Analysis of official IELTS formal letter tasks

This is a detailed analysis of all 26 clearly formal IELTS GT Writing Task 1 tasks published in official Cambridge IELTS exam practice books. It starts with a summary of how the tasks are similar and different to each other, then there is a table going through each task in detail. This is designed to help make exam practice reflect the real test, prioritise what to study, and find particular kinds of tasks. Tasks where different levels of formality are possible will be dealt with in other articles. There are over 500 pages of photocopiable IELTS General and IELTS Academic Writing materials here: https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/ielts-writing/ and more on formal letters more generally here: https://www.usingenglish.com/resources/letter-writing.php

Summary of official IELTS General Writing formal letter tasks

Kinds of official IELTS formal letter and who to

• No task since 1995 has clearly been a reply to a formal letter (so the common real-life phrase “Thank you for your letter” has never been necessary, and has very rarely been possible)
• The most common kinds of people and organisations that you need to write formal letters to are: a future or new employer (5 out of 26 tasks), newspaper or magazine (4 tasks), shop (4 tasks), local council/ local government (2 tasks), educational institution (2 tasks), and hotel (2 tasks).
• The most common kinds of formal letter/ situations to write formal letters in are: complain about bad service etc (6 out of 26 tasks), job applications (5 tasks), getting back lost property (2 tasks), giving feedback on something you were asked to give your opinion on (2 tasks), and giving opinions/ opposing (2 tasks, most recently in 2021). Most kinds of letters (selling something, apologising, cancelling, etc) only occur once.

Opening official IELTS formal letters

• In 20 out of the 26 tasks which clearly need formal letters, you are told to start the letter with “Dear Sir or Madam,” (or “Dear Sir,” once, in a very old task)
• There have recently been two formal letter tasks with the name given as title plus family name (“Dear Mr/ Ms…”)
• Since 2007, if the task asks you to start with “Dear…” (not “Dear Mr/ Ms…”), a formal letter has not been suitable

Functions in the body of official IELTS formal letters

Many functions have appeared once only, so this list just includes functions that have been needed more than once.

• In more than half of clearly formal letters (15 out of 26 tasks), the writer is told to describe and/ or explain something
• Similarly, the task mentions giving reasons or explaining consequences in 13 out of the 26 examples (and giving reasons could be used in many other tasks)
• In 10 tasks, you are asked to complain or give negative feedback
• In 7 tasks, the task requires the writer to make a suggestion or suggestions
• 6 tasks need a request or demand
• 5 tasks involve giving opinions, such as disagreeing or describing advantages
• 3 tasks involve positive feedback, compliments and/ or thanks
• 3 tasks include making arrangements
• 2 tasks include apologies or giving bad news
• 2 tasks involve enquiries/ asking for information
• 2 tasks mean you have to introduce yourself (and that might be possible in a few more examples, though in English we usually avoid self-introductions in letters when possible)

Things to cover in each bullet point of official IELTS formal letter tasks

• 11 out of 26 tasks have two points or a plural in one of the three bullet points (most recently in 2022), and several more probably need more than one point despite not specifically mentioning it. This means that the writer often has to cover more than three points (though probably still in three body paragraphs).

Recent trends in formal IELTS General Writing Task 1 letter tasks

• Most recent tasks are (clearly or probably) responses to something such as an ad, and so could start with mention of what the writer is responding to (“I am writing with regards to your advertisement…”, etc)
• Since 2020 (and in three out of four tests in 2019), all the tasks could (and usually should) be written in clearly formal style or clearly informal/ casual/ friendly style, with no need for medium-formality letters. This means that the candidate can quickly decide on the right level of formality, and can impress the examiner by using either formal written language or idiomatic language
• Complaints are not as common as they used to be (though they have not disappeared)
• As mentioned above, there haven’t been examples of “Dear…” for formal letters recently
• As mentioned above, there have been two examples of “Dear Mr/ Ms….” given in formal letter tasks recently

There has been no major change in the wide variety of kinds of letter, types of people you are writing to, and sorts of function in the body in the different tasks in each year.

Oddities/ Surprises

• There have been examples where the candidate is told to write “Dear Sir or Madam” even though they should know or could easily find out the person’s name (most recently in 2016)
• In some older (but not so old) official practice test books, none of the tasks are responses to other communication

See the parts with a star (*) in the table below for specific examples of oddities.

Conclusions

The clearest conclusion is that candidates need to study language and tactics specific to IELTS General. This is because the tasks and resulting letters are very different from typical formal emails and letters in real life, including the most common opening greetings, opening lines, functions in the body, kinds of emails, etc, being very different from most people’s usual written communications in business or with businesses.

Year by year detailed analysis of official Cambridge IELTS formal letter tasks

The columns below show the test and the year it was published, if this letter is clearly a reply to another letter etc or not, who you must write to, the general sort of letter that is needed, how you are told to start it, what functional language phrases are needed in the body of the letter, and if more than three points need to be covered in the body. A star in brackets (*) means a surprising point like things which are different in all the other tests and things that you are told to do but don’t really match the situation described.