3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
IELTS Simon
Lessons with Simon, ex-IELTS examiner
September 08, 2019
IELTS General Writing: good vocabulary
Here are some useful phrases from my most recent 'General Training Task 1' sample answer (the complaint letter):
bring something to someone's attention
a significant error
the mistake relates to
it is stated that... when in fact it is...
something is due to happen
sorely disappointed (very disappointed)
an outing (a trip or day out)
this could lead to complaints
bad publicity
rectify this problem
it is vital that
give accurate information
I trust you will act quickly
Comments (13)
August 24, 2019
IELTS General Writing: formal complaint letter
Here's my sample answer for the task shown in this lesson:
Screen Shot 2019-08-25 at 01.41.16
Comments (16)
July 14, 2019
IELTS General Writing: formal letter mistakes
Here are some sentences that people wrote in the comments area below last Saturday's lesson. Can you find and correct the
mistakes?
1. I wanted to say you some informations is not correct.
2. The festival holds on the 24th of December every year.
3. I ask you to correct this article and be reposted for your next magazine.
4. At on onset, I would thanks to you that you published a article.
5. I suggest you employ staff from all over the world. Because native well know about their country.
Comments (24)
July 06, 2019
IELTS General Writing: formal letter task
I haven't done a lesson about General Writing task 1 for a while, so here's a task from Cambridge IELTS 14:
GT
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
Tip: Choose something very simple for this task. For example, you could say that the magazine gave the wrong dates for a
special festival. It would be easy to explain how this mistake could affect tourists, accommodation, the success of the festival
etc.
Comments (40)
February 03, 2019
IELTS General Writing Task 1: 'private teacher' letter
Here's my band 9 sample answer for the task that you can see in this lesson:
GT teacher
Comments (19)
February 02, 2019
IELTS General Writing Task 1: beginning and ending
Let's write a beginning and ending for the task that I showed you last Sunday:
..........
Beginning (greeting + purpose of the letter):
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am writing to ask whether you are available to help my son with some after-school Spanish lessons.
..........
Ending:
I hope to hear from you soon, and that you will be able to help.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Jones
..........
Note:
Keep the beginning and ending short, clear and simple. You can impress the examiner in your main paragraphs; we'll look at
those tomorrow.
Comments (6)
January 27, 2019
IELTS General Writing Task 1: 'private teacher' topic
Let's use the 7 steps in yesterday's lesson to prepare the task below.
GT teacher 2
1. Key things to highlight: son needs extra language lessons, explain why, ask about experience and methods, suggest
schedule
2. Choose the tone: assume we don't know the teacher = formal
3. Greeting: e.g. Dear Mr. Smith (assume we know the teacher's name)
Ending: Yours sincerely, (then invent a name)
4. Overall purpose: ask the teacher to help your son
5. Paragraph structure: single sentence to state the purpose, then one paragraph for each bullet point
6. Paragraph aims: explain, request, suggest
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
7. Ideas: Your son has missed a term of Spanish lessons due to illness; looking for an experienced teacher who knows the
school exams; son is available for private lessons at home any weekday after school
Comments (32)
January 26, 2019
IELTS General Writing Task 1: steps
Here are 7 steps that I recommend taking before you write your task 1 letter. We'll follow these steps when we look at an
example question tomorrow.
GT steps
Comments (15)
August 25, 2018
IELTS General Writing: letter of complaint
Here's my band 9 sample answer for the task in last Sunday's lesson:
Letter
Comments (33)
August 19, 2018
IELTS General Writing: letter of complaint
Next weekend I'll show you my sample answer for the letter writing task below. Thanks to rüknettin for suggesting this one.
Screen Shot 2018-08-19 at 22.45.58
Comments (41)
August 18, 2018
IELTS General Writing: task 1 suggestions
Someone reminded me the other day that I haven't looked at a General IELTS writing task 1 question for a while.
If you're doing the General IELTS test, please use the comments area below this post to suggest a task 1 topic for us to look at.
Is there a task / topic that you're struggling with?
Comments (13)
July 22, 2018
IELTS General Writing: 'party suggestions' topic
A student asked me for help with the following General IELTS Writing task 1 topic. Can you think of any ideas?
Party
Comments (29)
April 01, 2018
IELTS General Writing: 'job reference' answer
Here's my band 9 model answer for the 'job reference' task in last Sunday's lesson:
Job reference
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
Notes:
- We could also begin this letter with "To whom it may concern".
- We don't really need to include the job title "Director, Sheffield English Academy", but I've included it to make the letter
seem a little more realistic.
- Notice that I chose to write about a job that is familiar to me (English teacher). I imagined writing a reference for a real ex-
colleague of mine, and I simply changed a few names.
- There are some good words, collocations and phrases in the letter. Note them down and try to use them yourself.
Comments (11)
March 18, 2018
IELTS General Writing: 'job reference' letter
I haven't looked at a General Training task 1 question for a while, so here's one that we could try:
Screen Shot 2018-03-18 at 10.45.05
How do you think we should begin this letter? What job could we choose? What qualifications, skills and personal qualities
can we describe?
Tip: Imagine that you are writing this letter to recommend a real colleague or friend. Think about that person's qualities and
invent a job that might suit him/her.
Comments (73)
October 01, 2017
IELTS Grammar: verb tenses in general writing
Have another look at the letter that I shared last Sunday (even if you're not doing the General test), and you'll see that I used a
variety of verb tenses.
Can you name the verb tenses in the phrases below?
1. I'm just writing to offer you
2. I won't be able to use
3. I told you I was going to a gig
4. there's a guitarist who's playing this Saturday
5. you'll be blown away
6. the concert starts at 7pm
7. I've been asked to visit a client
8. if you're free on Saturday
9. he'll be going to the gig
Comments (17)
September 30, 2017
General IELTS Writing: good vocabulary
Did you notice the following phrases in the letter that I shared last Sunday? This is useful vocabulary even if you're not doing
the General IELTS test.
going to a gig
an up-and-coming singer
you'll be blown away by how good he is
there's a support act on
catch the main performance
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
to help with a product launch
arrange to meet beforehand
outside the venue on the night
I hope you can make it
Note: in the phrases above, gig, blown away, catch and make it are informal. Do you know the meaning of these words
/ phrases?
Comments (2)
September 24, 2017
General IELTS Writing: 'concert ticket' answer
Here's my band 9 answer for the question that I showed you last Saturday. Can you find any good vocabulary in my answer?
Concert
Comments (10)
September 16, 2017
General IELTS Writing: 'concert ticket' topic
We haven't looked at a General Writing Task 1 question for a while, so here's one for us to work on. If you're doing the General
test, give it a try.
GT concert
Comments (9)
July 02, 2017
IELTS General Writing Task 1: 'translation' answer
Here's my answer for the general writing task in this lesson:
Letter
Comments (7)
May 13, 2017
IELTS General Writing: task 2 plan
Last week I suggested that you plan some ideas for the question below.
Some people prefer renting than buying a home. What are the advantages and disadvantages of renting
your home?
Here's a 13-sentence essay plan using the ideas that people shared:
Introduction
1. Introduce the topic (e.g. It is true that many people rent...)
2. State that there are benefits and drawbacks
Advantages
3. Topic sentence (e.g. There are several advantages...)
4. Firstly: easy, flexible and fast
5. Example: students and workers who move to new cities
6. Secondly: no maintenance costs
7. Finally: cheaper, no mortgage deposit
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
Disadvantages
8. Topic sentence (e.g. On the other hand, there are also...)
9. Main drawback: not a long term investment
10. Another drawback: landlord sets rules
11. Example: not allowed to renovate or redecorate
12. Furthermore: prices can suddenly go up
Conclusion
13. Repeat / summarise
Comments (22)
May 07, 2017
IELTS General Writing Task 1: 'translation' question
If you're doing the General IELTS test, here's another task 1 question that you could use for practice.
Screen Shot 2017-05-07 at 06.44.39
Comments (28)
May 06, 2017
IELTS General Writing: a task 2 example
Let's have a look at a writing task 2 question from a recent 'General' test:
Some people prefer renting than buying a home. What are the advantages and disadvantages of renting
your home?
The question above might seem a little different from the task 2 questions that I normally use here on the blog. However, my
advice is exactly the same as usual:
- Spend up to 10 minutes planning your essay structure and ideas.
- Write 4 paragraphs, containing a total of 13 sentences.
Maybe you can help me plan some ideas for this question by suggesting some advantages and disadvantages of renting.
Comments (19)
January 03, 2017
IELTS General Writing: new video
I forgot to mention last week that I had published another video lesson for General IELTS writing task 1. The video is at the
bottom of this web page.
Comments (8)
December 20, 2016
IELTS General Writing: new video (free)
If you're preparing for the General IELTS test, you can now watch my latest video for writing task 1 here.
In this lesson I explain that you can forget about "semi-formal" letters. You just need to know when to write a formal letter
and when to write an informal letter.
Comments (9)
December 07, 2016
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3/1/23, 10:46 AM IELTS Simon: IELTS General Writing
IELTS General Writing: new video
I have just published a video about informal letters at the bottom of this website. If you've been waiting for this lesson, I'm
really sorry about the delay. Thanks for your patience!
Comments (9)
December 04, 2016
IELTS General Writing: informal letters
Later today I'll publish a video lesson about writing informal letters. Here's the question that you'll see me answer in the
lesson.
Update: I'm really sorry that I still haven't published this video lesson. I should have time to finally finish it on Wednesday 7th
December.
GT informal
Comments (28)
November 27, 2016
IELTS General Writing: new video lesson
I've just published my second video lesson for General Writing task 1. You can find it at the bottom of this website.
In the lesson, I write a formal letter at band 9 level, and I talk about the use of "less common" vocabulary, as well as the use of
some typical phrases to begin and end formal letters. I'm afraid this lesson isn't a free one.
Comments (4)
November 26, 2016
IELTS General Writing: formal or informal?
Tomorrow I'll share a video lesson about formal letters for General Writing Task 1. If you're doing the General test, think
about the question below.
Would you write a formal or informal letter to the following people?
1. a hotel manager
2. your boss
3. the local council
4. your child's teacher
5. a friend
6. a work colleague
7. a neighbour
Comments (16)
November 19, 2016
IELTS General Writing: task 1 video (free)
I've just published my first video lesson for General Writing Task 1. You can watch it for free here.
In the lesson, I explain the seven steps that you should follow when writing your letter. I also answer some questions that
people asked me about the letter task.
Comments (9)
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November 13, 2016
IELTS General Writing: task 1 videos
I was planning to publish a video lesson for General Writing task 1 today, but I haven't managed to finish it on time. I'll
publish it later this week.
Before I finish the lesson, you have the opportunity to ask me any questions about GT task 1 (the letter writing task) in the
'comments' below. Let me know if there's anything that you are particularly worried about and would like me to include in the
video.
Comments (17)
November 06, 2016
IELTS General Writing: 'purpose' sentence
When writing a GT task 1 letter, I normally begin with a sentence to introduce the purpose of the letter.
A student asked me for help with the "purpose" sentence for the question below:
Screen Shot 2016-11-06 at 12.51.59
Although the overall purpose of the letter isn't stated in the question, I think we can still write a good purpose sentence.
Here's an example:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to give you some feedback after the party that my company recently held at your hotel.
Comments (15)
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