You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
One of your pen pals will shortly be visiting your city. For some reason, you can not manage to meet him/her at the airport on time. Write a letter asking him/her to wait for you at the airport and tell him/her how to identify you.
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear ……………..,
Sample Answer 1:
Dear Tommy,
I hope you are doing great and enjoying your new job. I am so glad to hear that you are coming to Guangzhou this Sunday. I am so looking forward to meeting you. However, I am writing to inform you that I will be late to receive you at the airport due to an important meeting.
Last night my project manager called me to notify me of an important meeting with some customers. The meeting would be held on Sunday at 10.00 am. So I am afraid I can’t catch up with you at the airport at 10:30 am as planned. The meeting is estimated to end at around 11:30 am and I will get to the airport as soon as I finish my meeting.
Please wait for me for a while. During that time you may collect your baggage and grab some coffee. You can walk around the airport lobby and read some magazines if you like. They have a fabulous canteen from where you can have some snacks. I will probably show up at around 12:20 pm.
I will be wearing a casual blue shirt and black trousers and would be at terminal number 4. To make things easier I will hold a white placard with your name on it. I will call you in case you can’t find me when I get there.
Warm wishes,
Johnny
Sample Answer 2:
Dear Christopher,
I am very much looking forward to your visit to my city and can’t wait to meet you. After all these years of writing to each other, we will finally have the chance to meet! However, I regret to inform you that I will not be able to meet you at the airport at 4:00 pm as initially planned due to an important meeting.
Our office called for an urgent meeting on the day of your arrival and I cannot leave the office before 4:45 pm. I will rush to the airport as soon as the meeting is over. I will hopefully be able to reach there at around 5:40 pm. Please wait for me at the arrival lounge. You should be able to have some coffee and read something while you wait.
As we have never met before, I must tell you how to recognise me; I am 5 feet 9 and would be wearing a blue tie with my white shirt and black trousers. In addition, I will be carrying a copy of the morning newspaper tucked under my left arm and I will hold a placard that would bear your name.
Looking forward to our first meeting and some quality time together.
Warm wishes,
Albert
Sample Answer 3:
Dear John,
Hope you are doing excellent. I am excited to hear that you will visit my city next week. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to meet you for the first time after so many written correspondences.
It will be a great pleasure to finally meet my pen pal after 2 years’ written communication. I have made some preparation for your welcome but I regret to inform you I cannot make it to the airport at 8:30 on Monday due to my meeting with my boss at the same time.
I applied for leave but due to the deadlines of a running project, my application was denied. However, I can leave the office just after the meeting. I will be at the airport one and a half hours later than planned. Please wait for me until then. The airport has a small cafeteria and a magazine shop where you can spend some idle time.
I would be wearing a formal full-sleeve shirt and a pair of denim jeans. I will be waiting for you at terminal 7 and would put on my earphones so that you can easily recognise me.
Yours truly,
Nishath
[ Written by – Nishath Begum ]
Sample Answer 4:
Dear Penny,
I am so excited to hear that you will be visiting my city this Monday. I am so looking forward to meeting you after years’ of letters and messages. Regrettably, I will not be able to receive you at the airport on time due to a meeting at my office on the same day.
I feel terribly sorry for the inconvenience. I have a meeting to attend on the same day at around 9:30 am while you are expected to arrive at the airport at 10:00 am. Actually, the meeting was scheduled on Wednesday, two days after your arrival confirmation. However, I will drive to the airport soon after the meeting and I may be an hour late. In the meantime, you can have some coffee, read a newspaper and browse the internet to kill the time.
I am planning to wear a black suit so that you can easily identify me. Moreover, I will be holding a signpost showing “Welcome Penny”. In case, you can’t find me, ring me on my mobile phone.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
Warm wishes,
Vishwa
[Written by – Rajul Vinutna ]
IELTS GT Writing Task 1 / Letter Writing Topic:
One of your pen pals will shortly be visiting your city. For some reason, you can not manage to meet him/her at the airport on time.
Write a letter asking him/her to wait for you at the airport and tell him/her how to identify you.
Write at least 150 words.
Sample Answer 5:
Dear Tina,
Hope you are fine and enjoying the season. It was a pleasant surprise to receive your letter and know about your plan to visit Delhi. I have already started feeling exhilarated and can’t wait to meet you in person.
However, I learnt from your letter that you would probably land at Delhi Airport at around 7:00 in the evening. Regrettably, due to an important exam for my MBA course, I’ll not be able to catch up with you on time. My exam would end at 07:30 hours and I would drive to the airport afterwards. I’ll probably reach the airport by 9:00 pm considering the heavy traffic in the evening. Please wait for me at the airport lounge until then and wander around the lounge to kill the time. You can grab some snacks and coffee from the canteen.
For your information, I’ll be wearing a red jacket with blue stripes on the back which you gifted me on my twenty-fifth birthday.
Have a safe journey. Eagerly waiting to see you soon.
Yours truly,
Mira
[ Written by – Neeraj Mehra ]
Sample Answer 6:
Dear Hanson,
Hope you are doing well. I have no words to express my elation as finally I can put a face on your words and we can meet each other. Regrettably, I will be late to receive you at the airport and I feel terribly sorry about that.
Unfortunately, I am supposed to stay on the campus until 6:00 pm Monday, the day of your arrival, to turn in an extracurricular project to compensate for an exam I have recently missed. Honestly, I have been up to my eyes during the last two nights and unbelievably I pulled an all-nighter last night to go through the whole material for my geography test the next day.
In this case, I will be presumably late to pick you up at the airport. I would be grateful if you could wait for a couple of hours and let me drive you to my home. In the meantime, you can browse the books and magazines from the airport lounge and have some snacks and drinks from the canteen.
I will be wearing down to a pair of baggy jeans with my white sneakers and a red V-neck shirt and I will be staying by the lost and found section to meet you.
Warm wishes,
Farshad
[ Written by – Farshad Kimiaghalam ]
Sample Answer 7:
Dear Thompson,
I’m so excited to have the chance to finally meet you in person after hundreds of written letters and hours of anticipation. I’m very keen to see my pen pal for the first time and I have plans to surprise you. I’m sure you will have a wonderful time here.
Unfortunately, I can’t be at the airport at 15:50 pm as planned. My application for leave on that date was denied and I have used up all my paid holidays. Consequently, I will be in the office that day and leave after 5:00 pm. I will directly drive to the airport and it will take me another 40 minutes to reach the airport. I am really sorry for the inconvenience. I wish I could be there on time!
I am positive I can pick you up at around 17:20 so please wait for me at the airport lounge and grab some coffee in the meantime. I will wear a casual office dress and a blue tie. I will carry a placard and your name will be written on it.
I am eagerly looking forward to seeing you soon.
Warm wishes,
Ali
[Written by – Ali Hosseini ]