You recently met the manager of a new company in your city. The manager later offered you a job, but you cannot accept it. Write to the manager. In your letter: - say how you feel about the job offer - explain why you cannot accept it - provide a reference for a friend who might be interested
Sample Response
Dear Mr Alex, Hope you are doing great. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation during our meeting and would like to thank you for a fabulous lunch. I am so honoured to be offered a job at your company. However, I cannot accept it right now. I am really fortunate that you have offered me the position of “Design Engineer” in the Biomedical Device Manufacturing company that you have recently started in our city. But unfortunately, I am in a situation to deny this offer because of the contract I have with my current employer. I am quite happy with the remuneration, working environment and facilities I get from my current job and have no plan to change my job now. Though I cannot be a part of your new team, I could suggest one of my friends - Ruhan Chowdhury, who is a passionate Engineer and is currently seeking a job opportunity. After hearing from you, I can ask him to meet you personally for an interview to discuss his credentials. He is a talented individual and I believe he would add value to your company. I regret not accepting this offer but I hope once my contract is over, I would be privileged to work for your company and thank you for the offer. Looking forward to receiving your reply soon. Yours faithfully, S. Nivetha
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural name address Original: Dear Mr Alex Suggested revision: Dear Alex Why it matters: A title normally precedes a surname, so the first name is more natural without Mr.
- 2. Add formal sentence subject Original: Hope you are doing great Suggested revision: I hope you are well Why it matters: The revision supplies the missing subject and uses a more professional greeting.
- 3. Remove redundant meeting phrase Original: conversation during our meeting Suggested revision: conversation Why it matters: A conversation with the manager already implies the meeting mentioned in the prompt.
- 4. Use measured emphasis Original: so Suggested revision: very Why it matters: Very is more measured and professional in this semi-formal response.
- 5. Use formal time phrase Original: right now Suggested revision: at present Why it matters: At present is more suitable for a professional letter.
- 6. Use concise job title Original: the position of “Design Engineer” Suggested revision: the Design Engineer position Why it matters: The revision incorporates the job title directly without unnecessary quotation marks.
- 7. Fix company preposition Original: in the Biomedical Device Manufacturing company Suggested revision: at your biomedical device manufacturing company Why it matters: A person is offered a position at a company, and the generic industry description does not require capitals.
- 8. Avoid double contrast Original: But unfortunately Suggested revision: Unfortunately Why it matters: The preceding sentence already establishes the contrast, so both markers are unnecessary.
- 9. Use decline wording Original: in a situation to deny this offer Suggested revision: unable to accept this offer Why it matters: Deny does not mean politely decline a job offer.
- 10. Describe employment benefits Original: facilities I get from my current job Suggested revision: benefits my current role provides Why it matters: The revision uses a natural professional collocation for employment advantages.
- 11. Use natural job phrase Original: have no plan to change my job now Suggested revision: do not plan to change jobs at present Why it matters: The revision uses the natural plural expression change jobs and a direct verb structure.
- 12. Use concise team verb Original: be a part of your new team Suggested revision: join your new team Why it matters: Join expresses the same meaning more directly.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Mr Alex Dear Alex
- Hope you are doing great I hope you are well
- conversation during our meeting conversation
- so very
- right now at present
- the position of “Design Engineer” the Design Engineer position
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly expresses appreciation, gives a convincing reason for declining, and recommends a named friend with relevant positive qualities and a practical next step. Its main limitation is presentation: the whole response forms one block, while several expressions and the closing are less natural for this relationship. Prioritise clear functional paragraphs and more precise professional phrasing when declining the offer and introducing the candidate.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully covered, and the reference includes useful supporting detail.
Add one specific professional qualification or experience that makes Ruhan a strong match for the Design Engineer role.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from gratitude to refusal and recommendation, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens the letter's organisation.
Use separate paragraphs for the response to the offer, the reason for declining, and the friend's reference.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and suitably professional overall, with occasional unnatural choices such as deny this offer and passionate Engineer.
Use natural expressions such as decline the offer and a highly motivated engineer.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is generally well controlled, though a few agreement, conditional, and sentence-attachment problems remain.
Revise the final long sentence and use I would be privileged if a future opportunity arose for a cleaner conditional structure.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently met the manager of a new company in your city. The manager later offered you a job, but you cannot accept it. Write to the manager. In your letter:
- say how you feel about the job offer
- explain why you cannot accept it
- provide a reference for a friend who might be interested
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.