You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
A friend of yours has recently had a baby.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter include:
- Congratulations on the baby
- Ask about the baby
- Offer to help in any way you can
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear …,
Dear Julia,
I was so thrilled to hear the wonderful news about the arrival of your beautiful baby! Congratulations to you and Steve! I hope you are all doing well and settling into this exciting new chapter of your lives.
How is the little one doing? I can’t wait to hear all the details! What’s their name, and how are they adjusting to life outside the womb? I’m sure you must be over the moon, and I’d love to know how you’re finding everything so far—especially how you’re handling the sleepless nights!
Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you during this busy time. Whether it’s running errands, babysitting for a few hours, or simply bringing over a meal, I’d be more than happy to lend a hand in any way that might make things easier for you.
Wishing you all the love and joy. Looking forward to meeting the little one soon!
Best wishes,
Kate
161 words
Band Score
- Task Achievement (9/9):
The letter fully addresses all three bullet points from the task:
- The writer congratulates the friend on the baby in the opening paragraph, expressing excitement and good wishes.
- In the second paragraph, the writer asks about the baby, inquiring about the name and health, while acknowledging the typical challenges of having a newborn.
- The letter concludes by offering help and suggesting specific ways the writer can assist, such as running errands or babysitting.
The response is well-developed with relevant details, showing clear understanding of the task requirements.
- Cohesion & Coherence (9/9):
The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, each addressing a specific point. The writer uses cohesive devices, such as “I was so thrilled to hear,” “How is the little one doing?” and “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” to smoothly transition between ideas. The structure is logical, and the letter flows naturally from congratulations to inquiries and then to an offer of help.
There are no sudden shifts in topic or unnecessary details, ensuring the letter is coherent and easy to follow.
- Grammatical Range & Accuracy (9/9):
The writer demonstrates a wide range of grammatical structures, including complex sentences and questions:
- “I was so thrilled to hear the wonderful news about the arrival of your beautiful baby!”
- “What’s their name, and how are they adjusting to life outside the womb?”
All grammatical elements, including verb tenses, pronouns, and sentence structures, are used correctly. The variety of sentence types (declarative, interrogative, and conditional) also contributes to the high score.
- Lexical Resource (9/9):
The vocabulary is varied, appropriate, and natural for an informal letter to a friend. The writer uses both everyday expressions and more specific terms:
- “Settling into this exciting new chapter”
- “Over the moon”
- “Handling the sleepless nights”
The tone is casual but warm, using contractions (“can’t,” “I’d”) and familiar phrases that suit the context. There is no repetition of key words, and idiomatic expressions like “over the moon” enhance the overall tone without being overly formal.
Summary of Scores:
|
Criterion |
Score |
|
Task Achievement |
9 |
|
Cohesion & Coherence |
9 |
|
Grammatical Range & Accuracy |
9 |
|
Lexical Resource |
9 |