Basics of IELTS Letter Writing

Basics of Letter Writing in IELTS

> Leave a line after every part / paragraph of the letter.

> The entire letter will be left aligned.

> You should write your name at the end of the letter, after the Sign off. Avoid writing it in the Introduction.

There will be 5 parts in which the letter should be ideally divided:

1.      Opening greeting – Dear / Dearest _______ for a friend, colleague or a person of similar authority, Respected ________ for a manager, teacher, or a person of a higher authority.

2.      Introduction – Greet the person who you’re writing to and ask them how they’re doing. Also, very important, write the reason for writing the letter.

3.      Body – The BODY paragraphs should be elaborated according to the task prompts given to you. You can divide the body into 3 separate paragraphs - 1 for each task prompt. Explain your situation following the reason of your letter, for example if you apologised to a friend for not attending their housewarming party, you should write about the circumstances that led to that. 

4.      Closing – You can write phrases like “give my regards to the family…” or “hope to see you very soon…”. Write an appropriate concluding line according to the letter topic. Remember, this is not supposed to be a paragraph, just 1-2 sentences.

5.       Sign off – Lots of love for a friend or relative, Warm regards / Regards for people you do not know and are writing to the first time, and Respectfully / Sincerely for authorities like your college principal, or a government official.