9 Practical IELTS Letter Writing Tips: Guide to General & Academic Writing

You must have heard that letter writing is an art and as such, it is necessary to be aware of the norms and etiquettes that are integral parts of this writing conversation.

IELTS General Writing Task 1 in the General Training category is fairly simple. All you need to do is write a structurally accurate letter, with absolutely no spelling or grammar mistake and with relevant vocabulary. There’s a fair amount of technicalities when it comes to writing tips for IELTS and in this article, we are attempting to discuss those.

Types of Letters in IELTS Writing

A letter can broadly be divided into two categories: formal and informal letter. Formal or business letters are those which need to be written in a strict format to the headmaster, editors, government officials etc, as an attempt to address a social cause/ issue.

Informal or personal letters are those kinds of letters that are written in a friendly tone to friends, families and acquaintances for conveying personal messages.

There is also one more kind of letter and it is the semi-formal letter. Semi-formal is used when you know the name of the person, but it is within a professional or official context.

The first thing you need to be sure of when you get the paper is, whether the question is actually asking you to write a formal or informal/ personal letter and then use a friendly tone or strict format and language accordingly.

One of the keys to a high band score is using the appropriate style, formal, semi-formal or informal. The question will tell you the situation and should indicate if you are writing to a friend, colleague or someone you don’t know.

Practical IELTS Tips and Tricks for Letter

Here are some tips that are bound to come handy while you are practising writing letters:

Make a Plan

There is absolutely no alternative to good planning. It may look like spending a little extra time, but it will actually save your time as you will know exactly what to write and you will not get lost.

Remember that you will have to state why you are writing and then cover the three points you will be given. Here is a basic structure that will help you plan your letters:

Dear X

Paragraph 1– Explain why you are writing the letter

Paragraph 2– Given point 1

Paragraph 3– Given point 2

Paragraph 4– Given point 3

Closing remark (e.g. I look forward to hearing from you etc.)

Ending (Yours sincerely, Kind regards, All the best etc.)

Your name

This structure should not change and the only thing you will have to think about is using the correct style, fulfilling the aim of the letter and filling in the details.

Use the Correct Style

Let us look at the different grammar and vocabulary you should use for each style of writing:

• If the person is a friend then you should use the informal letter writing style . With people we know well, we don’t need to sound too formal and the letter should have a relaxed tone.
• If you have never met the person before and you don’t know their first or last name, then you should use a formal style. You should definitely use a formal tone and strict format for letters of application and when making complaints. Formal styles allow us to sound respectful and professional.
• Situations, where you should use a semi-formal style, is when you are writing a letter to a colleague or someone from a different company you know. If you write in a formal style it will sound unfriendly, but informal might sound disrespectful., so it’s better to maintain a friendly tone.

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