IELTS Letter Writing - Useful Words & Expressions To complete your IELTS letter writing task within 20 minutes,

it is helpful to know some common phrases and set expressions. Being able to use these will allow you to express your ideas quickly and effectively, without thinking about each and every word. While you're learning their meaning, also make sure you can spell them perfectly. Finally, try the quiz at the bottom of the page to see how well you know these important expression. Apologizing I'm sorry about... I am sorry that... I'm very sorry about... I'm very sorry for... Please forgive me for... I'd like to apologize for... Please accept my apologies. Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal) Asking for Help I'd be grateful if you could... I would be grateful if you could... I would appreciate it if you could... Could you please... I was wondering of you could help me.(informal) I would like to know... Asking for Information I am writing to enquire about... I am writing to find out about... What I am looking for is... I would like to know about/if... Closing I look forward to seeing you. I look forward to hearing from you. I look forward to meeting you. Complaining / expressing dissatisfaction I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with... I'm writing to express my annoyance with... I am not happy about... ...was very disappointing. Conveying regards Please give my best regards to your family.

Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children. Please give my regards to your parents. Expressing satisfaction I was delighted to hear that... I was very happy to learn that... I was thrilled to find out that... I was glad to hear that... ...was very enjoyable. Expressing concern / sympathy I was sorry to hear about... (your accident/ illness) I am writing to express my concern about... Giving bad news I regret to inform you that...(semi-formal) I am sorry to tell you that...(informal) I regret to advise you that...(formal) I am afraid I have some bad news.(informal) Giving good news I am pleased to inform you that...(semi-formal) I am delighted to tell you that...(informal) I am happy to advise you that...(formal) I thought you might like to know that... Giving reasons This is because... This is because of... This is due to... (formal) This is as a result of...(formal) This is owing to...(formal) Making suggestions Would it be a good idea to... Perhaps it would be a good idea to... Thanking Thanks. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you kindly. I can't thank you enough. No words can express my gratitude. I am extremely grateful for... I very much appreciate your ______ing

QUIZ Match the following: 1. Thank you kindly. 2. I am pleased to inform you that... 3. Please give my best wishes to... 4. This is due to... 5. I look forward to hearing from you. 6. I would like to know... 7. I'd like to apologize for... 8. I regret to inform you... a. Apologizing b. Conveying regards c. Giving bad news d. Giving reasons e. Closing f. Thanking g. Giving good news h. Asking for information

Answers: 1-f, 2-g, 3-b. 4-d, 5-e, 6-h, 7-a, 8-c

KEY WORDS for IELTS WRITING Essay Writing Introduction paragraph

A background sentence giving some background information on the essay topic. A more detailed sentence linking the background sentence to the thesis. A thesis that presents your point of view on your given topic. An outline sentence declaring the 2 points you are going to use to support your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 1

A topic sentence illustrating the first point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence). A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action. A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence. A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 2

A topic sentence illustrating the second point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence). A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action. A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence. A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Conclusion paragraph

A summary sentence that briefly states the 2 points you discussed in your supporting paragraphs. A restatement of your thesis using different words. A prediction or recommendation based on the topic you have been given.

Transitions Transitional words and phrases are what gives your essays coherence, we need them to join sentences and thoughts together. Look at the lists below. These are transitional phrases that you can memorize and keep in your arsenal for the IELTS writing module. AGREEMENT: also, plus, in addition, further, furthermore, moreover, additionally, to add to that, next, in accordance with, accordingly, in agreement, finally, for instance, for example, in exemplification, exemplifying that, in fact, factually speaking, in terms of, and so forth, looking at the nexus between, in coordination with, along those lines, collectively speaking, generally speaking, indeed, undoubtedly, obviously, to be sure. CONTRAST: however, contrastingly, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, To put it into perspective, from a different angle, nonetheless, nevertheless, but, yet, a catch to this is, sadly enough, as a hindrance, looking at the holdups, oddly enough, instead, in direct opposition, still, and rather. RESULT: as a result, as a consequence, consequently, thus, therefore, hence, thereby, resulting in, ultimately, in the end, finally, in the overall analysis, in hindsight, in retrospect, retrospectively, vicariously, the long term effect, as a short term result, significantly, as a major effect, effectively, heretofore, hereafter, thereafter, in short, generally, over all, concluding.

Stating Your Opinion

In my opinion, In my view, From my point of view, It seems to me that From my perspective It appears that I realize I imagine
Giving Examples

According to me, To me, I think I believe To my way of thinking I suppose I understand I feel

For example, such as as that is To illustrate

For instance, In other words, like namely To paraphrase

Similar to in common Either...or Neither...nor Just as

As...as also In the same way, At the same time resemble

However,

But

On the contrary, Differ from Although Otherwise Alternatively,

On the other hand, Nevertheless Though Instead Even though

Generalizing

Generally, Overall, In general, It seems to me that All in all, Essentially, All things considered
Expressing Certainty

Generally speaking, On the whole, By and large, I believe Basically, As a rule, For the most part

Certainly, Doubtless, Definitely,

Undoubtedly, No doubt, Of course,

More or less, Up to a point, In a way,

To some extent, Almost, So to speak,

Due to Because of
Showing effect

Because Owing to

Therefore, Consequently, Thus, thereby Hence,

As a result, For this reason, So, Eventually, The reason why

First, Second, Third, Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, During To begin with Simultaneously Since Afterwards When
Adding Information

Last Lastly, Then, First of all, Before After While At the same time After this / that Meanwhile Following this As soon as

Furthermore Also Moreover Likewise Besides Even

In addition And Similarly As well as Too Whats more

If In case Provided that

Whether Unless So that

To summarize Lastly, To conclude with,

In conclusion Finally, In short,

Because of this, As this shows, As can clearly be seen from this example, It is clear that Thus, the idea that To illustrate this, After analyzing both points of view, To provide a summary, Without a doubt, this causes

Free IELTS Writing Sample Letters 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 To someone you have not met, whose name you don't know Opening Dear Sir / Madam Dear Mr Brown, Dear Ms Stone Dear John Dear Anita Ending Yours faithfully

Formal

Semiformal

To someone you may or may not have met, whose last name you know & use

Yours sincerely

Informal

To someone you know well, whose first name you know and use

Best regards Warm wishes

Each kind of letter requires a different style of writing, a specific beginning and ending salutation, formal or informal expressions and varying types of grammatical forms. As you read through the sample IELTS letters below, take note of how they vary depending on the level of familiarity with the person being written to. Practice writing your own letters from sample letter topics, until you can produce all three kinds of letters easily and quickly. Then, you will be able to complete this task effectively and easily on the day of your IELTS exam. Also, every General IELTS Writing Task 1 includes three bulleted points which you need to mention in your letter. Make sure you include these three points or else you will not get high marks, no matter how well you write.