IELTS Prep Part 4: Writing Task 1 General — The Three Letter Tones

Category: Study Abroad · Series: IELTS Preparation · Read time: ~7 minutes**

General Training Task 1 is letter-writing: a situation, three bullet points to cover, and a tone the situation dictates — formal, semi-formal or informal. This note covers the tone system, the structure, and the language per tone.

Table of Contents

1. The Task Card
2. The Three Tones and Their Triggers
3. The Letter Structure
4. Language by Tone
5. The Errors That Cost Bands
6. How Exams Probe This Topic
7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

1. The Task Card

• The format. A described situation (“you recently bought a faulty appliance…”), three bullet points (what happened, what you want done, etc.), 20 minutes, 150+ words; the letter must cover all three bullets fully (Task Achievement’s core).
• The marking. The same four criteria — with Task Achievement meaning bullet-coverage + the right tone + a plausible, developed situation.

2. The Three Tones and Their Triggers

1. Formal — the recipient is unknown or official (a company’s manager, a council): complaints, applications, requests to strangers.
2. Semi-formal — a known person in a formal-ish role (your landlord, your boss, a neighbour you know): requests, arrangements, explanations.
3. Informal — a friend-or-family: invitations, apologies, thank-yous, news-and-requests to intimates.

• The tone test: the prompt’s recipient decides; a formal complaint written informally (or the reverse) caps Task Achievement at 5-6 — the tone is the first-marking decision.

3. The Letter Structure

1. Greeting — Dear Sir or Madam (formal) / Dear Mr Sharma (semi) / Dear Priya (informal).
2. Opening paragraph — the reason-for-writing in one or two sentences (state it immediately — no long preambles).
3. Body paragraphs — the three bullets developed: one bullet per paragraph (minimum), each with specifics-and-elaboration (a situation, a detail, a consequence) — the development that separates 6 from 7.
4. Closing paragraph — the call-to-action or forward-look (“I look forward to your prompt response”; “Let me know which day suits you”).
5. Sign-off — Yours faithfully (Dear Sir/Madam) / Yours sincerely (named recipient) / Best wishes, Take care (informal) — the greeting-sign-off pairing rule (Faithfully-with-unnamed, Sincerely-with-named) is a classic error point.

4. Language by Tone

• Formal: “I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with…”; “I would be grateful if you could…”; “Furthermore/However”; the full forms (I am, do not).
• Semi-formal: “I wanted to let you know…”; “Would it be possible to…?” — polite-request frames with personal warmth.
• Informal: “Great to hear from you!”; “Sorry I couldn’t make it”; “Anyway, let’s catch up soon”; contractions throughout; the exclamations-and-questions that signal friendliness; informal linkers (by the way, so, anyway).
• The mixing ban. One tone consistently — an “I wanna” in a complaint or a “Yours faithfully” to a friend is a band-cap.

5. The Errors That Cost Bands

• Bullet-miss or thin coverage — a one-line bullet caps Achievement.
• Tone drift — inconsistent register across the letter.
• The memorised mega-phrase — template padding (long memorised openings) reads as formulaic Lexical.
• Under-development — the letter that narrates without detail (the specific dates, the specific problem, the specific ask).
• Wrong sign-off pairing — the Faithfully/Sincerely swap.

6. How Exams Probe This Topic

• The practice regime: alternate formal/semi/informal letters across the final month’s plan (Part 8); write from real prompts, checked against tone-and-bullet criteria.
• The transfer: Task 2 (essay) skills — paragraphing, linking — carry over; the letter’s tone system is the only new layer.

7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

• Tones. Formal (unknown/official), semi-formal (known-formal), informal (friend) — the recipient decides.
• Structure. Greeting → purpose → three bullet-paragraphs developed → call-to-action → sign-off.
• Pairing. Sir/Madam–Faithfully; named–Sincerely; friend–Best wishes.
• Development. Every bullet gets specifics — the 6-vs-7 differentiator.

Conclusion. The GT letter is tone-plus-coverage: pick the register from the recipient, cover every bullet with developed specifics, and close with the right greeting-sign-off pairing. Master the three tone-banks here and Task 1 becomes the quickest reliable marks in the General Training paper.

Practice Corner: Five Tone Checks (with Answers)

1. Writing to an unknown company manager — which tone? — Formal (“Dear Sir or Madam”).
2. Writing to your landlord — Semi-formal (“Dear Mr Sharma”).
3. “Yours faithfully” pairs with? — “Dear Sir or Madam” (the unnamed recipient).
4. The sign-off for a friend? — “Best wishes” / “Take care”.
5. The bullet rule for Task Achievement? — All three bullets developed with specifics — one line each is not development.

Model Skeleton: The Complaint Letter (Formal)

Dear Sir or Madam, / I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a washing machine (Order #4512) purchased from your store on 12 March. / The machine has developed two faults: it stops mid-cycle and the drum makes a grinding noise. I have restarted it several times following the manual’s instructions, but the problem persists. / As the product is under warranty, I request a replacement within seven days or a full refund. I have enclosed the invoice and the service-request records (nos. 88 and 91). / I look forward to your prompt response. / Yours faithfully, A. Sharma. — Note the anatomy: purpose in line one, the developed situation with specifics, the concrete ask with a timeline, the evidence, and the formal close. Rewrite this skeleton for any complaint prompt; the examiners’ criteria — coverage, tone consistency, development — are all visible in its structure.