1. Understand the task
Use this original General Training Task 1 practice to work on friendly register, practical arrangements and complete coverage of three task points. Write at least 150 words and allow about 20 minutes for the whole task. These length and timing points follow official IELTS Writing format guidance.
This is General Training letter practice. Academic Task 1 uses visual information instead. The letter scenario is invented, and no real message will be sent.
Original practice task
A friend arrives before you return
A friend is coming to stay with you from Thursday to Sunday. You have unexpectedly been asked to travel for work and will not return until Friday afternoon. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- explain why you cannot meet your friend on Thursday;
- describe how your friend can reach and enter your home;
- suggest something you can do together during the visit.
Begin your letter “Dear Leo,”. Write at least 150 words. You do not need postal addresses. Invent reasonable details where necessary, but keep the Thursday-to-Sunday visit and Friday return consistent.
Allow about 20 minutes including planning and checking. This timer counts up and does not submit your writing.
2. Make a focused plan
The reader is a friend, so warmth, contractions and direct personal language can fit naturally. You still need a clear message: Leo should understand why you will be absent, how to get inside, and when you can spend time together. A relaxed tone is not a reason to leave practical questions unanswered.
- Build the timeline. Leo arrives Thursday. You return Friday afternoon. Shared plans must happen after that return and before the Sunday departure.
- Give the reason and acknowledge the inconvenience. Explain the unexpected work trip and say you are sorry to miss the arrival. One natural apology is enough.
- Complete the arrival chain. Give a route from an arrival point, identify the home, and say who will open the door. Directions alone do not explain access.
- Suggest a concrete activity. Choose a Saturday outing or Friday evening plan that matches the friend’s interests. Include a small practical detail rather than listing unrelated attractions.
Keep the opening connected to the visit. A brief friendly sentence is useful, but several lines of generic greetings can use time without developing the task. End with an appropriate personal sign-off such as “Best wishes”. Informal writing does not require slang, emojis or phonetic texting abbreviations; ordinary conversational English can convey the relationship more reliably.
Write your own response
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3. Compare the annotated model
Write first, then compare choices rather than memorising phrases. This original model is an instructional example, not an examiner-marked response; no band score is claimed.
Read the model and paragraph notes
Dear Leo,
I’m really looking forward to your visit next week, but there’s been a small change of plan. My manager has asked me to attend a training event in another town, so I won’t be home when you arrive on Thursday. I’m sorry I can’t meet you at the station. I’ll be back on Friday afternoon.
Getting to the flat should be straightforward. Take the number 11 bus from outside the station and get off at Oak Square. My building is the red one opposite the bakery, and the flat number is 6. My housemate, Maya, will be home from three o’clock and can let you in. I’ve told her you’re coming, and she’ll show you the spare room.
Once I’m back, we can cook dinner together and catch up properly. On Saturday, how about visiting the riverside market? There’s a second-hand book stall you’d love, and we could pick up some food for a picnic afterwards if the weather is good. If it rains, we can try the new indoor exhibition instead.
Let me know what time your train arrives so I can tell Maya. It’ll be great to see you!
Best wishes,
Sam
Why this response is organised this way
- The opening combines warmth with the changed arrangement. The reason and return time are explicit, covering the first task point.
- The arrival paragraph links transport, building identification and entry. These details form a usable sequence rather than disconnected directions.
- The activity paragraph suggests plans after the Friday return, with a practical weather alternative. It develops the third point without turning the letter into a travel brochure.
- The final request for the train time supports the access arrangement. Contractions and personal comments create a friendly register while the sentences remain complete.
4. Practise a precise revision
Read this flawed extract: “I will return on Friday afternoon, so I’ll collect you on Thursday evening. The flat is beside the station. On Thursday night we can visit the market together. I would be most grateful if you could advise me of your intended arrival time.” Repair the timeline, complete the access information and make the last sentence sound natural between friends.
Check a coherent friendly revision
“I won’t be back until Friday afternoon, so Maya will meet you at the flat on Thursday. She’ll be there from three and can let you into the spare room. We can visit the market together on Saturday. Let me know when your train gets in so I can tell her.”
The revision removes two plans that conflict with the writer’s absence. It identifies someone who can open the door rather than assuming the friend can enter an empty home. “Let me know” suits the established relationship better than the very formal final request. The original location sentence can stay only if it matches the directions elsewhere in the letter.
Choose useful friendly detail
You have room for one more sentence. Would “You always enjoy hunting for old books, so I thought of that market straight away” or “Friendship has played an important role throughout human history” help more?
Check the more relevant addition
The sentence about books connects the proposed outing to this friend and makes the suggestion personal. The general statement about friendship does not develop the task. Informality is partly about a specific relationship, not merely adding contractions to generic content.
5. Review and try again
Make a small private timeline beside your draft: Thursday arrival, Friday return, Saturday activity, Sunday departure. Check every promise against it. Then imagine arriving with a suitcase and no knowledge of the neighbourhood: have you explained the route and the way to get inside? If a detail depends on a train time you do not know, asking your friend to confirm it is a useful final request.
For a second attempt, keep the facts but write to a colleague you know only slightly. Compare the greetings, contractions and personal comments you choose. This contrast helps you notice register, but do not use the revised colleague letter as an answer to this task, which specifically asks you to write to a friend.
Format checked on 15 October 2026 against IELTS Writing format. Task, model, visual material and practice explanations are original. This independent lesson is not an official IELTS test.