IELTS Informal Letter: Topics, Structure, Phrases & Sample
IELTS Informal Letter, also known as a personal letter, is an informal type of letter that is usually written to a friend, a family member or someone you know personally.
When it says "write a letter to a friend", make sure you always use informal language. Even if the task asks you to write about work-related topic.
Marked by an IELTS examiner See a real informal letter with every mistake corrected and explained Band 7.0, with the exact changes that would take it higher. Tap any correction to see why it was made.IELTS informal letter topics
Informal letter tasks ask you to write to a friend or a family member: to invite, thank, advise, apologise or share news. Practise with these topics:
- Invitation
- Invite a friend from another country to a party at your home. Say what the party is for, how to get to your place and where they can stay.
- Invite a friend to your wedding. Say when and where it is, what will happen and what they should bring or wear.
- Thanks
- A friend helped you when you moved to a new home. Write to thank them, say how they helped and invite them to visit.
- Your friend sent you a birthday present. Thank them, say how you use it and tell them how you celebrated.
- Advice
- A friend is planning to visit your country. Recommend places to see, the best time to go and what to bring.
- A friend wants to learn a new skill and asks for your advice. Suggest how to start and offer to help.
- Apology
- You missed a friend’s birthday party. Apologise, explain why you could not come and suggest meeting soon.
- You borrowed something from a friend and damaged it. Explain what happened, apologise and say how you will fix it.
- News
- You have started a new job. Tell a friend about the job, the people you work with and how you feel about it.
- You have moved to a new city. Describe your new home, the area and what you do in your free time.
- RequestYou are going on holiday. Ask a friend to look after your pet, and explain what they need to do.
- RecommendationRecommend a book or a film to a friend. Say what it is about, why you liked it and why they would enjoy it.
- PlansYou and a friend planned a trip, but you have to change the dates. Explain why and suggest new dates.
- CongratulationsA friend has passed an important exam. Congratulate them, say how you heard and suggest a way to celebrate.
Example informal letter task
Here is how this kind of task looks in the exam. The corrected sample letter further down answers it:
Writing Task 1 General Training 20 minutes
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Write a letter to your friend from a different country. Invite him/her to a party at your home and include the following:
- what the party is about
- give directions on how to get to your place
- suggest how to accommodate him/her
Write at least 150 words.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear ... ,
Note! You will find the IELTS Informal Letter Sample with grammar corrections and estimated band score down below.
IELTS Informal Letter Structure & Vocabulary
For writing an IELTS Informal Letter, we have listed the letter structure with a wide selection of useful vocabulary and phrases.
- 1Dear John,
- 2Sorry I haven't written for so long…
- 3
- 4Best wishes,
Anna
- Dear John, / My dearest Julianne,
- Apologise or give your reason for writing
- Apologise
- I am sorry I haven't written for so long. My work keeps / studies keep me so busy, that I never have a minute to myself
- I am really sorry it has taken me so long to write but I have ...
- Give purpose
- I am writing to thank / tell / ask / apologise / wish / congratulate …
- I regret to inform you that
- Else
- Hello Sofia! Do you remember me? I'm the girl you met ...
- It was really great hearing from you
- More details
- Expressing congratulations
- Marvellous to hear that ... / What a surprise to hear that!
- I am happy for you / Good for you!
- How wonderful that you are getting married!
- You should be so proud of yourself
- Expressing regret
- Unfortunately, I've got some bad news for you
- I find it hard to tell you that
- I can't find an easy way to tell you this
- Words can't express how much I regret
- If you need anything, I'd be glad to ...
- Expressing thanks
- How nice of you to think of me / Thanks again!
- I won't forget your kind gesture
- Giving advice
- If I were you I'd ... / ... how about doing this
- Why don't you ... / Let me give you some advice
- Hope this helped / Let me know how it went
- Letters of invitation / accepting or refusing an invitation
- I'd love it if you could come to
- I hope you will be able to make it
- I hope we can get together some other time. How about next week instead?
- Informal ending, name, signature
- With best wishes, Jo
- Yours, Jo
- With love and many thanks from me, Jo
- With love, Jo
Two common tone mistakes
Many students lose marks in informal letters because they get the tone wrong. Watch out for these two mistakes:
Being too friendly with people you know
Only close friends and family get an informal letter. A colleague, manager, teacher or landlord counts as semi-formal, even if you get on well with them in real life. See types of letters.
Writing like a text message
- ✓I'm, don't
- ✕see ya
- ✕OMG
- ✕Academic words
Use contractions, but no abbreviations or acronyms. Academic language is just as wrong here and will reduce your score.
A real informal letter, corrected by an IELTS examiner
A student wrote this letter on the example task above, and an IELTS examiner marked it. Mistakes are in red and crossed out, and the examiner’s corrections are in green right after them. Hover over a correction, or tap it on your phone, to see why it was changed.
Writing Task 1 Student letter 20 minutes
Write a letter to your friend from a different country. Invite him/her to a party at your home and include the following:
- what the party is about
- give directions on how to get to your place
- suggest how to accommodate him/her
Write at least 150 words.
Begin your letter as follows: Dear ... ,
Dear Matthew,
I am writing to invite you to a party I'm going to have at my home on March 12.
The party I'm going to arrange is planned to start with a poker tournament at 3 o'clock and this should take thea maximum of three hours. After that I've got some mates coming over who will play some good music and so on.
As you have visited my home before I assume you remember how to find thisit. However, in case you don't, I'll give you some directions. Take a bus number 13 at Central Station and ridego towards Mitchell's Shopping Centre. Just after you've passed thatthe Centre, there is a bus stop before the junction on the right. Then movego along the same street for about 100 metersmetres and you should see my house at 67 Mitchell Street. As I've got plenty of free space in my house you don't need to worry about accommodation. I could reserve you a separate room if you are interestedI can keep a room for you.
Please let me know what thoughts you have regarding to thatthis/the party and whether it suitsfits into your time schedule.
I look forward to your reply!
Best wishes,
John
(191 words)
7.0
Examiner’s band scorefor the letter as written, before the corrections
What this letter does well
The examiner gave this letter band 7. The tone is relaxed and friendly, exactly right for a friend (mates, I’ll give you some directions, Best wishes), and all three bullet points are covered with useful detail: the programme, step-by-step directions and a room to stay in.
