Letter to a Friend About Moving House

  • Housing
  • Notification
  • Invitation

You have recently moved to a different house. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter • explain why you have moved • describe the new house • invite your friend to come and visit Dear.............,

Annotated response

2 correction notes

Dear Maggi, I am writing to let you know have moved to a bigger house! We just could not go on living in the two-bedroom apartment now that the children are growing up and we need more space for indoor activities. So we started looking and finally, here we are in our new home. I’m sure you’ll love it. We have three bedrooms now and two balconies. The house comes with spacious bathrooms and a modern kitchen. The kids are happy because there is more space with the big living room and the garden outside. But James is perhaps the happiest of all because this house is near to his office. Why don’t you come round this weekend and see what you think of our new place? We would all love to see you and if the weather can have a barbecue party in the garden. Our new address and phone number are below, so give us a call and let us know when to expect you. Lots of love, Emma

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points with relevant family details and a warm, natural tone. However, it is written as one continuous block rather than organised paragraphs, including the greeting and closing. The reference to an address and phone number below is also unsupported by any contact details in the supplied text.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

8.0

The letter covers all three bullet points—reason for moving, description of the house, and a friendly invitation—with well-developed, relevant detail and a consistently appropriate informal tone throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion

5.5

The ideas follow a clear sequence from the need for space to the house description and invitation. However, the whole letter is one continuous block, including its greeting and closing, so the main stages lack paragraph separation.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is natural and appropriate for a personal letter, including spacious, indoor activities and barbecue party. The wording conveys the family’s practical reasons and enthusiasm clearly; an informal letter does not require more elaborate synonyms merely to sound sophisticated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8.0

Varied complex sentences, conditionals and verb forms are used with strong control. The expression "near to his office" is grammatically valid and does not require correction. Meaning remains clear throughout the letter.

More responses with feedback

View all 11 responses (6.5–8.0)