Academic Writing Task 1:
IELTS writing Task 1 academic requires aspirants to write a 150 word response to a graph, chart or problem. It is a factual information and we have to select and repeat the main features of the data in 20 minutes.
General Writing Task 1:
The IELTS general writing task 1 comprises a letter to a person, company or institution you have 20 mins to respond to a question prompt. It is graded separately from the task 2 essay. The weightage is 30% of your writing score.
Types of letters:
1.Formal
2.Informal
Formal Letter Samples:
1.There was a dead body of an animal lying in front of your home. It was removed from the spot very late.
In your letter
- Complain to City Council(Municipality) Commissioner about this incident
- Explain difficulties that you faced
- Write your Expectation and action plan
Dear Commissioner,
I am writing this letter to draw your immediate attention with regard to dereliction of duties by your staff members. I live at Rd.10, Banjara hills, Hyd.
Yesterday evening, we saw a dead body of a buffalo in front of our gate. Immediately I called a helpline number of the department of dead animal collection. They assured me that it would be removed from the spot within 45 mins. The municipal council standard response time to such calamities is 30 mins. However the first responders arrived 3 hours late by 2 ½ hours.
We should consider this lenience a sheer negligence. The carcass stank offensively throughout the evening. It could spread air borne diseases and put the health of our colony residents in jeopardy. This was an intolerable cruelty.
Hence, through this letter we demand a departmental enquiry and prosecution of all those staff who violated the standard norms.
I look forward to hearing your response positively.
Yours sincerely,
XYZ
2. You received a letter from your insurance company stating you had missed the quarterly payment of insurance premium. Though you have had sufficient amounts in your bank account, yet this has happened. Escalate a complaint to your bank about this.
In your letter
- Describe the purpose of writing the letter
- Describe what happened
- Say what you want the officer to do for you
The purpose of writing this letter is to protest against a “notification letter” stating that a premium amount of RS 5k has been missed.
I possess a savings bank a/c no: Xyz1234 with your jubilee hills branch. Yesterday I received a ‘Due payment notification’ from insurance company Bajaj alliance. The moment I read it I was taken aback. The reason behind my amazement was quite conspicuous because I have always maintained sufficient funds in my account. Moreover, I have a line of overdraft facility linked to my account. Despite all this how come the payment request from Bajaj alliance was dishonored? It could be the result of a technical error or the bank personals Oversight.
As this oversight cost me a penalty of 500/- and a blot on my credit history; I demand you to reverse the penalty fee and apprise the insurance company for the same and safeguard my credibility. Failure to do so may compel me to escalate this issue with the banking ombudsman.
I hope to hear from you a favorable reply.
Yours sincerely,
XYZ
Informal Letters Sample
1. Your friend is visiting you but unable to receive and attend him on arrival day. Write to him about your situation, and arrangements you have made for his upcoming visit.
In your letter.
- Describe the situation in detail
- What arrangements you have made when you are not there
- To who he should contact in your absence
Dear Tony,
There it is! Eventually the day has arrived for which we had been planning and talking for the last 3 months.
I am delighted at the news of your arrival and certainly we shall make this trip count. Yet to my disappointment the arrival time of yours in Hyderabad conflicts with my schedule owing to an office meeting.
On Monday, I will be in Mumbai for an annual general meeting with shareholders. Had I been informed beforehand, I would have either postponed or brought forward this meeting. Now I can’t change the schedule because all the board of directors are attending. Anyway I have a contingency plan for your arrival. I have booked a cab for you from the airport to my residence. The watchman will receive you; you get refreshed and have some rest until evening. You find bacon, a loaf of multigrain bread and orange juice in the refrigerator. I have informed my cousin George who will come and pick you up for supper downtown in the evening. I will join you on Tuesday morning .I loathe to miss you on the very first day, but I hope you will understand my predicament. See you soon; with tons of love!
Yours Loving friend,
Tommy franks
2. You have a pen friend living abroad. He is interested to learn major news items in your country.
Briefly describe any piece of news that is being broadcast on TV and reasons why you are interested to share this news with him.
In your letter.
- Say how you feel when you receive the letter
- Mention why the incident in question is important for you and your countrymen
- Give regards to her parents
Dear John,
I always admire your inquisitiveness to keep yourself updated with major stories of the world. It was such a coincidence that I was recalling some of our cherished memories while strolling in our garden, the first mail I saw was yours in my inbox. I was not only happy to see it, but also glad to hear wonderful news from you.
As far as news back home is concerned everything is not quite well. India is in a state of chaos and anarchy. Ever since, the Union Govt announced demonetization (Proscribing 1000,500 notes) the entire country plunged into a disorderly state. People are rushing to banks to exchange banned currency notes. Long queues are the order of the day. Senior citizens, youngsters alike or taking the toll of this ridiculous decision of the Govt.
Heat exhaustion has consumed 350 veterans’ lives so far. Banking system is not equipped to handle this crisis. The decision was taken to contain black money. On the contrary, black money has proliferated; Havala Markets have flourished. The real victims are illiterate People with their hard earned money bearing the heat.
A real tragedy! What are you up to these days? Convey my regards to mom and dad. Plan a tour to India along with them. It will be a pleasure to welcome you. Take care.
Yours Friend
William
3. You left a foreign land without meeting your good friend. Write to her about circumstances stating why you were not able to see her in the end. Invite her to your country and update about your plans to visit her country.
In your letter
- Explain the reasons for which you could not see her
- Invite her over some occasion
- Discuss the probable place where you will take her to visit
Dear Susan,
I trust you must be doing well. Although, I have reached home safely. I am struggling to cope with the jet lag now. I feel ashamed that I couldn’t meet you before flying back home.
As you are aware of the fact, right from college days I have always been bad at time management. In spite of finishing my packing a day prior to the departure; however, I forgot to collect my “Recommendation letter” from our HOD; consequently, I had to rush to the college which consumed the whole day, a considerable amount of time and left no time to call on you.
I hope you will understand my situation with a benevolent heart. The most important thing I want to remind William and you is” You are cordially invited to my marriage in January.”
All necessary arrangements have been made. As the occasion takes place at Goa, abundant fun is awaited. Except air fare, your entire cost of the trip I am going to bear.
Finally, wish mom and dad for me. I will be home from Jan first week 2019. I am dying to see you all. Bye for now. Anyway, I’ll let you go now.
Yours dearest Friend
Jennifer
IELTS writing task 2 comprises essays. You are asked to respond to an argument about the advantages and disadvantages of an issue, the cause and effect of a problem and offer a solution. So and so. Your essay should be in a formal style. You should complete it in 40 mins. The length of the essay should be a minimum 250 words.
Question types:
- Opinion Essays
- Discuss both contradicting opinion essays
- Problem solution essays
- Advantages and disadvantages essays
=> IELTS Reading Module in a nutshell:
Academic reading:
IELTS Academic reading takes 60 mins and has 3 paragraphs and 3 sections. Each section comprises 13 to 14 making a total of 40 questions.
Question types are as follow:
- True, false, Not given
- Multiple choice questions
- Match the Statements
- List of headings
- Sentence completion
General Reading:
IELTS General reading takes 60 mins and has 5 paragraphs and 3 sections. Each section comprises 13 to 14 making a total of 40 questions.
Question types are as follow:
- True, false, Not given
- Multiple choice questions
- Match the Statements
- List of headings
- Sentence completion
But Academic & General reading scores will vary.
=> IELTS Listening Module in a nutshell:
Listening Module comprises 4 sections you will listen to form separate recordings of native language English speakers and write your answers to a series of questions. All recordings are played once only /you will listen only once.
Recording (1): A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
Recording (2): A monologue set in an everyday social context Eg: A speech about local facilitates
Recording (3): A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context.
Eg: A university tutor at a student discussing an argument.
Recording (4): A monologue on an academic subject. Eg: A university lecture.
Number of Questions 40. Each section has 10 questions.
Timing approximately 30 mins (plus 10 minutes to transfer answers for paper and pen based exam and 3 mins for computer based exam).
Each question is one word 1 mark.
Question types:
- Multiple choice
- Sentence completion
- Matching the statements
Test takers are penciled for writing more than the stated number of words contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated words contain a single word.
=> IELTS Speaking Module in a nutshell:
The IELTS Academic/ General speaking test in a face-to-face interaction with the trained IELTS examiner will assess your spoken English proficiency. It comprises 3 parts and will be completed in 11 to 15 mins.
Part 1 is all about you and your family, study, hobbies, festivals,freedom activities etc.
Part 2 you will be given a cue card with a topic and asked to talk for 2 mins you can draft your response in 60 secs. It is a monologue only the test taker can speak.
Part 3 is a dialogue (two conversation) the questions in part 3 one inter connected with the topic given in the cue card (Part 2).
Lexical Resource:
The term lexical resource means the ability to use “Vocabulary”. It is the term IELTS uses in the band descriptors .It is one of the four band descriptors.
Lexical resource weightages is 25% of the total. The other three parameters are grammatical range and accuracy, task achievement and coherence and cohesion.
The following factors are involved in lexical resource:
Clear communication: The words what you use shall be contextually relevant, so your primary goal is to communicate clearly. Do not use flashy adjectives and adverbs if they garble your message.
Accurate Spelling: Please do mind spelling mistakes. The more spelling mistakes you make the low your lexical resource.
Accurate collocations:
Let’s get the hang of collocations; they refer to a combination of words in a language that happens very often. They come in pairs. For Instance
1. Blissfully ignorant – not happily ignorant
2. Troubling times – not harassing times
3. Cup of tea – not glass of tea
4. Commit a sin – not make a sin
5. Jump to conclusions – not jump to assumptions
6. Leave quality – not leave silently
7. Make a wish – not think a wish
8. Sow a seed – not a plant seed
9. Mean during river – curly river
10. Winding road – not twisting road
Hence, with conscious effort we can master these collocations and speaking error free language.