Band 8.0Expert

General Task 1: Letter inviting a friend to visit

General Task 1 212 words 1 min read

Task

A friend who lives abroad has told you they would like to visit your town. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, invite them to stay, suggest the best time of year to come, and explain what you could do together. Write at least 150 words. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Jo,

Band 8.0 answer

Dear Jo,

It was wonderful to hear that you are thinking of coming to visit, and I would love you to stay with me while you are here. I have a spare room, so you would be very welcome for as long as you like.

If you can choose when to come, I would suggest late May or early June. The weather is warm without being too hot, the evenings are long, and the town is far less crowded than in July and August. There is also a food festival on the second weekend of June, which I think you would enjoy.

As for what we could do, I thought we could spend a couple of days exploring the old town and the market, then take the train to the coast for a day of walking along the cliffs. If you would like something more relaxed, we could simply sit by the river with a picnic, as we used to. I would also like to introduce you to a few friends of mine who are keen to meet you.

Let me know which dates suit you and I will take a few days off work so that we can make the most of your visit.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Alex

Topics:letterinformalinvitationfriend

Why this scores 8.0

One note for each marking criterion.

Task achievement: Invites, recommends a time with reasons, and lists activities, which covers all three bullet points.
Coherence and cohesion: Each bullet gets its own paragraph, ending with a clear next step.
Lexical resource: Warm, natural informal phrases (make the most of, simply sit by the river) suited to a friend.
Grammatical range and accuracy: Conditionals and 'as we used to' show control of informal structures.
Note: Drafted by AI for study use and not examiner-marked. Treat the band as a target, not a guarantee.

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