Key word for IELTS WRITING :

Stating Your Opinion

In my opinion,

According to me,

In my view,

To me,

From my point of view,

I think

It seems to me that

I believe

From my perspective

To my way of thinking

It appears that

I suppose

I realize

I understand

I imagine

I feel

Giving Examples

For example,

For instance,

such as

In other words,

as

like

that is

namely

To illustrate

To paraphrase

Comparing

Similar to

As...as

in common

also

Either...or

In the same way,

Neither...nor

At the same time

Just as

resemble

Contrasting

However,

But

On the contrary,

On the other hand,

Differ from

Nevertheless

Although

Though

Otherwise

Instead

Alternatively,

Even though

Generalizing

Generally,

Generally speaking,

Overall,

On the whole,

In general,

By and large,

It seems to me that

I believe

All in all,

Basically,

Essentially,

As a rule,

All things considered

For the most part

Expressing Certainty

Certainly,

Undoubtedly,

Doubtless,

No doubt,

Definitely,

Of course,

Expressing Partial Agreement

More or less,

To some extent,

Up to a point,

Almost,

In a way,

So to speak,

IELTS Letter Writing Tips 10 Ways to Get Higher Marks on the IELTS Letter Writing Task
1. Identify the type of letter you are being asked to write. Is it a formal, semi-formal or
informal letter? The entire tone of your letter is based on your answer to this question. Adjust
your style and choice of words according to the type of letter you have been asked to write.
2. Open and close the letter correctly. Remember that each type of letter requires a different
opening and closing. The chart below will help you remember this:
Style

Characteristics
To someone you have not
Formal met, whose name you
don't know
To someone you may or
Semi- may not have met, whose
formal last name you know &
use
To someone you know
Informal well, whose first name
you know and use

Opening Ending
Dear Sir / Yours
Madam faithfully
Dear Mr
Brown, Yours
Dear Ms sincerely
Stone
Best
Dear John
regards
Dear
Warm
Anita
wishes

3. Open a formal and semi-formal letter with a formal sentence. Don't try to be friendly, as
you do not know the person you are writing to. Get right down to business and indicate the
reason you are writing, as shown below:
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to inquire about / I am writing in connection with...
Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to inform you ... / I am writing in connection with...
4. Open an informal letter with a general, friendly paragraph. With friends whom we know,
we care about the whole person. We have a broader relationship in the context of which this

communication is taking place. So it is best to acknowledge that friendship first, before getting
down to the reason for your letter. In fact, the first paragraph could be purely friendly small talk,
unrelated to the reason for your writing. Look at the example below:
Dear Jane
I hope you and your family are all well. It was such a pleasure to see you again last summer. We
sure had a great time catching up with each other after so many years. You have always been a
cherished friend, no matter how much of a gap there has been since we met.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is that I have some good news - I am getting married this
summer...
5. Identify the main purpose of the letter. Are you asking for help, apologizing, inviting
someone, complaining or thanking someone? Learn appropriate and polite expressions that will
support what you need to say.

IELTS Writing - Academic Task 1 Vocabulary

The following words and phrases will help you describe trends:
a rise
an increase
a surge
a growth
a peak

Nouns

a fluctuation
a variation
a period of stability
a plateau
a fall
a decrease
a decline
a dip

Verbs

to rise
to increase
to surge
to grow
to peak

to skyrocket
to fluctuate
to vary
to fall
to decrease
to decline
to dip
to dive
to plunge

Phrases

to show an upward trend

to show a downward trend
to hit the highest point
to hit the lowest point
to reach a peak
to show some fluctuation
to fluctuate wildly
to remain stable
to remain static
to remain unchanged
to stay constant
to reach a plateau
to level off
to flatten out
the highest
the lowest
the second highest
the third highest
compared to
compared with
relative to

Adverbs

sharply
suddenly
rapidly
abruptly
dramatically
significantly
steadily
considerably
markedly
slightly
gently
gradually

wildly
sharp
sudden
rapid
abrupt
dramatic
steep
Adjectives significant
steady
considerable
marked
slight
gentle
gradual