Describe an important letter or message you received.
This test has appeared in 4 seasons
- Sep–Dec/2026
- Sep–Dec/2024
- May–Aug/2024
- Jan–Apr/2022
Reported by test takers Forecast only
Part 1
The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.
Work or study
- Do you work, or are you a student? (Why?)
- Why did you choose that job or that subject? (Tell me more about that.)
- What do you enjoy most about it? (Why?)
- Is there anything you would like to change about it? (Why?)
Stages of life
- What stage of life are you in at the moment? (Tell me more about that.)
- What do you enjoy most about this time in your life? (Tell me more about that.)
- Which age was the happiest for you so far? (Tell me more about that.)
- Would you like to be younger or older than you are now? (Why is that?)
Reading
- Do you like reading? (Why is that?)
- What kind of things do you usually read? (Tell me more about that.)
- Did you read more when you were a child than you do now? (Why is that?)
- Do you prefer reading paper books or reading on a screen? (Why is that?)
Part 2
One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe an important letter or message you received.
You should say:
- who sent it
- when you received it
- what it said
and explain why it was important to you.
Follow-up question after your talk: Have you kept this letter or message? / How did you feel when you first read it?
Part 3
A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.
how people write to each other
- Can you describe the ways people in your country send written messages today?
- What could be done about important messages that are easily misunderstood?
- In general, how formal should messages at work be?
letters and records of the past
- Can you explain why some people keep old letters for many years?
- In general, what is lost when people stop writing letters by hand?
- Can you speculate on how written communication will look twenty years from now?
Test titles follow test-taker reports and each season's forecasts — IELTS does not publish its papers. "Reported" means someone reported meeting this topic in a dated test. The questions are written by us in the format of the real test.