You were going to start a job next month, but you will not be able to. Write a letter to your future employer. In your letter: - Explain the situation. - Describe your problem(s). - Tell him/her when you can start work.
Sample Response
Dear Sir or MadamDear Sir,
I am Ankitha, and I received the job offeremployment opportunity from your organization in the recruitment eventplacement drive held a a few weeks agofew weeks prior. I am due to start work in Sydneysupposed to reach Sydney in the nextupcoming month. However, I was infected withby a contagious virus. Although I am fully recovered nowcompletely fit and back to normal now, I was advised by mythe doctor to resttake rest and self-isolate rather than travelling.
Furthermore, it is considered perilous to relocate to another country immediately post the infection since there are norms set up by the immigration embassy which are to be practised when a passenger is affected by the virus. Unfortunately, I could not expeditefasten my visa process as I had to stay at home until my recovery. Thus, my work permit applicationprocedure is delayeddelayed and put on hold for longer than expectedfor a few days.
Hence, I request you to postpone my start dateextend my onboarding date until 1 Julyfor another two months, and I assure you that I will be able to join the firm from the 1st of July. I assure you that I will be onboard on the mentioned date without further delay.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours faithfully, AnkithaYours faithfully,
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly explains the delayed start, gives relevant medical and visa-related reasons, and proposes a precise new joining date in an appropriately formal tone. Its main limitation is frequent awkward or imprecise phrasing, which occasionally makes otherwise sensible details sound unnatural. The highest priority is to use simpler, more idiomatic wording when describing the illness, immigration requirements, and visa delay.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are covered with relevant detail, and the formal register suits a future employer.
Make the explanation more direct by removing minor repetition around the promised start date.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the illness to the visa consequence and then to the requested postponement, with clear paragraphing.
Use less mechanical linking and avoid repeating the same assurance in consecutive sentences.
Lexical Resource
The letter shows a good range of formal vocabulary, but several collocations such as ‘immigration embassy’ and ‘fasten my visa process’ are inaccurate.
Choose familiar, precise combinations such as ‘immigration authorities’ and ‘expedite my visa application’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex sentences is generally well controlled, and grammatical errors rarely affect clarity.
Refine article use and clause construction in the explanation of immigration rules to make the prose more natural.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You were going to start a job next month, but you will not be able to. Write a letter to your future employer. In your letter:
- Explain the situation.
- Describe your problem(s).
- Tell him/her when you can start work.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.