GT Task 1. An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit.

[VadimKlimenko]

Dear IELTS mates, please give feedback for my Task 1 General Training Letter. I would also appreciate if those of you who understand thoroughly IELTS writing band descriptors let me know what is probable band of this writing or give any other comments on the task response / coherence / lexical resources / grammatical range of the writing.


An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter
• say how you feel about the visit
• suggest what you could do on his/her birthday
• try to find out what your friend thinks of your idea.
_______________
Dear Brian,

I am very glad that you have decided to visit Baku at the beginning of September. The timing is perfect because the air temperature will not be so high as it is now, and the water temperature will be still good enough to swim in the Caspian Sea. Another advantage of the time you have chosen is my availability. I will be done with my IELTS exam already by that time and will have some time before the start of lessons in the University of Chicago. Needless to say that opportunity to celebrate your birthday here, in Baku, also makes me happy.

I have some ideas how we could celebrate your birthday. The first option is to go to the restaurant of Japanese cuisine, Zakura. I know that you like Asian cuisine and think you will not be disappointed with that place. Another option is to arrange barbecue on my dacha. We can purchase prefabricated meat or stakes and cook them in the garden. Certainly, a couple of bottles of local wine will complement the barbecue.

Brain, I would appreciate if you let me know how you would prefer to spend time on your birthday. Thus, I will book a table in Zakura or make required arrangements on the dacha.

Best regards,
Vadim.

[David.IELTS.Examiner]

Hello!

This is a very good letter. you have covered all the main points and provided some development. Grammatical range and accuracy are high, as is vocabulary, e.g. complement. The style is good, with informal expressions, e.g. couple of bottles. There are mistakes (prefabricated!?) but these do not affect overall meaning and comprehension.

Well done!
David

[Flick]

An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter
• say how you feel about the visit
• suggest what you could do on his/her birthday
• try to find out what your friend thinks of your idea.
_______________
Dear Brian,

I am very glad that you have decided to visit Baku at the beginning of September. The timing is perfect because the air temperature will not be as high as it is now, and the water temperature will still be warm enough to swim in the Caspian Sea. Another advantage of the time you have chosen is my availability. I will be done with my IELTS exam by then and will have some time before the start of classes at the University of Chicago. Needless to say, that opportunity to celebrate your birthday here, in Baku, also makes me happy.

I have some ideas for how we could celebrate your birthday. The first option is to go to a Japanese restaurant, Zakura. I know that you like Asian cuisine and think you will not be disappointed with that place. Another option is to arrange a barbecue on my dacha. We can purchase marinated meat or steaks and cook them in the garden. Certainly, a couple of bottles of local wine will complement the barbecue.

Brian, I would appreciate it if you let me know how you would prefer to spend time on your birthday. Thus, I will book a table in Zakura or make the arrangements on the dacha.

Best regards,
Vadim.