IELTS Letter Writing / GT Writing Task 1:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
A friend who lives in a different city has invited you to his/her daughter’s 8th birthday. However, you can not accept the invitation due to some personal reasons.
Write a letter to this friend. In your letter,
- thank him/her for the invitation
- mention why you can not attend the birthday party
- offer to meet him/her some other day
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear ……………….,
Sample Answer 1:
Dear Wilson,
It was great to hear from you, and I’m really surprised that Diana has already turned eight! It sounds as if she has grown so fast. I wish her a happy birthday and thank you for inviting me to this special occasion.
I’d love to be at Diana’s birthday party but I’m terribly sorry that I can’t make it due to some deadlines at my office next week. The problem is that I’ve been promoted to the assistant manager position a few months ago and the work pressure has skyrocketed since then. The office management has assured me that I’ll be given an assistant soon but until that happens, I’ll hardly have time for myself.
Perhaps I can visit you sometime next summer when I hope I’ll stay with you for a couple of days. Please share some birthday photos on Facebook so that I get a glimpse of the celebration. I owe Diana a birthday gift.
Anyway, I must finish today. So thanks once again for your kind invitation, and I do hope that we can get together sometime in the summer.
Warm wishes,
Harris
Sample Answer 2:
Dear Finch,
It’s so good to hear from you, and thank you so much for taking the trouble to invite me to your daughter’s birthday party which is to be held on the 9th of August, only a few days away from now. I can’t really believe that your daughter is already 8 years old when it actually feels like she was born only a few years ago!
Anyway, as much as I’d love to attend the birthday party of your lovely daughter, the truth is I can’t really do it since I’ve some other commitments for that evening. In fact, I will have to remain busy and occupied during that evening at my work since one of my foreign bosses is coming to audit the financial records of our office, and as a Senior Accountant, I’ll have to accompany him for the rest of the evening.
So, I’m really sorry that I won’t be able to join you on such a joyous occasion for your family. However, I’d love to visit you all a couple of days later to wish your daughter a special birthday, even though a belated one.
Hope to see you soon.
Warm wishes,
Brian
