You have been offered a job and have been asked to start next week. You want the job, but because of a previous commitment you want to delay starting for two weeks. Write to the manager. In your letter: - accept the job - explain your situation - ask for a change to your start date
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am absolutely honoured to learn from your email that you have finalised my joining as an executive in your company. I consider it a great leap forward towards my future career, and I will serve my position with my best effort. However, I am writing to seek your permission for a delay in the joining date. I am afraid I cannot join on 15th June, the date you expect me to start. After I formally notified my current employer a month ago, they welcomed my decision. However, they have recently requested an extension to hand over the projects I am currently working on and train a colleague. I am already committed to a project with my current employer and I will need another week to finish it. Thus, the new request from my manager forces me to work another two weeks with them. Therefore, I would request you to delay my joining date and I am absolutely positive about starting with you from the 1st of July. I hope you will allow me to finish my commitment to my current employer and let me join your company on 1st July. Yours faithfully, Daren Smith
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural appointment phrase Original: finalised my joining Suggested revision: confirmed my appointment Why it matters: 'Finalised my joining' is not a natural expression for confirming a job offer.
- 2. Use workplace preposition Original: in Suggested revision: at Why it matters: 'At' is the more natural preposition for employment with a company.
- 3. Use professional phrasing Original: serve my position with my best effort Suggested revision: perform my duties to the best of my ability Why it matters: The original collocation is unnatural in a formal employment letter.
- 4. Name request naturally Original: delay in the joining date Suggested revision: postponement of my start date Why it matters: 'Start date' is the standard term in this employment context.
- 5. Use correct work verb Original: cannot join on 15th June Suggested revision: cannot start on 15 June Why it matters: A new employee starts work rather than joins on a date.
- 6. Soften formal wording Original: forces me to work another two weeks with them Suggested revision: requires me to remain with them for another two weeks Why it matters: 'Forces me' sounds unnecessarily negative when explaining a professional commitment.
- 7. Fix start-date phrasing Original: absolutely positive about starting with you from Suggested revision: able to start with you on Why it matters: The replacement creates a grammatical and direct statement of availability.
- 8. Use measured enthusiasm Original: absolutely honoured Suggested revision: delighted Why it matters: 'Delighted' expresses enthusiastic acceptance in a more natural professional tone.
- 9. Use concise career phrase Original: a great leap forward towards my future career Suggested revision: an important step in my career Why it matters: The replacement removes an overstated and awkward metaphor.
- 10. State request directly Original: seek your permission for Suggested revision: request Why it matters: The concise verb is appropriately polite in this formal letter.
- 11. Use concise date reference Original: the date you expect me to start Suggested revision: my expected start date Why it matters: The replacement avoids an unnecessarily wordy relative clause.
- 12. Use standard employment term Original: delay my joining date Suggested revision: postpone my start date Why it matters: 'Postpone my start date' is the natural employment expression.
Suggested Rewrites
- finalised my joining confirmed my appointment
- in at
- serve my position with my best effort perform my duties to the best of my ability
- delay in the joining date postponement of my start date
- cannot join on 15th June cannot start on 15 June
- forces me to work another two weeks with them requires me to remain with them for another two weeks
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the request, explaining the existing work commitment and proposing a clear alternative start date in an appropriately respectful tone. Its strongest feature is the specific, credible justification, while the main limitation is awkward phrasing around accepting and joining the new role. Prioritise a more direct acceptance statement and replace strained expressions with natural professional wording so the message sounds confident and polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is fully achieved through a clear acceptance, a well-developed explanation of the current work commitment, and a specific request to start on 1 July.
Make the acceptance completely explicit in the opening with a direct sentence such as 'I am delighted to accept the position'.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically from acceptance to explanation and request, although the single-block presentation and repeated linking words limit structural clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for accepting the offer, explaining the commitment, and requesting the revised date.
Lexical Resource
A sufficient range of formal vocabulary conveys the message, but recurring collocational problems include 'finalised my joining', 'serve my position', and 'delay in the joining date'.
Use natural professional combinations such as 'confirmed my appointment', 'perform my duties', and 'postpone my start date'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses varied complex structures with generally good control, and the few grammatical lapses do not impede communication.
Refine infinitive and complement structures, especially when describing the extension needed to hand over projects and train a colleague.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have been offered a job and have been asked to start next week. You want the job, but because of a previous commitment you want to delay starting for two weeks. Write to the manager. In your letter:
- accept the job
- explain your situation
- ask for a change to your start date
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.