Salutation in IELTS Letter Writing Test [Formal | Informal | Semi-Formal]

Welcome to this lesson on the correct format for IELTS letter writing salutation.

At the end of it, you will be able to:

• Write the correct salutation in any IELTS letter writing test question.

Letter writing is always the Task 1 question in IELTS writing test for General Training.

How to write the salutation in IELTS letter writing

Remember.

There are (3) main TYPES OF LETTER WRITING in English and IELTS question can come from any of the types.

Below are the appropriate IELTS letter writing salutation for each type of letter.

1. For an INFORMAL letter

Use “Dear Name”.

Example:

• Dear Joanna

• Dear Shedrach

DO NOT USE!

• Dear joanna ❌
• dear Shedrach ❌
• dear joanna ❌

Capitalise both the “D” in “Dear” and the FIRST letter of any name you use.

2. For a FORMAL letter

Use “Dear Sir or Madam”.

You can also use “Dear Sir/Madam”.

DO NOT USE!

• Dear Sir ❌
• Dear Madam ❌
• Dear Sir/Ma ❌
• dear Sir/Madam ❌

Write both “Sir” and “Madam” together and in full. Capitalise the FIRST letter of EVERY word.

3. For a SEMI-FORMAL letter

Use “Dear Title Name”.

Example

• Dear Mr Rogers

• Dear Miss Kaffi

• Dear Mrs Green

• Dear Ms Agnes

DO NOT USE!

• Dear mr Joseph ❌
• Dear Ms agnes ❌
• dear Mrs Green ❌
• dear miss kaffi ❌

Capitalise the FIRST letter of EVERY word.

Quick practice

Write the salutation of a letter to the manager of a store…

Drop your answers in the comments.

GOOD LUCK.

If you have any question(s) about this lesson on salutation in IELTS letter writing test? Comment below and get a reply soon.