You cannot go to a company where you received a job offer. Write a letter to the HR supervisor. In your letter: - explain why you are declining the offer - express your gratitude - explain why you like your current job very much
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I would like to thank you for considering me as a suitable candidate for the position of Assistant Manager in your organisation and in fact, I was eagerly waiting for your call. I, however, cannot accept the offer due to some specific reasons. I sincerely apologise that I would not be able to join your organisation. There are a couple of reasons why I am declining this offer: one of them is the job location and the other is the proposed remuneration. I have to drop off my children at their schools daily and that is why commuting a long distance to reach my office is inconvenient for me. I find my current job more exciting and rewarding. In my current job, I have flexible timing which allows me to keep a balance between my personal and professional life. Also, I am due for a promotion this year and I am expecting a managerial role to come my way soon. The roles and responsibilities of this new position would be very challenging and a known team with whom I have been working for a long would be an advantage. I would like to thank you again for the job offer but I would like to stay with my current organisation and I am humbly declining your offer. Wishing your superb team members all the best. Yours sincerely, Sam Johnson
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Place linker naturally Original: I, however, cannot accept Suggested revision: However, I cannot accept Why it matters: Placing the transition first creates a smoother connection in formal prose.
- 2. Preview reasons clearly Original: due to some specific reasons Suggested revision: for two main reasons Why it matters: This wording accurately previews the two reasons given in the next sentence.
- 3. Correct tense choice Original: apologise that I would not be able Suggested revision: apologise that I am unable Why it matters: The present form is required for the writer's current inability to accept the offer.
- 4. State reasons concisely Original: one of them is the job location and the other is the proposed remuneration Suggested revision: the job location and the proposed salary Why it matters: This revision removes an unnecessary frame while preserving both stated reasons.
- 5. Use natural time phrase Original: at their schools daily Suggested revision: at their respective schools each day Why it matters: This is a more natural and precise way to express the daily arrangement.
- 6. Tighten causal link Original: that is why Suggested revision: so Why it matters: The shorter connector expresses the cause-and-effect relationship more directly.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: to reach my office Suggested revision: to get to the office Why it matters: 'Get to the office' is the more natural expression for commuting.
- 8. Fix work collocation Original: flexible timing Suggested revision: flexible working hours Why it matters: 'Flexible working hours' is the standard collocation for this employment benefit.
- 9. Improve collocation Original: keep Suggested revision: maintain Why it matters: 'Maintain a balance' is more natural in this formal context.
- 10. Use formal addition Original: Also Suggested revision: Furthermore Why it matters: This transition more formally introduces another reason for remaining in the current job.
- 11. Use professional wording Original: expecting a managerial role to come my way soon Suggested revision: expecting to move into a managerial role soon Why it matters: The revision removes the conversational idiom while preserving the expected promotion.
- 12. Remove wordiness Original: The roles and responsibilities of this new position Suggested revision: The responsibilities of this new role Why it matters: The revision states the same idea more concisely.
Suggested Rewrites
- I, however, cannot accept However, I cannot accept
- due to some specific reasons for two main reasons
- apologise that I would not be able apologise that I am unable
- one of them is the job location and the other is the proposed remuneration the job location and the proposed salary
- at their schools daily at their respective schools each day
- that is why so
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly and courteously declines the offer, expresses gratitude, and gives persuasive personal and professional reasons for remaining in the current role. Its strongest feature is the detailed explanation of work-life balance and career prospects, while the main limitation is that the entire response forms one dense paragraph. Prioritise functional paragraphing and polish a few awkward expressions to make the message more professional and readable.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The communicative purpose and all bullet points are fully addressed with relevant, well-developed reasons and an appropriately courteous tone.
Clarify the remuneration concern briefly so both stated reasons for declining are equally explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses logically from gratitude and refusal to reasons and a courteous close, but the lack of paragraphing reduces readability.
Separate the opening, reasons for declining, advantages of the current job, and closing into distinct functional paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, especially when discussing employment, promotion, and work-life balance, though some combinations are awkward.
Replace expressions such as flexible timing, a known team, and humbly declining with more natural professional phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a wide range of complex structures with generally strong control, despite a few awkward or incomplete constructions.
Revise the sentence about the future role and team, and complete time expressions such as for a long time.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You cannot go to a company where you received a job offer. Write a letter to the HR supervisor. In your letter:
- explain why you are declining the offer
- express your gratitude
- explain why you like your current job very much
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.