Writing Task 1 Informal letter

cyrielle12cyrielle12 Member Posts: 1 ✭
in IELTS Test

Hi Scott,

I have just checked your lesson about the letter. In the informal letter sample, you use exclamation points which I was told to avoid and keep a neutral tone by my IELTS Teacher last year. Is this actually all right for the IELTS examiners?

Another thing, you use expression such as "of course". It sounds more like spoken English to me. Am I wrong?

lastly, you repeat twice the sentence "going to have a great time together". Once in your introductory paragraph, a second time in your concluding sentence. I thought one of the main purposes of the IELTS test was to focus on the vocabulary and avoid repetitions.

I need to get the highest band possible and, therefore, would like to know if the samples provided in your website are band score 8.0 or 9.0.

Thank you in advance for answering my request.

Cyrielle12

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Answers

  • ScottsEnglishScottsEnglish Administrator Posts: 1,296 admin ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi Cyrielle12

    Thanks for your excellent questions.

    It is absolutely no problem to use exclamation marks when writing a letter to a friend.  Exclamation marks can be used in two ways:

    1. to make an emphatic point in an informal way (to a friend)
    2. to make a very strong point (eg: I am furious with the loud noise made by a local factory in a letter of complaint)

    Either use of an exclamation mark is fine and perfectly acceptable.

    'Of course' is fine to use in either a formal or informal letter - it would depend upon the context and intent being conveyed by the writer.

    The answers provided on the website are band 9.0.  It's okay to repeat suitable vocabulary and phrases.

    For further information about how writing is marked, please go here.

    We hope this information helps with your preparation!
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