Unit 3.

6: Writing GT Sample
Item: Task 1: Informal Letter

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

A friend of yours from a different city has offered to take care of your home while you are on
holiday.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

• thank your friend for offering to help out
• explain the arrangements for picking up the house keys
• suggest interesting things for your friend to do in the area

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write your own address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear __________,

Why is this a good sample answer?

• The format is appropriate.
• The tone is appropriate and consistent (informal)
• The response addresses all the bullet points.
• Paragraphs are used effectively.
• Ideas and information are arranged and linked coherently.
• There is a range of simple and complex sentence structures with a high degree of
grammatical accuracy.
• Vocabulary is appropriate and sufficient for the task.

This is a high level response.

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 Unit 3.6: Writing GT Sample
Item: Task 1: Informal Letter contd

Sample answer

Dear Harry,

I was delighted to hear you could help out by taking care of my home while I’m away on
holiday for the next two weeks. I didn’t want to leave the house empty since there would be
no one to feed my cats. Also the garden needs a good watering every day, now that the dry
season has arrived.

Let me start by explaining how to pick up the keys. I will already have left for the airport by
the time you arrive since my flight is an early morning departure. I have asked my neighbour,
though, to hand you the keys when you arrive. Her name is Mrs Smith and she lives at
number 225, just next to my house. She is expecting you so just knock at her door when you
get here.

You won’t get bored while you’re here as there are lots of interesting things to see and do
in this area. There’s a pleasant lake just 200 metres down the road, with plenty of wildlife. I
know you enjoy watching birds, so bring your binoculars along. There’s also a special effects
cinema which opened last month. They show the latest 3-D movies, so that will keep you
busy in the evenings. Apart from that, I have just bought a new home theatre set with a 50-
inch flat screen TV and high quality speakers. You’ll find a range of dvd movies in the top
drawer. Feel free to enjoy!

Once again, I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. If you have any problems at all, just
call me on 083-357-639.

Best wishes
Simon

(268 words)

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