Letter to Friend About New Year Celebrations

Your English-speaking friend has asked for your help with a college project he/she is doing about celebrating New Year in different countries. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: Say how important New Year is to people in your country Describe how New Year is celebrated in your country Explain what you like about New Year celebrations in your country

Annotated response

9 correction notes

Dear Luna,

I am excited to learn about your project, which examines New Year’s celebrations around the globe. So, I will share the highlights of New Year’s celebrations in .

New Year holds a lot of significance in my country and it is reflected in the mood of the people and on the streets and houses. As represents a new beginning, people usually offer their prayers to God for a prosperous year ahead. It is followed by cooking traditional meals at home, exchanging gifts and having fun. While elderly members , young people might go out with friends .

My favourite part of this celebration is meeting my extended family, enjoying various activities with them during the day and going out to eat at a restaurant in the evening. you with your project.

Ron

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The letter responds warmly and appropriately to a friend, covering all three bullet points with a clear, well-signposted structure. The main limitation is that the content remains somewhat general, with descriptions of celebrations and personal likes that could be developed with more specific detail.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points from the prompt in a consistently friendly register, though the coverage of how important New Year is and how it is celebrated stays somewhat general rather than fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas progress logically from significance to celebration to personal preference, with effective cohesive devices and referencing, although a few transitions such as 'So' and 'It is followed by' are loosely handled.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and natural for the informal purpose, with phrases like 'prosperous year ahead' and 'holds a lot of significance,' though it relies on some repetition around 'celebrations' and 'people.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A good range of structures is used with mostly accurate control, including relative clauses and conditional-like phrasing, with only minor lapses such as 'depending on their plan' and the fragment 'Hope this will help you.'