph adopts a supportive and confident tone and is respectful of the choice made by the person receiving the advice.
Letter - Accident After being involved in a bad accident, you were cared for by a person that you do not know. Write a kind letter to express your thanks.
After the boats collided and I was thrown into the water I was terrified. I later learned from friends that you were walking your dog and after seeing me in the water jumped in to save me. It was a truly courageous act for which I will forever be grateful. I would also like to thank you on behalf of my parents who were deeply shocked by the accident and who also wish to thank you for your bravery.
It is really comforting to know that when I was in difficulty there were people on hand ready to assist. I hope that you will accept the small gift that I have attached to express my thanks, With very best wishes, Melissa Dawes Notes It is quite difficult to reach the word limit for this question as it only requires a thank-you and it is possible to write a very short letter to do this effectively. To ensure that the minimum word limit is reached for this question it is best if students create an incident and describe how they felt.
It is important that a highly grateful tone is used throughout. In this letter it is unlikely that the writer knows the rescuer. For this reason it is best to use a title for the person and write the letter in a formal style. The opening sentence of the letter simply explains the reason for the letter.
The second paragraph explains the scenario to the reader and explains the experience of the author and expresses their feelings to the person who helped them. The fourth paragraph in which the author indicates to the recipient that they have given them a gift of thanks helps to give the letter a feel of authenticity and also to extend the length of the letter. It should be noted that the in total the text of the letter is only words.
This letter exceeds the minimum word length, but only by a small amount and it is important that students ensure that they reach the word limit in all cases to avoid a penalty. Students should be aware of the likely length of the scenario that they have developed. Letter - Babysitting A friend has asked you to babysit on Saturday night and wants to know how much you charge per hour. Unfortunately, you already have a commitment this Saturday and cannot babysit.
However, you hope they will use your service in future. Write a letter to your friend explaining that you are not able to babysit this Saturday. Explain what your fee for the service is. Dear Michelle, I am writing in regards to your request for me to come and babysit your children on Saturday night.
Thank you for contacting me in regards to babysitting. Unfortunately, this Saturday I have already committed to babysit for another family in the local area and am unavailable to sit for your children. I am free the following weekend if you require my services. I hope that you will consider using my services in future. As part of my service I am able to provide a number of educational games and videos that are appropriate for all ages.
I am happy to supervise meal times and homework and also ensure that children are in bed by the time chosen by their parents. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future, Kind regards, Tania Ericson Notes This is a challenging letter to write as the request is very simple and does not require a detailed response making it difficult to reach the word limit. In this case the essay is words long and has achieved the minimum word limit by describing in detail the services provided by the baby sitter.
In this case the recipient of the letter is addressed informally by first name in order to ensure authenticity because typically children are baby sat by people who are known to the family.
The second paragraph specifically addresses the request and the reasons why the request cannot be fulfilled. The third paragraph describes the desire to seek to babysit for the family in future and provides details of the service provided.
In this case a number of details are provided to ensure that the letter reaches the minimum word length. It requires careful planning and clear strategy to develop a coherent essay that is ideas focused. The Task 2 essay requires good thinking and good language. Students should remember that in all languages, educated native speakers communicate in a clear, direct and concise fashion.
Step 1 — Analysing the question Examiners are well aware that students copy language from questions and typically avoid the correct language. Students must look at questions critically if they are to provide high quality responses. Consider the following question: Some people believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others think that the circumstances of a crime, and the reason for committing it should be considered when deciding on the punishment.
Discuss both views. The first common strategy used by examiners is to replace the correct word or phrase with a definition. By doing this they can test whether students know the correct language. The second strategy that examiners use to test students is to use non-academic phrasing. Academic essays are about presenting ideas objectively and drawing conclusions. What an individual believes is unimportant — only the ideas are important. Using this phrasing serves no useful purpose and distances the writer from the ideas being presented.
An academic writer must take responsibility for the ideas they are putting forward, rather than distancing themselves from them. The third strategy used by examiners is to present two extreme points of view drawing some students into thinking that there are only two alternatives when there is a range of possibilities resulting in incorrect language choices. In this case the choice is between tourists adjusting to the cultural beliefs of locals or locals adjusting to the cultural beliefs of tourists.
These are extreme views and a good answer is likely to include the possibility that adjustments on both sides should occur. This is how this question would be presented to native speakers.
A good strategy for analysing a question is to read the question and write down a one or two word topic for the essay. This will often lead to choosing the right language and avoiding extreme views. An additional strategy used by examiners is to present examples in questions that are not the most important ideas.
Students often become focused on the idea presented in the question rather than thinking about the deeper question that is being asked. For example in the question: Some people believe that public health should be improved by increasing the number of sports facilities, while others believe that it has little effect and other measures should be taken to solve this problem. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
In this example the underlying question is: How can public health be improved? This idea is not strong as there are far more effective ways of improving public health, such as encouraging healthy eating, taxing unhealthy foods, limiting working hours and providing a healthier workplace environment stand up desks, healthy snacks, etc.
Students should always focus on the underlying question. Examiners may also write questions that have logical problems and students who fail to carefully analyse questions may find it difficult to write well structured logical essays. The plan can be simple and should consist of as many ideas as possible. Most Task 2 essays will include three body paragraphs and so a minimum of 3 key ideas is usually needed. If the plan includes more than 3 ideas, related ideas should be grouped together with the aim of constructing 3 key paragraphs.
Many students do not realise the importance of quality content - good ideas are key to scoring well. The primary function of any form of communication is to present ideas. Therefore an essay with few or low quality ideas will almost always receive a low score. In addition, the ideas presented must be logically presented to the reader otherwise they could become confused about the direction of the essay. A plan is the method by which students organise their thoughts so that they can present them to the reader in a logical fashion and thereby communicate effectively.
Step 3 — Write the Introduction The importance of introductions is often under rated. A poor introduction will require the writer to change the examiners mind in later paragraphs to score well. In addition, introductions are the place where the reader outlines the structure of their essay and can prevent examiners from becoming confused about the direction of an essay. In the opening sentence of the essay students should state the topic and suggest a reason why the topic is important.
The reason is not essential but is designed to tell the reader why they should be interested in the topic. The second sentence is the ideas sentence. This sentence is probably the most critical of the essay and has two functions.
The first is to present the key ideas to the reader and let them know what will be discussed in the essay. This is important as it prevents the reader from guessing whether the author has thought about a particular idea and helps prevent the reader from becoming distracted. The second function of the ideas sentence is to allow the reader to understand the direction of the arguments and the overall structure the essay. Each body paragraph should have one main idea and the main idea in each body paragraph should be listed in the order that it appears in the text.
In some cases two ideas sentences may be used. This usually occurs when the author is contrasting two sides of an argument or if the topic can be readily broken down into two logical parts.
The final sentence in an introduction is a thesis statement. A thesis statement tells the reader the aim of the essay and has a standard structure. The first and last three words should never change. The language used is formal and uses passive voice as is standard with essays written in an academic style. A thesis statement is not essential, but is formal and shows the reader that the writer understands the conventions of writing in English. If a student is concerned that their essay may not reach the word limit a thesis statement is a good idea as it adds length to the essay.
At the end of the introduction a reader should know what the topic is, why the topic is important, the key ideas as well as the structure and the aim of the essay. If all of these items are present the reader is unlikely to become confused about the direction or the content of the essay. Step 4 — Write the Body The body of the essay will usually contain three paragraphs.
The key idea associated with each paragraph should be listed in the ideas sentence in the introduction. The order in which they are presented in the introduction should be the same as in the body of the essay to give the essay structure. It is usually best to have the most important idea presented first. The opening sentence of each body paragraph should explain what the key point of the paragraph is and gives the reader a logical link back to the introduction.
In general, the more ideas the better as this will give the essay a more academic feel. The third type of sentence in the body is example sentences.
The purpose of an example is to support an idea. Examples are secondary to ideas and as a result examples should be short. They should rarely be more than one sentence and should never be more than two sentences long. A common mistake made by students is to give an example and expect the reader to draw the principle from the example.
The idea must be stated before an example is used, academic essays are about ideas and principles, not individual situations. It is possible to have more than one example sentence in a paragraph, but the structure should be opening sentence, ideas sentence s , example sentence, ideas sentence s , example sentence etc. Step 5 — Write the Conclusion The conclusion rarely causes difficulties for students; however, there are a few important concepts that students should keep in mind.
The first is to have a conclusion marker as this lets the reader know that the essay is concluding. This seems an unimportant point, but sometimes IELTS essays are a little longer than a page and if no conclusion marker is used the reader may find that an essay has unexpectedly ended leaving them with the feeling that the essay is incomplete.
Only one conclusion marker is used in an essay, which means that there is no risk of over use. The conclusion should also refer to the topic and the key ideas that are presented in the essay. If an opinion is to be expressed directly in an essay, the conclusion is the best place for it. The reason for this is that Task 2 essays are academic and therefore should be objective. For this reason it is usually best if the ideas are presented first in the body of the essay and the opinion included as part of the conclusion.
These phrases are slightly non-academic in style and are not needed because the reader should already know your opinion from your ideas and the way in which they are presented. In addition, a sample essay with notes and essay vocabulary is included for each of the ten topics. Topic 1 — Education General Topic Information For many students, particularly those from developing countries, education is a means to an end — usually a good job.
Students will often fail to consider that education is more than what is learned at school or a certificate and different people will have different definitions of what educations consists of. For this reason a definition is sometimes worth including in an essay on education. Education is not just a piece of paper — the piece of paper is the representation of skills and quality of a person.
It is the skills that are obtained that are much more important than marks or the actual qualification. People are ultimately judged on what they can do, not their qualifications. Education improves quality of life. People who are better educated have a better life.
This is not because they tend to have more material things, but because they have a greater level of understanding and therefore they have a broader vision and a better ability to appreciate the world. It should be remembered that happiness is mostly related to achievement, which is closely related to education, not material possessions. Learning is done in many places, not just school. It is also often assumed that pre-school age children do little learning; this is not accurate.
Important steps for the early development of children include learning to smile, bringing their hands together, focusing their eyes, putting objects in their mouth, sitting up, holding a spoon, crawling, understanding basic instructions, making different sounds, walking, speaking, interacting with other children, etc.
Students often think that getting education is the process of gaining knowledge. Knowledge is the lowest form of learning and is not the focus of Western education. Education is the process of learning to solve problems. Many educated people work in fields other than which they are qualified — they know how to solve problems, including the problem of lack of knowledge.
Essays should focus on learning, skills development and creativity, not knowledge. Consider this book — it contains a great deal of knowledge but there is also high focus on thinking. The book explains the reason for choices and good students will take the broad principles from this book and apply them in many different situations. Education is much more about learning to think well than having knowledge. IELTS questions focus on many different areas of education, including that of very young children.
The roles of parents versus teachers in education are common topics. Parents also spend more time with their children and that time is often on a one-to-one basis. It is families that have the most significant affect on children. Teachers have a limited ability to discipline children and their major role in this area is to ensure that the classroom environment is free from disruption and is safe.
Teachers can spend little time with students on a one-to-one basis and therefore are restricted in their ability to teach students how to behave well. They also do not have the right to discipline children in the same way that parents do. Governments focus of literacy and numeracy in most testing because it is the foundation of all learning.
Learning is closely related to experience and having wide experiences are important for becoming highly educated. This means that extra-curricular activities such as participating in sports and joining clubs are important for building skills in non-academic, but equally important areas, such as team work, people management, project management and financial skills. Occasionally, questions on funding for education arise. In these cases it is worth remembering that both society and the individual benefit from education and therefore it is not unreasonable to expect both students and the government to make a contribution to education costs.
Society gains benefits by having more skilled people in important areas doctors, nurses, teachers, etc. If questions on quotas for access to education arise, equality and fairness should be a key consideration. There are some questions around the best starting age for school. Typically the starting age for school age children is between 5 and 7 years old. There are a variety of 'cause type' essay questions.
In these you first have to give the reasons why something has happened, in other words the causes, but then discuss a different aspect of it, such as the effects, solutions or the extent to whether it is a positive or negative development:. In these type of questions, instead of discussing the causes of a problem, you need to discuss the problems related to a particular issue in society, and then suggest what can be to solve these problems:.
In these type of questions you are asked to discuss the positive and negative sides of a particular topic. You will usually be asked this in the context of giving an opinion e. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? There are sometimes questions that don't fit easily into a particular category as above. I know that's not academic language, but it's the truth!
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