General Training Task 1: purpose, tone and complete letters
A beautiful apology can still leave the reader without a request
- You borrow equipment, discover a missing part and write a careful description. The manager still needs to know what you want them to do. A letter has a purpose, a reason for writing, as well as a story.
- In General Training Task 1, write a letter of at least 150 words. Use about 20 minutes as a planning guide within the shared Writing hour. Your greeting has a small job; it should not become a 150-word welcoming ceremony.
A letter describes a missing cable but never asks for help. What should the writer clarify?
The recipient needs a clear purpose and useful requested action, not only a description. Adding an unrelated detail or extravagant greeting does not supply that action.
Turn every bullet point into a job for the letter
- Read this original task and underline each instruction verb. A plan needs loan details → problem and effect → requested solution. The effect matters because the task explicitly asks why the problem affects you.
- Add relevant details that make the invented situation clear. Keep them consistent: a kit borrowed on Tuesday should not become a kit purchased last month.
You borrowed a recording kit from a community library. At home, you discovered that an important part was missing. Write a letter to the library manager, Ms Patel. In your letter:
- describe the kit you borrowed and when you collected it;
- explain what is missing and how this affects your planned activity;
- suggest what the library could do to help.
Write at least 150 words. This is an original practice task, not an official IELTS question.
Put these jobs in the order used by the sample response.
The response identifies the loan, explains the problem and its effect, then requests a feasible solution. This is one useful structure, not a compulsory universal paragraph formula.
Which detail addresses the effect requested by the second bullet?
The inability to use the microphones explains the practical effect. A date or a kit label supplies identification, not that effect.
Match the tone to the relationship and purpose
- The manager is named, but the task does not make her your close friend. A polite formal opening fits: “Dear Ms Patel, I am writing about the recording kit I borrowed…” State the issue without insults or exaggerated threats.
- A friend could receive a warmer personal opening, while a familiar tutor or manager may call for a polite semi-formal tone. These are useful choices, not a rule that every named recipient is informal. Keep the tone consistent through the request and closing.
“Hey, sort this out immediately!” and “I humbly beseech your esteemed institution” pull in different directions. For this task, ordinary respectful language communicates more clearly. A formal letter does not require the longest words available.
Because Ms Patel is named in the task, the writer must treat her as a close friend.
A name does not establish a close personal relationship. The role and situation support a polite formal tone here.
Which opening best fits this letter to the library manager?
The first is polite and states the issue directly. The demand is hostile and the apology about an unnamed wedding does not address the task.
Read a complete response before inspecting its parts
- This sample invents a project, collection details and practical alternatives. Each detail supports the prompt; the sample does not invent a library policy or claim that a replacement is already guaranteed.
- Read it once as Ms Patel: can you identify the kit, understand the problem and decide what response the writer is requesting? Then use the paragraph checks below. This sample has no official band rating.
Dear Ms Patel,
I am writing about the recording kit I collected from Brook Lane Library on Tuesday afternoon. The loan was registered under my name, Nina Cole, and the case was labelled R4. I borrowed the kit to record interviews for our neighbourhood history project this weekend.
When I unpacked the case, I found the recorder and two microphones, but the cable connecting the microphones to the recorder was missing. I checked the pockets in the case and compared the contents with the equipment list supplied by the library. Without that cable, I cannot use the microphones for the interviews, and the participants have already arranged their appointments.
Could you please check whether the cable was left at the loan desk? I could collect it on Friday afternoon. If it cannot be found, would it be possible to exchange the kit for a complete one before Saturday? Please let me know which option is available so that I can confirm the arrangements with the participants.
Thank you for your help. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely, Nina Cole
Which missing part does the sample letter identify? Copy ONE WORD from the response.
The response identifies the cable connecting the microphones to the recorder. The recorder and microphones are present.
When did Nina collect the kit?
Tuesday afternoon is the collection time. Friday afternoon is the proposed cable collection, and the weekend is the planned interview period.
The sample letter claims that the library has already guaranteed Nina a replacement.
It asks whether an exchange is possible if the cable cannot be found. It does not state a guarantee or invent a replacement policy.
Connect each paragraph to the task's actual demand
- The first paragraph identifies what, when and why. The second names the missing cable and explains its effect on the interviews. The third requests a check or exchange and gives useful collection timing.
- “The cable is missing” addresses only part of the second bullet. Adding “so I cannot use the microphones for the interviews” supplies the requested effect. A relevant reason develops the task; an unrelated story about buying lunch does not.
Match the details to their jobs in the letter.
R4 identifies the kit, the inability to use microphones explains the effect, and the exchange question requests help.
The bullet asks what is missing and how this affects the activity. Which response addresses both parts?
The third names the missing item and connects it to the planned interviews. The others address only a part or another aspect of the situation.
Change the weak sentence rather than adding a grand phrase
- Weak: “I have a problem. Please help.” Better: “Could you check whether the microphone cable was left at the loan desk?” The second version identifies a feasible action; it does not demand something the reader cannot identify.
- Weak: “You always lose equipment.” Better: “The microphone cable was missing when I unpacked the kit.” Describe what the task supports. Do not turn one missing item into a claim about every loan or an accusation about who caused it.
A useful request names the action and enough context to carry it out. Keep options conditional when availability is unknown: “If it cannot be found, would it be possible to exchange the kit?” This asks for help without pretending the answer is already settled.
Which sentence reports the supported problem without an unsupported general accusation?
The second identifies the observed missing item. One case does not establish that equipment is always lost or that every staff member caused it.
Why does “If it cannot be found…” help the request?
It introduces an alternative without claiming the cable search has failed or that an exchange is guaranteed.
Finish a letter that answers all the points
- Make a short plan, write connected paragraphs, then check purpose, every bullet and consistent tone. Bullet points help your planning; the completed answer is a letter, not your planning list.
- Check that your response reaches the minimum word count, but do not use repetition to get there. Check names, dates, verb forms and the closing too. A sensible 20-minute practice limit protects time for the more heavily weighted Task 2.
Reaching 150 words alone proves that a letter fully answers the task.
The minimum length is only one requirement. Purpose, all requested points, appropriate development, organisation and language still need review; this lesson does not produce a band score.
What should the completed Task 1 answer look like?
The plan can use bullet points, but the submitted response should be a letter with connected prose appropriate to its recipient.
Transfer the method to a new situation
- Original transfer task: you help at a community garden, but your regular volunteering day now clashes with a course. Write to the coordinator: describe your current duties; explain the clash and its effect; suggest another arrangement. Decide the tone from your relationship with the coordinator.
- Before writing the full letter, draft one clear purpose sentence and a three-part plan. After writing, underline where you addressed each requested point. Practise with a General Training letter prompt and use the learning diagnostic to record what needs attention. These lesson checks do not grade the quality of a complete letter.
Sources checked on 2 October 2026: official IELTS General Training Writing format and official Writing preparation guidance. All scenarios and responses here are originally authored teaching examples, not official tasks or band predictions.
For the garden transfer task, which request offers a useful new arrangement?
The second gives a feasible alternative related to the clash. The others do not request a workable arrangement or invent an unrelated requirement.
What can these short lesson checks establish?
They can check the distinctions taught here. They cannot calibrate a full letter, assess every writing criterion or guarantee an IELTS score.