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, First of all, I would like to thank you for offering me the position of Senior Accounting Analyst at your company. Not to mention, I would like to start the job as soon as possible since I am looking forward to starting my work at your company. But, it looks like I will not be able to start from next week, as you have asked, because of a few commitments with my current employer. In fact, the employment contract, I have with my current employer, clearly states I will have to give my current employer at least two weeks' notice before leaving the company. Besides, I still have a few important projects in my hands to finish all by myself and hand them over to my superior because, currently, I am the only qualified personnel in my company to take care of these tasks in a professional manner. Therefore, based on these prior commitments and obligations I mentioned above, I would be grateful to you if you kindly delay my starting date for this job position until another two weeks. Thank you for your consideration in advance. Yours faithfully, Adam Finch
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use suitable transition Original: Not to mention Suggested revision: Furthermore Why it matters: 'Not to mention' is incomplete here and does not logically connect the acceptance to the next point.
- 2. Avoid conflicting timing Original: start the job as soon as possible Suggested revision: begin the role promptly Why it matters: The revision avoids implying immediate availability before the delayed start is explained.
- 3. Reduce start repetition Original: starting my work at your company Suggested revision: joining your company Why it matters: The revision avoids repeating 'start' and states the intended employment relationship naturally.
- 4. Use formal contrast Original: But, it looks like Suggested revision: However, it appears that Why it matters: The revised connector and phrasing are more appropriate for a formal request to a manager.
- 5. Remove incorrect preposition Original: start from next week Suggested revision: start next week Why it matters: No preposition is needed before 'next week' in this time expression.
- 6. Clarify prior obligations Original: a few commitments with my current employer Suggested revision: several commitments to my current employer Why it matters: Commitments are naturally described as obligations 'to' an employer.
- 7. Correct project phrase Original: projects in my hands Suggested revision: projects in hand Why it matters: 'In hand' is the natural expression for work currently being managed.
- 8. Use concise completion phrase Original: to finish all by myself Suggested revision: to complete personally Why it matters: The revision states the writer's sole responsibility more concisely.
- 9. Remove misplaced comma Original: because, currently Suggested revision: because currently Why it matters: A comma should not separate 'because' from the adverb that begins its clause.
- 10. Use singular person noun Original: personnel Suggested revision: person Why it matters: 'Personnel' is a collective noun and cannot refer naturally to one employee in this structure.
- 11. Use concise adverb Original: in a professional manner Suggested revision: professionally Why it matters: The adverb expresses the same meaning more concisely.
- 12. Remove redundant wording Original: prior commitments and obligations I mentioned above Suggested revision: prior commitments Why it matters: 'Commitments' and 'obligations' overlap in meaning, and the reference to earlier text is unnecessary.
Suggested Rewrites
- Not to mention Furthermore
- start the job as soon as possible begin the role promptly
- starting my work at your company joining your company
- But, it looks like However, it appears that
- start from next week start next week
- a few commitments with my current employer several commitments to my current employer
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter communicates enthusiasm for the job, gives a credible and well-developed explanation involving contractual notice and unfinished projects, and makes a polite request for a delayed start. Its main limitation is that the acceptance is somewhat indirect and the whole letter is compressed into one paragraph, while several phrases sound unnatural. The highest-priority improvement is to state acceptance explicitly, propose an exact revised date, and organise the explanation and request into separate paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The job is effectively accepted, the existing commitments are fully explained, and a polite two-week delay is requested in an appropriate formal tone.
Write an explicit acceptance sentence and give the exact new date on which employment can begin.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically from appreciation to explanation and request, but the single-paragraph format and repetitive references reduce organisational clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for accepting the offer, explaining the current obligations, and requesting the revised date.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied and formal, though several collocations are awkward and references to the employer, company, and position are repetitive.
Use natural phrases such as 'honoured to accept', 'complete and hand over my projects', and 'postpone my start date by two weeks'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures conveys the message clearly, but punctuation, prepositions, and some clause patterns are not consistently controlled.
Remove unnecessary commas and revise forms such as 'start next week', 'my contract states that', and 'I would be grateful if you could postpone'.
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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.