You have seen an advertisement in an English newspaper for a job working in the City Museum shop during the holidays. You decide to apply for the job. Write a letter to the director of the Museum. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain what experience and special skills you have - explain why you are interested in the job
Sample Response
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Hannah Eastwood. I am a 26 years old female from Nottingham. I came across your advertisement in the Sun newspaper and want to apply for the temporary cashier position at City Museum Shop.
I have 3 years experience working in the customer service sector. I used to work as a cashier at an ASDA store for 2 years and as a store helper for a year. I have excellent interpersonal skills as well as quick calculation ability. I believe my skills and experience can make me a good fit for this position.
I am interested in this job because I am a regular visitor of the Museum and I would love to challenge myself working in a new environment. I also appreciate the pay rate and benefits that this position can offer.
Thank you for your consideration and I am looking forward to hearing back from you. Yours sincerely,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix age expression Original: a 26 years old female Suggested revision: a 26-year-old woman Why it matters: An age used before a noun needs singular hyphenated units.
- 2. Use publication name Original: the Sun newspaper Suggested revision: The Sun Why it matters: Use the newspaper’s title directly without the redundant common noun.
- 3. Use formal intention Original: and want to apply Suggested revision: and would like to apply Why it matters: This wording expresses the application purpose more politely and formally.
- 4. Add definite article Original: at City Museum Shop Suggested revision: at the City Museum shop Why it matters: The specific museum shop requires the definite article.
- 5. Use possessive duration Original: 3 years experience Suggested revision: three years’ experience Why it matters: A duration modifying “experience” requires the possessive apostrophe.
- 6. Use natural collocation Original: quick calculation ability Suggested revision: strong numerical skills Why it matters: This is a more natural way to describe ability with calculations.
- 7. Correct preposition Original: regular visitor of the Museum Suggested revision: regular visitor to the museum Why it matters: The standard collocation is “a visitor to” a place.
- 8. Add linking preposition Original: challenge myself working Suggested revision: challenge myself by working Why it matters: Use “by” to show how the challenge would be undertaken.
- 9. Use standard salutation Original: Dear Sir/Madam, Suggested revision: Dear Sir or Madam, Why it matters: The conventional wording is more appropriate when the recipient’s name is unknown.
- 10. Use precise verb Original: came across Suggested revision: read Why it matters: This verb states more directly how you encountered the newspaper advertisement.
- 11. Make experience concise Original: working in the customer service sector Suggested revision: in customer service Why it matters: This concise phrase communicates the same professional field more naturally.
- 12. Use simple past Original: used to work Suggested revision: worked Why it matters: The simple past is clearer because the sentence gives a completed employment duration.
Suggested Rewrites
- a 26 years old female a 26-year-old woman
- the Sun newspaper The Sun
- and want to apply and would like to apply
- at City Museum Shop at the City Museum shop
- 3 years experience three years’ experience
- quick calculation ability strong numerical skills
Why this response received Band 7.0
The application is clearly organised, uses an appropriate formal tone, and covers the applicant’s background, relevant experience, skills, and motivation. Its main limitation is that several phrases are grammatically or collocationally awkward, while the reasons for wanting the role remain fairly general; improving noun phrases and verb patterns and adding one more job-specific reason would make the candidacy sound more natural and persuasive.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly applies for the advertised role and addresses the introduction, relevant experience and skills, and reasons for interest in an appropriate tone.
Develop the motivation further by connecting the applicant’s interest in the museum to a specific contribution they could make in its shop.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear progression from introduction to qualifications, motivation, and closing, with well-focused paragraphs.
Separate the closing formula from the final body sentence to make the letter’s structure more polished.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and relevant to an application, although a few combinations such as “quick calculation ability” sound unnatural.
Use more idiomatic professional collocations, such as “strong numerical skills” and “well suited to the position”.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a useful mix of sentence structures with generally good control, despite several noticeable noun-phrase and verb-pattern errors.
Correct forms such as “a 26-year-old woman”, “three years’ experience”, and “challenge myself by working” or “to work”.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have seen an advertisement in an English newspaper for a job working in the City Museum shop during the holidays. You decide to apply for the job. Write a letter to the director of the Museum. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain what experience and special skills you have
- explain why you are interested in the job
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.