For the past year, you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter: - state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this - give details on how you have benefited from the club - explain why you want to leave
Sample Response
Dear Mrs Watson, I regret to inform you that I can no longer maintain my classic membership with your club from next month onwards. I am Andrew Scott, living a few blocks away from the club and have been a member since the beginning of its journey. I would request you to cancel my membership from next month. I paid my monthly membership fee online and it was £35 per month. The attached documents show my last six months' transactions to the club and all my transactions are paid in time. This club is indeed a blessing to our locality as the community members did not have enough recreational facilities and just had a jogging track without any proper marking. But with the emergence of this distinguished club, they were benefitted profoundly. I personally gained from it enormously - I made some good friends, learned the rules of various games, took part in outdoor activities and last but not least, learned valuable skills. With a heavy heart and immense regret, I am discontinuing my bond with this club due to my recent job transfer to the USA. I have no words to fill my sorrow over this decision, but I feel this is just the softest way to communicate my decision. Sincerely yours, Andrew Scott
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use membership collocation Original: maintain Suggested revision: continue Why it matters: A person 'continues' or 'discontinues' a membership rather than 'maintains' it in this context.
- 2. Name payments accurately Original: transactions Suggested revision: payments Why it matters: The documents show membership payments, which is more specific than general transactions.
- 3. Correct payment phrase Original: transactions are paid in time Suggested revision: fees were paid on time Why it matters: Fees are paid 'on time', and the past tense matches the six-month record.
- 4. Use measured formal tone Original: a blessing to our locality Suggested revision: an asset to our community Why it matters: The revision expresses the club's benefit in an appropriate formal register.
- 5. Use active benefit form Original: were benefitted profoundly Suggested revision: benefited greatly Why it matters: 'Benefit' works naturally in the active form here, with standard spelling and an appropriate adverb.
- 6. Use natural benefit phrase Original: gained from it enormously Suggested revision: benefited from it greatly Why it matters: The revision uses the standard verb-preposition collocation.
- 7. Name membership directly Original: discontinuing my bond with this club Suggested revision: ending my membership with this club Why it matters: The letter concerns a membership rather than an emotional bond.
- 8. Remove redundant time word Original: from next month onwards Suggested revision: from next month Why it matters: 'Onwards' is unnecessary after the clear starting point 'from next month'.
- 9. Use polite request form Original: I would request you Suggested revision: I would like to ask you Why it matters: This is the natural polite structure for making a formal request.
- 10. State effective date clearly Original: from Suggested revision: effective Why it matters: 'Effective next month' states precisely when cancellation should begin.
- 11. Use plural marking noun Original: without any proper marking Suggested revision: without proper markings Why it matters: The path would normally have multiple painted or posted markings, and 'any' is unnecessary.
- 12. Use formal contrast transition Original: But with Suggested revision: However, with Why it matters: 'However' provides a smoother formal transition at the start of the sentence.
Suggested Rewrites
- maintain continue
- transactions payments
- transactions are paid in time fees were paid on time
- a blessing to our locality an asset to our community
- were benefitted profoundly benefited greatly
- gained from it enormously benefited from it greatly
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly states the membership type, online monthly payment, specific personal benefits, and job transfer that makes cancellation necessary. Its main limitation is an overly dramatic register, particularly the repeated expressions of sorrow, while all content is compressed into one paragraph. Prioritise a concise, professional cancellation request with separate sections for payment history, benefits, and the reason for leaving.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully covered with specific payment, benefit, and relocation details, and the cancellation purpose is unmistakable.
State the exact final membership date and request written confirmation of cancellation while reducing excessive emotional language.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content progresses logically from cancellation and payment to club benefits and the reason for leaving, but one-paragraph presentation weakens structure.
Use separate paragraphs for membership details, benefits received, relocation, and the final administrative request.
Lexical Resource
A reasonably wide range conveys appreciation and regret, though several choices are overly ornate or unnatural for a routine cancellation.
Prefer restrained phrases such as 'valuable community facility', 'benefited greatly', 'relocating for work', and 'regret having to cancel'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most sentence structures are clear, but errors in clause coordination, tense, passive forms, and collocation occur regularly.
Revise forms such as 'I live nearby and have been a member', 'payments were made on time', and 'community members benefited'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
For the past year, you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter:
- state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this
- give details on how you have benefited from the club
- explain why you want to leave
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.