# IELTS General Training letters

General Training Writing Task 1 is a letter of at least 150 words, written in about 20 minutes, responding to a situation and covering three bullet points. It can be personal, semi-formal or formal.

## Formal, semi-formal and informal letters compared

| | Formal | Semi-formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you write to | Someone you do not know, or an organisation: a company, council, college or hotel manager | Someone you know by name in a formal relationship: a landlord, manager, teacher or neighbour | A friend or family member you know well |
| Opening | Dear Sir or Madam, (name unknown) or Dear Mr Brown, (a named person you have not met) | Dear Mr Smith, / Dear Ms Patel, | Dear Sam, (in the test, copy the greeting the prompt gives; Hi Sam, is fine outside the test) |
| Closing | I look forward to hearing from you. | Thank you for your understanding. / I look forward to hearing from you. | Can't wait to see you! / Write back soon! |
| Sign-off line | Yours faithfully, after Dear Sir or Madam; Yours sincerely, after a name. Then your full name. | Yours sincerely, or Kind regards, then your full name | Best wishes, / Love, / Take care, then your first name |
| Tone | Polite, impersonal and precise | Polite and respectful, but warmer and more personal | Friendly, relaxed and chatty |
| Contractions | Avoided: write I am, I would, do not (not I'm, I'd, don't) | Acceptable sparingly, e.g. I'm afraid, with mostly full forms | Normal: I'm, it's, can't |
| Example opening sentence | I am writing to report a suitcase that failed to arrive on my flight from Dubai to Manchester last week. | I am writing about the heating in my flat, which stopped working completely last Tuesday. | Sorry I've been so quiet lately - moving house took far more out of me than I expected! |

- [Formal letters](https://testmigo.com/ielts/writing/letters/formal): A formal letter goes to a person or organisation you do not know, such as an airline, a local council, a college or a hotel manager. The tone is polite, impersonal and precise, with full forms instead of contractions and no chatty asides.

- [Semi-formal letters](https://testmigo.com/ielts/writing/letters/semi-formal): A semi-formal letter goes to someone you know by name but have a formal relationship with, such as a landlord, a manager, a child's teacher or a neighbour. The tone is polite and respectful but warmer and more personal than a formal letter, and the odd contraction is acceptable.

- [Informal letters](https://testmigo.com/ielts/writing/letters/informal): An informal letter goes to a friend or family member you know well, and the prompt greets them by first name. The tone is friendly, relaxed and chatty, with contractions, everyday words and the warmth you would use when talking to them.