It is common to be asked to write an IELTS apology letter for General Training writing task 1. You might be given a formal or informal apology letter. You must use the correct style and tone to get a high band score. Always decide what type of letter you must write before you start planning. Students taking the academic test, do not write letters for task 1 writing.

Below you will find:

• an informal apology letter: question and model answer
• a formal apology letter: question and model answer
• link to essential tips for IELTS letter writing

Note the difference in tone, content and also language between formal and informal apology letters.

IELTS Informal Apology Letter

This letter was in the IELTS test, October 2017.

Write a letter to a friend. You have borrowed something from your friend and it got damaged.

1. Apologize for damaging the product
2. Explain what happened
3. Say how are you going to fix the issue

IELTS Model Answer Apology Letter – Informal

Dear Emily,

Sorry it’s taken me so long to write to you but at last I put pen to paper to explain why I haven’t returned that DIY book I borrowed from you.

To be honest, I’ve been feeling so guilty that I delayed writing to you. I have to own up that I damaged the book accidentally. I’m so very sorry. I know how important that book is to you as it was passed down from your late father.

What happened is that I had been reading up on the chapter about DIY plumbing when I knocked over my cup of coffee which splashed all over the book. Most of the stain is on the pages that were open at the time.

I’ve sent the book away to be repaired. I didn’t realise that was even possible until I researched it. Anyway, it should be as good as new when I get it back next week and then I’ll send it on to you.

Again, I’m so sorry for the delay in telling you. I hope you can forgive me.

Best wishes

Sarah

(184 words)

IELTS Formal Apology Letter

Write a letter to your boss apologising for the recent meeting you missed at work.

1. Apologise for missing the meeting.
2. Explain what happened.
3. Say what you will do to compensate.

Model Answer for an IELTS Formal Apology Letter

Dear Mr Drummond,

I am writing to apologise for the meeting I missed on October 20th about development plans for the company.

I am sincerely sorry for not being able to attend this meeting. I am aware of the importance of the meeting but, unfortunately, my absence was unavoidable.

The reason for not attending this meeting was that I had a car accident on the way to work that day. Although the accident was not serious, I was taken to hospital for a check up and not allowed to leave until I had been given the all clear from a doctor.

I understand how crucial this meeting was and, therefore, I have asked one of my colleagues, Sandra Brown, to review the meeting with me after work today. We will go over all development plans and also people’s roles and responsibilities. By the end of today, I will be up to speed with all plans.

I hope you will forgive my absence and be assured of my commitment to this company and its future.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Brollend

(178 words)

Note: Although I have put the word count at the bottom of each letter, this is just for your convenience. It is not something you should do in your test. Most writing task 1 letters should be between 170 and 190 words on average.

Useful Link

You can find essential tips for IELTS letters on this page: IELTS GT Letter Writing Tips

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Find answers to paraphrasing exercise number 2 about coal miners. Make sure you finish the lesson before looking at the answers: paraphrasing exercise 2

I hope you found the lesson useful for spotting synonyms.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Lets take a look at a plan for an IELTS opinion essay.

Below you will find an essay question, an essay plan and also questions for you.

IELTS Essay Question

Some people think that children should spend their free time doing homework, while others believe it would be better for children to participate in sports activities instead. What is your opinion?

IELTS Essay Plan

Below are notes for an essay plan. The notes show what the content of each paragraph will be.

Introduction:

People have different views as to whether children should spend their free time doing homework or playing sport. In my opinion, children should be encouraged to take part in sport and exercise.

BP 1:

Sport is good for children because it benefits their health. Add supporting details.

BP 2:

Children can also benefit in other ways from playing sport by learning to unwind and meeting new people. Add supporting details on each point.

Conclusion:

Restate opinion.

Question for You

Think about the essay question and the essay plan, then answer the questions below.

1. Is this a good plan?
2. How do you think it can be improved?

Answers

Post your answers in the comments box below.

I will post my comments on Wednesday. That gives you all two days to post your comments 🙂

Liz

Answers to Paraphrasing Practice

Please complete the lesson before you look at the answers. You can find the lesson on this page: Paraphrasing Lesson

Passage: Ancient Egyptian Powder

Summary of Passage

The pigment (1)………. Egyptian blue, which was formulated (2) ……….. 5,250 years ago, can now be used to (3)……… finger prints on complicated surfaces.  This pigment was used in the painting of statues and tomb wall reliefs in Ancient Egypt. However, it has now been (4)……….. that, when it is it exposed to a (5)……….. light, it emits near-infrared radiation.

1. known as
   1. you can’t choose the answer “names” because it is grammatically wrong.
2. about
   1. You can’t have the answer “over” because we don’t know if it is over or under. Therefore, you need to use the word “about”. Another option for paraphrasing would be “approximately”.
3. identify
4. revealed / found
   1. Both options are fine.
5. particular
   1. You must have the correct spelling. If your spelling is wrong, your answer is marked wrong.

I hope you found this lesson useful.

I’ll post more paraphrasing lessons later.

All the best

Liz

Yesterday, a student called Tamara posted a great little tip about toilet breaks in IELTS.

Her points were these:

1. It’s important to drink water because you are nervous and the exam is long. But inevitably you might need the toilet.
2. IELTS do not provide toilet breaks. So, you need to choose the best time to go to the toilet.
3. Don’t go during your listening test. The listening test will not stop because you have gone to the toilet. You will miss answers and you will get a lower score as a result.
4. Go to the toilet during your reading or writing test.
5. The writing test is usually really hard to complete on time, so for most students, it’s best to go to the loo during the reading test.
6. Be prepared for your IELTS test. Sleep well, eat well and be ready to concentrate.

Tamara did very well in her test, getting band score 8.5 overall. Brilliant!! Well done to her 🙂 See her score and read her tips as well as tips from other students on this page: IELTS Results Page

Get On the Day Tips by click on the link. My on the day tips cover listening, reading, writing and also speaking. So, read them all well.

Good luck everyone!! 🙂

Liz

Below are three IELTS model essays for IELTS essay questions that students have reported this month in their test. You can find the full list of 20 essay questions on this page: IELTS Essay Questions 2017.  I did say that I would write only one model essay but, due to student demand, I have choose the three most popular essay questions.

Paragraphs: The model essays below all have two body paragraphs. Please note it is also possible to have three body paragraphs in IELTS writing task 2 – your choice depends on your ideas.

IELTS Essay Model Q#1

Nowadays young people lack an understanding of how to manage their finances after they finish high school. Explain why they do not know how to manage money and how this can be changed.

Below is an IELTS cause / solution model essay.

Many young people are leaving school without a basic and vital understanding of how personal finances ought to be managed in the adult world. This lack of knowledge is due to a lack of life experience and limited education which can be solved in two simple ways.

One main reason why so many young people are unable to manage their own finances upon finishing high school is that they have been living with their parents for free. As a result, they have never needed to earn a salary or save their money in order to pay bills. Another cause is that schools do not factor personal financial management into their curriculum. Schools focus instead on classic subjects, such as maths, geography, history and languages, which means important life skills are not being taught. Both teachers and parents are failing to prepare young people for the real world.

There are two options for solving young people’s inability to manage personal finances. Firstly, parents should spend time with their children teaching them how money is earned, budgeted and used for either savings or expenses. One simple step could be for parents to start by teaching young children how to manage their pocket money and, as their child grows up, expand into more serious household expenses. Secondly, schools should incorporate life skills into their curriculum for final year students. In this way, children will be able to learn in a supportive environment how their finances need to be budgeted and managed to avoid debt problems later in life.

In conclusion, young people lack financial management skills due to the negligence of parents and schools, which can only be solved if both take more responsibility for equipping school leavers with the right skills.

IELTS Essay Model Q#4

Advertising discourages us from being different and individuals eventually look the same. To what extent do you agree or disagree.

Below is a partial agreement (a balanced view) model opinion essay.

It is sometimes thought that advertisements result in people becoming increasingly similar and that they discourage individuality. In my opinion, advertising certainly  does promote conformity amongst certain people but most people will always make their own individual choices which will make them appear different.

The role of advertising is to promote products in a way that encourages people to buy them and this in turn means that people inevitably end up buying the same things and appearing the same. This is particularly true of the fashion industry which tells followers of fashion what colours to wear in which seasons, what styles of clothes they should wear and even the length of their hair. The adverts put pressure on young people to look fashionable by following looks which have been planned by the fashion industry. As a result, those who are easily influenced by fashion trends will tend to appear more similar and with less individuality in an attempt to be considered fashionable.

However, the wish to appear fashionable and follow fashion trends with strict conformity only applies to a certain group of young “trendy” people. For others, the fashion trends are interesting but not something that should be followed religiously. For instances, while some of them may choose to follow the fashionable colour that season, they may prefer a different hair style which is more suited to their own face shape or character. Consequently, although some aspects of their dress may be similar, the majority of what they wear and how they wear it is different and shows their individual character.

In conclusion, although fashion victims follow trends and may appear similar, they are in the minority as most people prefer to select what they wear and how they look for themselves.

IELTS Essay Model Q#9

Some people believe that development of business results in a loss of cultural ties between countries. Other people contradict this belief. Give your opinion.

Below is a one sided model opinion essay.

The development of business, according to some, has had a negative impact on cultural ties between countries. I do not agree with this as international business can often encourage cultural ties and does not impact on existing ones.

Firstly, international business has resulted in new relationships between countries that previously had little contact. Consequently products from countries all around the world become available to the everyday person which raises their awareness of these countries. As awareness between countries grows, so too does cultural respect and interest. For this reason, there are more people travelling abroad today to experience new cultures than ever before. One good example of this is the long lasting cultural interest between China and Europe which was initially brought about by the silk trade.

Another point to consider is that cultural ties that already exist between countries are not necessarily disturbed by business. Most cultural ties have actually been established due to the development of transportation which has enabled people to travel further distances from their homes. For decades, if not centuries, the British were known to travel to France and even as far as Egypt to enjoy warmer climates as well as to appreciate their culture. Regardless of business or business problems which came later, these cultural ties continue to exist today. In other words, although business may throw a spanner in the works with regards to international relationships from time to time, it cannot undo the deep cultural connections between these countries that have evolved and been enjoyed over time.

To conclude, business mostly certainly does not cause a loss of cultural ties between countries and can, in fact, be the root of establishing new ones.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips & Lessons

You can find writing task 2 tips and more model essays on this page: IELTS Writing Task 2 Main Page

Hi guys,

Share your thoughts…

1. Do you think it is possible to get an overall band score of 9 in IELTS?
2. Have you ever known someone get band 9 overall?

Post your answers in the comments box below.

Liz