For the past year you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter: - state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this - give details of how you have benefited from the club - explain why you want to leave
Sample Response
Dear Sir, In September 2003, I joined your Sports and Social Clubclub as a full-time student member. Since then I have paid my monthly membership feepaid the monthly membership fees by direct debit from my bank account atfrom my bank: Nationwide in Sanderson Avenue, Kinghill. I have thoroughly enjoyed my club membership as it has provided me with valuableuseful opportunities to meetmeet up with other young people and to participate in a number of social activities. I have also been able to playfortunate enough to play in some of the inter-club tennis tournaments and have taken advantage of the various classes available such as yoga and tai chiYoga and T'ai chi. However, my studies are now coming to an end and as I will shortly be returning to my home country, possibly for good, I regret that I no longer wish to continue my membership. I would be grateful, therefore, if you could confirm in writing that my monthly membership feethe monthly fee will no longer be deducted from my bank account.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter handles its communicative purpose very effectively, covering the membership type and payment method, concrete benefits, and the reason for leaving in a consistently polite register. Its main weakness is presentation: the response is written as one continuous block and lacks a conventional closing, so the highest-priority improvement is to separate the opening, benefits, and cancellation request into clear paragraphs and finish with an appropriate sign-off.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are covered with specific detail, and the formal tone suits a letter to the club secretary.
State the requested cancellation date and add an appropriate sign-off to make the required action fully explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from membership details through benefits to the reason for leaving, although it appears as one continuous block.
Divide the letter into distinct paragraphs for the opening purpose, benefits, and cancellation request.
Lexical Resource
A varied and precise vocabulary conveys membership arrangements, club benefits, and departure circumstances naturally.
Refine a few longer phrases for greater concision while retaining the accurate formal register.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with clear relationships between ideas and only minor punctuation concerns.
Separate the salutation from the opening sentence and review punctuation in longer sentences for a cleaner presentation.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
For the past year you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter:
- state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this
- give details of how you have benefited from the club
- explain why you want to leave
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.