Use the greeting, sign-off and paragraph plan below for this semi-formal letter, write it on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model letter.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You have finished a beginner English course and need to choose the next one.
Write a letter to your teacher, Mr Hall. In your letter
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Mr Hall,
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
A letter to a named person ends Yours sincerely, followed by your full name.
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
Dear Mr Hall,
I hope you are well. I am writing to ask for your advice about which course I should take next, now that I have completed the beginner course with you.
At the moment, I can introduce myself, talk about my family and work, order food in a restaurant and write simple emails. However, I still make many mistakes with tenses, and I struggle to follow normal conversations because people speak quickly.
In the next course, I would like to improve my speaking and listening above all. I work for a travel agency, so I often have to talk to foreign customers on the phone, and I want to be more confident when I do.
I know that the school offers an elementary course and a general English course for the autumn term. Which of them do you think would suit me better? Do you think I should take any extra classes as well?
Thank you very much for your help.
Yours sincerely,
Ayse Kaya
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| I wondered if you could give me some advice about | polite way to ask for help |
| What would you suggest I do? | ask directly but politely |
| You might want to consider | gentle suggestion |
| In my experience, | introduce advice from experience |
| I hope this helps. | common closing for advice |
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