Letter Writing Tips for IELTS General Test- Writing/ Task 1

 - September 26, 2012

LETTER WRITING

In Task 1 of the IELTS General Writing section, you must write a letter about a given situation. This letter will be one of the following types: 

Style	Characteristics	Opening	Ending
Formal	To someone you have not met, whose name you don't know	Dear Sir / Madam	Yours faithfully
Semi-formal	To someone you may or may not have met, whose last name you know & use	Dear Mr Parker, Dear Ms Stone,	Yours sincerely
Informal	To someone you know well, whose first name you know and use	Dear James Dear Anita	Best regards Warm wishes
Other Openings	Dear John, A semi-formal letter will also open with Dear and then be followed by a name, (if you decide that in the situation you would know the name) or by Sir (if it's a man), Madam (if it's a woman) or Sir/Madam if you don't know, eg: Dear Mr. Phillips, or Dear Mrs. Phillips, Dear Sir, or Dear Madam, Dear Sir/Madam,

Though you see 3 types of letters in the chart, your letter writing task will ask you to write either a reasonably informal letter to a friend or a semi-formal letter. Each kind of letter requires a different style of writing, a specific beginning and ending salutation, formal or informal expressions.

A formal letter can be identified in several ways:

· the tone, which is formal and business-like and serious

· the use of Dear Sir / Madam

· the absence of contractions

· the use of formal expressions ("Thank you kindly in advance.")

· the closing salutation ( "Yours faithfully", etc.)

The Opening Greeting of the Letter

The opening of your letter should reflect which one you are writing. See the chart above. 

Dear Sir / Madam  

 The Opening Paragraph of the Letter

Semi-Formal 

In a semi-formal letter, it is important to state the reason for the letter straight away. This is unlike a letter to a friend where you can be a little chatty right from the beginning, but don't ramble. 

Informal Letter 

If the letter is a less formal one to a friend then you should open the letter in a friendlier way. For example:

Hi Rohit! It's been so long since I've heard from you. I hope you are doing well and I hope all you family are doing fine. I'm pretty good in spite of working hard. Anyway, the reason I'm writing is...

The Substance of the Letter

Here are some helpful phrases about language to use in the substance of the letter which will help you to answer the task well. You could use the following phrases to help you for semi-formal letters:

Asking for Help

I am writing to ask/inquire...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing with reference to...
I am writing in connection with...
I am writing in response to...
In reply to your letter, I am writing to... (if the question indicates that you
have already received  a letter)
 I would be grateful if you could...
I need to ask your advice about...
I'd like to ask for information about...
What I'm looking for is...

Apologizing

I'm very sorry that/about...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize about...
Please accept my apologies

Complaining

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction/annoyance/ about...
I'm writing to express my anger at...
I am not happy about...
... is not what I expected/was expecting.
I want to know what you are going to do about this situation.

Please note-  When complaining, don't get too angry. In a polite semi-formal letter, you should not be insulting and sound too heated and definitely not abusive. Also, do not over-exaggerate. If it's a reasonably small and understandable problem, do say that you're not satisfied but show that you understand and stay calm in your expressions.

Thanking

I'm very grateful for...
I'd like to thank you very much for...
I very much appreciated...

Ending your Letter

In English, before the sign off we often end letters with certain phrases. These can be included in most letters and will make your letter seem realistic. 

For a formal letter, you could use:

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking you in advance for your help, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

For a more informal letter you could use:

If you need to know anything else, just get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thanks a lot for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.

Plan to Score High on the IELTS-1

 

Plan to Score High on the IELTS

- September 23, 2012

Develop Persistence and Focus to score high on the IELTS

Persistence is not allowing anything to stop you from achieving a goal or pursuing an activity once you start it unless it's something really severe. For that you need to maintain discipline and develop vision. In this post, I give you three tools to develop vision, and focus. Using them you should be able to persist until you reach the desired outcome.

1) Make a checklist of your job hours, (timings), commuting or driving time, gym or dance class and whatever else it is that you do. Post it where you can easily find it, and fit the IELTS practice work into your day, for 45 minutes to an hour at least 5 days a week. You know we all spend our time on activities in one of four ways, by working on:

o urgent and important things

o urgent but not important things

o important but not urgent things

o not important and not urgent things

When something is urgent, you rush to do it. When something is important, you prioritize it. Everyday we are coping to manage urgent and and important tasks simultaneously. Urgent means it requires immediate attention. Urgent and important is the NOW stuff! Turn off the gas, go to the gym so you feel healthier, stop the baby crying, go to your class -don’t miss it, go to work on time, go to the doctor if you are coughing badly or some pain is not going away, make the payment for your rent/society dues, electricity, mobile phone if one or more are past due.

Urgent but not important things, means you must not avoid these tasks, such as paying bills (mentioned above), paying income tax, or making your life/car insurance payment, but it can be done later, just remember to do it before the deadline. Important has to do with results: important activities contribute to your mission, values, and high priority goals.

2) Imagine it is two (or more) years from now and we are looking back. We have accomplished many of the things that are important to us. What picture do you see in your mind that represents that accomplishment? If you’re a visual type of person, make a drawing or a poster and look at it. That ‘ll help you keep your vision in mind.

3) Write a Mission/Vision statement for what you see yourself doing two years from now and list the activities and sub-activities

3.1. What action is to be taken?

3.2. So what first –second –third-fourth -fifth step actions do you have to take to get to that picture in your Mission statement?

3.3. Who will be involved?

3.4. How will they do it?

3.5. When will the action be taken?

3.6. Where will the action be taken?

3.7. What resources will be required?

3.8. How will the success be measured?

3.9. What follow-up action will be required?

So from your answers to the Question in No.3, especially Point 3.2, you can make your list of important tasks. Points 3.3 to 3.8 will help you to map out how to accomplish No. 3.2, and for No. 3.9 you can set your own review date, for every three months from the time you write your Mission statement.

You might have several steps to take for Point No. 3.2. There might be a diploma course, certification class, IELTS class, applications to make etc. For each major step, do Points 3.3-3.9 separately then. This might take a little while, but it is better than getting overwhelmed later thinking, “I have to do this and that and this and that and the other... help!!!!! I don’t know where to start and what to do!!!”

Whenever you can, IELTS students, test-takers check out the websites below for listening practice. It will help you a great deal for the entire IELTS test; especially Listening test and the Reading Comprehension section. You’ll be ready. Listening to these new stories is going to be really helpful to build your vocabulary, get used to accents, and for general comprehension. There are audios, videos and written stories- No, it isn’t given in the test format but it is presented in a very simple and attractive way. (In the actual IELTS Listening Test you would have about 30 minutes to listen to 4 sections, and complete 40 questions).
All the best for your English learning plan and IELTS Test!

SAMPLE MISSION STATEMENTS

"To encourage and equip others to live the lives they want to live."

"To inspire change through teaching."

"To equip others with the tools and resources to pursue the life they want to live."

“I love watching others get inspired by the work of great artists and the possibilities of new techniques. My goal is to become an art teacher.” 

“It's important to me to protect our environment without hindering our ability to grow as a society. I plan to study environmental engineering in college.”

"To create stories that educate, entertain and inspire people around the world."

"To pursue lifelong learning and inspire others to do the same."

"To use my gifts to inspire others to achieve great things."

"To improve the wellbeing of people and businesses throughout the world."

"To treat everyone I encounter with love and compassion."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2012/01/120105_6min_english_2012hopes.shtml

A good site, helpful for students and tutors alike, to match up with each other: 
http://tutorindia.net