Letter to a friend offering a television for sale

The task

You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

→why you are selling the television?
→describe the television
→suggest a date when your friend can come and see it

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8189 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Sarah,

I hope you have been having a great week! I am reaching out because I am planning to move into a smaller apartment next month, and I have decided to sell my television as it will not fit in my new living room.

It is a 50-inch Sony Bravia 4K smart TV that I bought just over a year ago. It is in pristine condition with no scratches or dead pixels, and it comes with the original remote and wall-mounting bracket. The picture quality is incredible, especially for movies and gaming, and it supports all the major streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+.

Since I know you mentioned wanting to upgrade your current setup, I thought you might be interested in taking it off my hands for a very reasonable price. Would you be free to drop by this coming Saturday afternoon to check it out in person? If that time does not work, let me know when you might be available next week.

I would love for it to go to a good home rather than just selling it to a stranger online.

Best wishes,

James

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Write a letter, get a band free →

Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with natural, cohesive language and maintaining a consistent, friendly tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is including unnecessary formal phrases like 'I am writing to inform you' or failing to provide specific details about the television, which leads to a lack of development.

→Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.
→Contractions, phrasal verbs and a warm opening line are expected; a stiff formal tone loses marks here.
→Still cover every bullet in its own paragraph; friendly does not mean unstructured.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

pristine
in original, perfect, and clean condition
dead pixels
tiny points on a screen that do not work
setup
the arrangement of electronic equipment and devices
taking it off my hands
agreeing to buy or remove something I own
in person
physically present rather than online or via phone
reasonable price
an amount of money that is fair and affordable

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Informal. Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More other letters

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