IELTS General Training informal letter: tone, phrases and sample
Write an IELTS General Training Task 1 informal letter: opening and closing phrases, natural tone, covering all bullet points, and a sample.
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The short answer
Informal letters still need full coverage of every bullet point; tone should be friendly but organised.
Friendly, not careless
Use contractions and phrasal verbs, but keep paragraphs and full sentences.
- Dear Sam, / Hi Sam,
- It was great to hear from you.
- Can't wait to see you!
- Take care, / Best wishes,
One paragraph per bullet
Missing a bullet point limits your Task Achievement score, so give each one its own short paragraph.
Related guide: All General Training letter types
Sample opening
Opening
Hi Anna, Thanks so much for your letter — sorry it's taken me a while to reply! I'm writing to tell you about my new flat.
Put this into practice
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Official sources and further reading
Practice examples and study routines are illustrative advice, not official band-scored answers or predictions of exam questions.