Below is a model answer for an IELTS invitation letter. This particular invitation letter was reported in the IELTS exam last week. The aim of the invitation is a public event. Other invitations can sometimes include holiday invites, private celebration invites or even formal invites from a business perspective.
Instructions:
Writing Task 1: Write a letter to your friend who lives in another country and in your letter:
- a. Invite him/her to a public event in your country.
b. Describe the public event.
c. Explain about other plans you have for your friend when he/she will visit.
IELTS Invitation Letter Model Answer
Hi Dave,
How have you been since we last met?
I thought I’d drop you a line and see if you fancy coming over for Bonfire night which is on November 5th.
Bonfire night is a great event in England, particularly in my hometown. It starts as soon as the sun has set because the event is held around a huge bonfire. As the weather is cold, the bonfire adds wonderful warmth. On the fire, there’s a guy which represents Guy Fawkes, a man who once tried to blow up Parliament. On top of that there’s also fireworks and a chance to cook your own food on the fire, which I’m sure you’ll love.
While you’re over, we’ll be able to do a trip to London as I know you’ve always wanted to visit. The Christmas lights will have been switched on by then and they are amazing. You’ll also be able to visit the Christmas markets and do all your Christmas shopping.
I really hope you’ll be able to come over. It won’t be the same without you.
Write back soon,
Sandra
Words = 183
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Hi Irene,
How have you been since we last met?
I thought I’d drop you a line to invite you for my birthday next week the 31st of December.
I would love to have you present as it is going to be a lovely evening with dinner and friends over and then we though of bringing in the New Year’s with some amazing fireworks. Your presence would mean a lot to me Therefore, I would like you to be here in the UAE before the 31st of December. I insist you to stay over at my place during your trip so you don’t have to worry about the accommodation.
While your over, we’ll be able to go around the city for some site seeing. We could also visit Dubai Mall to watch the amazing light show and the dancing fountain. You could also do some shopping for yourself too.
I really hope you’ll be able to come over. It won’t be the same without you.
Write back soon,
Nancy
Dear Joan,
I hope you been doing great! It’s been long since we last met.
Just writing to invite you to my country to attend one of the biggest cybersecurity conference happening next month in New Delhi. Yes, you heard it right, It’s an annual hacking conference!.
So this is the same cybersecurity public event that you have been trying to attend for the last 2 Years but always fail to attend for various reasons. The event shall take place at Hotel Hyatt Regency in New Delhi Downtown starting from the 2nd of July for the consecutive 7 days. The event will be attended by 10,000 security researchers and various security agencies like NSA, FBI, RAW, etc. I know how badly you wanted to attend this so I already bought a ticket for you!
Besides, I’ve planned more fun activities for us during your visit. After the conference, we’ll go for 2 days trip to the Taj Mahal followed by skydiving over a drop zone near Tajmahal. Everything from airport pickup to your stay, transport will be taken care of by me.
Please get back to me as soon as you can.
Best Regards,
Kunal
Hi Mary,
How have you been since we last met? I’ve been hoping to see you again.
I would like to invite you for my state Christmas carnival which is on the 26th – 29th December. This is an opportunity for us to meet again while having fun.
The state Christmas carnival is an annual event. During this carnival, there is usually a parade and display of the beauty, cultural dressings and cultural dancing of various villages in the state. It is always very colourful and interesting event and most times takes two days or more because of the large number of villages in the state. People from all over the world also come to experience this event.
After the carnival, we could go to marina Resort which is the slave trade centre that you’ve always wanted to visit. We could also do some tourist shopping, go to the beach and visit my family too.
It’s going to be a really fun time for us.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Kana.
I love the Christmas carnival idea, nicely written 👌🏽
Hello Tunde,
How have you been since we last met ?
I thought I’d drop you a line and see if you fancy coming over for the Eyo masked men festival which is on August 28th.
The Eyo masked men festival is a great event in Nigeria, particularly in my hometown Lagos. It starts as soon as the summer commences because the event is a month long festival. As schools are on holidays, the Eyo masked men festival adds excitement to the city. On the streets, there are masked men with white robes and polo bataons which represents the Eyo spitit. The masked men have a hat on their heads that signifies protection from evil spirits. Furthermore there’s also food and drinks, which I’m sure you love.
While you are around, we’ll be able to make a trip to the Scuba diving club as I know you’ve always wanted to visit. The Summer markets will be open by then and they are amazing. You’ll be bale to visit the Summer markets and do all your Summer Shopping.
I really hope you’ll be able to come over. It wont be the same without you.
Write back soon,
Florence
Hello Mike!
I hope that you and your family are all well. Since, I´m aware that you are coming soon, I want to invite you to a public Christmas event here in Colorado. Likewise, I am glad to share several wonderful activities that we can do during your visit.
I am an active member of Save a Heart in Estes Park. Every single year on December 20th, we organize a Public Gathering at the Rocky Mountain National Park Resort in Aspen meeting room. The only action to take to be part of this public event is to sign up via email and immediately they will send you a bracelet. During the event we share stories about inclusion, respect, health and wellness. The main members always bring a tasty buffet and they have some stands with special items to sell.
Since the celebration is in a resort, I was thinking that we can make a reservation for one or two nights and there we can do some adventurous activities.Such as hiking, climbing , biking, horse riding, campfires, tennis, football, baseball and so much more!
Please let me know what you think about it. Remember that Estes Park is a touristic place with so much to offer. I invite you to search online. And remember, even though I´m suggesting making a reservation in a resort , the rest of the days you can stay at my place.
Huge hug!!! Sincerely,
Molly
Hi Diana,
Thank you so much for inviting me over to your house, because of you this holiday was fantastic. We had so much fun, and I feel like the time spent together has truly cemented our friendship.
Though we had a great time on holiday, I have one small problem: I just remembered that I had forgotten my wallet at your house and, besides the money, it contains some really important stuff inside. Before I left, we had been watching a very emotional film which got me really distracted and it was completely wiped out of my memory that my wallet was lying on the table. I would be grateful if you could send the wallet to me ASAP, because I will definitely need it for the next week. Not only will I be sitting my exam next Tuesday, and they require my ID card for registration, but also buying my medicine which I need a prescription for, and both of these things are in the wallet.
I think sending the wallet by mail will be the most suitable for both of us, as we live really far away from each other, and none of us would like to waste time on traveling back and forth. So, it would be amazing if you could send it to me at my usual address, and it would be perfect if you could mail it by the USA Postal Service in the next couple of days.
Again, thank you for the wonderful time spent together, and I hope you will be able to send the wallet to me.
Love,
Jane
Dear john,
how are you my friend, i hope you are doing great. i am writing this letter with full of merry to invite you for TIFF event next weekend in my hometown . i hope you aware this festival happening in every year end of the summer in toronto downtown.
its great celebrations for toronto people and celebrities also will attend , your favorite actress “meghan fox” also coming for this event. may be you will get chance to meet her and get a snap also. somany also activities happening for adults like music concerts by famous singers .
don’t bother about accommodation , i have arranged everything for you including car and food . as we planned earlier will drive to niagara by car on sunday and will enjoy the summer . i am sure it must be a most memorable in your life, so please come earlier
so that will plan accordingly without miss anything .
i am eagerly waiting for your response and expecting you at my home soon.
your best friend
Kumar
Thanks Liz for your great efforts. Could you please tell me the meaning of “when you’re over” which is used in the beginning of third paragraph of this model letter?
It means “when you are in my country”. It is informal.
Hi Liz. Wonderful site you’ve got here. Thanks for the helpful points. I just want to know which paragraphing method is better, the indentation of the first line of a new paragraph or spaces between subsequent paragraphs. Thanks
One is not better than the other. The only thing is that the paragraphs are very easy to identify. For this reason, I always choose to leave an empty line between paragraphs – it’s easier for the examiner.
Thanks Liz. Can we use exclamation marks in the informal letters?
It is not necessary to use them.
Liz, thank you so much for this amazing blog. Thanks to your help, I got band 9 on Reading and Speaking in Academic exam last year. Now I’m taking GT and I’ve been struggling to adjust vocab in writting tasks. For informal letters, is it ok to use “wanna”, “gonna”, and expressions like “we had a ball”?
Thanks 🙂
“wanna” and “gonna” are for speaking and not writing. Yes, you can use other informal language if the letter is informal. If it is formal, you can’t.
Hi Liz,
I have a doubt in the pattern of this letter.
The teacher from whom I take ielts training has teached me to give space before I start every paragraph. But in your letter I see that there is no space given before the paragraph starts.
As far as I know a letter can be written in both ways. But can u please advice me on which way will be better for a high score?
And would it be wrong to write “your’s lovingly” at the end of personal letter?
See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/should-i-indent-my-paragraphs-in-ielts-writing/
Dear Liz,
Can we put the date anywhere in the letter?
What date?
Hi Liz, Is it okay if I include all three points in my letter but not in the order it is given? sometimes, the points are given in an illogical order. Also, can I use any informal words in semi formal letters? waiting for your reply. 🙂
You should follow the order given.
Dear Liz,
I hope you are doing great and many thanks for this wonderful blog. I want to know about letter of reference for the job, I assume it’s a semi- formal letter to the teacher…am I right??
Plus I want to know is it mandatory to write your sincerely for Formal letter. Can’t we write Yours truly aswell??
Pls clear my confusion
No, it is not semi formal. You do not have a close personal relationship with a teacher. So, you are writing to someone you know through formal education about a formal topic – employment. This means all letters of reference are formal, unless you are asking your best friend for one.
Liz, Can we use all caps for writing test?
Thanks for your wonderful work.
It is possible to use all capital letters in writing but it is not recommended. In writing, part of your score is based on grammar as well as punctuation. This means it’s better to use lower case with appropriate capital letters which it is grammatically correct.
Thank you dear.
@Liz, can we use all caps to answer listening and reading questions?
Yes, I recommend that you do.
Hi Liz,
Shouldn’t it be …a man who once tried to blow up THE Parliment?
No. You can see it has a capital letter and is used without an article. Follow this page to see the difference when it has a small letter or capital letter to start with: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/parliament
Will there be a deduction of marks if the number of words get exceeded? I was informed by my instructor ,that writing more than 160 for the letter will reduce the score.
There is no upper limit for word count in IELTS either writing task 1 or task 2. You MUST write over 150 words for task 1 and over 250 words for task 2 – if you write less you will be penalised. You should be aiming for around 180 in task 1 and about 280 in task 2 in order to develop ideas and information for a higher score. https://ieltsliz.com/how-many-words-ielts-writing/
Thank you very much for the detailed response. This is very helpful to me.
Dear Liz,
As you know, I am planning to take IELTS exam next month. I always practice your website and I watch your youtube video. I really enjoy your teaching style and method. Do you know ,I have been teaching at English Medium School it is about 10 years. I taught science and recently english language on class two in Bangladesh. I wanted to improve my language and teaching skills.This website is very useful for me.
Thank you very much
Sharmin Jahan
Thanks for your message. I’m really pleased you find my site useful 🙂
Thanks for your wonderful website. Just have a question:
Is it correct to use “which” in this sentence?
“On the fire, there’s a guy which represents Gy Fawkes.”
Shouldn’t it be “a guy who represents”?
Very well spotted 🙂 However, in this case, the word “guy” doesn’t mean a person on the fire. “a guy” in this case is a stuffed figure made of old clothes.
Excuse me , do we have to write from the beginning of the line for each paragraph in the letter or first statement in paragraphs must to be written after taking a space from the beginning of the line?
There is no need to indent. Just leave one empty line between paragraphs.
Appreciate your help. Really very helpful
Good afternoon Ms Liz,
I would like to introduce you. My name is Lam and I come from VN. I am interesting your video introduction writing skill with topic ” the best way to improve health to do regular exersice……” I want learning continue with topic but I don’t know where is it. Could you please give me the link on your website or something else?
I got 3 score Ielts Test 2 years before and I think I need your help to improve my English.
I appreciate for your video. I looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks and best regard.
Lam Nguyen
Thanks Liz. If we exceed our Word Count, will the examiner cut some marks ?
In an essay I often tend to hit a word count of around 350 and in a letter around 250. Though, I manage it within the allotted time. .Is it ok ?
Also do the examiners also test our knowledge of the topic or just say english writing skills. As I often spend huge amount of time in structuring my essay with valid points supporting the topic.
There is no upper limit. However, both tasks are marked based on focus and relevancy in task 2 and the ability to avoid insignificant detail in task 1. For that reason, it isn’t recommended to go over 300 words in task 2 or over 200 in task 1. There are no marks for knowledge at all in IELTS. See the marking system: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/
All the best
Liz
Thanks a lot for the reply. This link is very helpful.
Hi Liz
Thank you appreciate, I`m following you earlier ,you lectures so useful just i confused how to improve listing skill is listing to BBC and other materials enough or there is another strategy??
Regards
Ismail
You need to develop skills of listening for the IELTS test not just general listening. Go through all the IELTS Cambridge test books and also all my listening main page lessons.
Liz
thanks a lot madam.Your lessons are really lucid and useful.Have an excellent and Godly day to you.
Hi Liz,
I would like to know, if there can be any abbreviations or short forms of do not, or does not, etc. As far as I know, there can not be used in this way. Thank you in advance.
Contractions are used in informal writing but not formal writing. So, it will depend on the type of letter you need to write. See my essential tips for letter writing on the main writing task 1 page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/
Liz
Hi Liz,
I want to ask you if a national day could be consider as public event then i can invite him to celebrate with me. is that ok
Sure. That would be fine.
Liz
Your way of teaching is really impressive.
Hi Liz,
your way of teaching is so impressive and easy to understand. I have learnt a lot from you. Thank u so much. Stay blessed.
You’re welcome 🙂
I dunna how to thank you. Your leading lessons are so easy to understand. What’s more all the lessons are informative. I’m looking forward to learning new lessons
Hi Liz,
Smiling gesture in your lectures are like enrichment to cake with cherry.
I,m enjoying your blog, and l,m already learnt a lot from it. Keep it up,God Almighty will continue to bless you. My Exam is drawing nearer, any tips?.
Thanks.
I’m afraid all tips are on this blog. My main tips for the day are: get lots of sleep, be prepared to be tired, drink and eat well before your test and always keep your eye on the clock in the exam room.
Good luck!
Liz
You are the best who I ever seen in my life. I wish all teachers/people to be like you!
God blessings for you my dear!
I’m really pleased my blog is useful 🙂
Thanks
Liz