One of your friends has asked you to be a partner in his/her new business. Write a letter to reply to your friend's offer. In your letter: - give your opinion of your friend's business idea - tell him/her whether or not you have decided to accept the - offer and explain your reasons for this decision
Sample Response
Dear Smith, It is a pleasure to be in touch with you after a long. I hope you are doing well. I am so excited to hear that you are finally pursuing a dream you have had for a long - owing and running your own business. My best wishes will always be with you. Your idea to start a motorbike showroom in Ghansoli is quite excellent and timely. This area does not have such showrooms and I have seen many people travelling 30 to 40 km to buy a motorcycle. They also visit the nearby town to get motorbike parts. Your business will tap into this market and I am quite positive would be a success. I believe opening a motorcycle showroom in Ghansoli is a very good idea and you can expect good returns on investment. Thanks for asking me to join you as a partner, but I am afraid I have to decline. I have my reason for this decision, and I have taken adequate time to determine it. I will be staying in Canada for a year to manage a sales team. This is a good career opportunity, and I cannot leave it as it is a one-time offer. Moreover, all the arrangements have already been made and cancelling it would hurt my career progress. I wish you good luck with your new venture and look forward to meeting you soon. Warm regards, Holmes
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Complete time phrase Original: after a long Suggested revision: after a long time Why it matters: The expression needs “time” to form a complete time phrase.
- 2. Clarify the explanation Original: a long - Suggested revision: a long time: Why it matters: Add the missing noun and use a colon to introduce what the dream involves.
- 3. Correct spelling Original: owing Suggested revision: owning Why it matters: “Owning” is the intended word for possessing and operating the business.
- 4. Avoid redundant degree Original: quite excellent Suggested revision: excellent Why it matters: “Excellent” already expresses a high degree, so “quite” is unnecessary here.
- 5. Add the determiner Original: does not have such showrooms Suggested revision: does not have any such showrooms Why it matters: A negative clause needs “any” before this plural noun phrase.
- 6. Use plural noun Original: reason Suggested revision: reasons Why it matters: The following explanation gives more than one reason for declining.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: determine Suggested revision: reach Why it matters: A decision is normally “reached” rather than “determined” in this context.
- 8. Clarify the reference Original: leave it Suggested revision: give it up Why it matters: “Give it up” more clearly refers to abandoning the career opportunity.
- 9. Use a friendly opening Original: It is a pleasure to be in touch with you Suggested revision: It is great to hear from you Why it matters: This wording better matches an informal letter to a friend.
- 10. Use a precise business term Original: motorbike showroom Suggested revision: motorcycle dealership Why it matters: “Dealership” is a more precise term for a business that sells motorcycles.
- 11. Keep terminology consistent Original: motorbike Suggested revision: motorcycle Why it matters: Using “motorcycle” consistently avoids an unnecessary shift in terminology.
- 12. State the decision directly Original: have to decline Suggested revision: will not be able to accept Why it matters: This makes the response to the partnership offer explicit while remaining considerate.
Suggested Rewrites
- after a long after a long time
- a long - a long time:
- owing owning
- quite excellent excellent
- does not have such showrooms does not have any such showrooms
- reason reasons
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the offer, gives a persuasive evaluation of the showroom idea, and explains the decision to decline with relevant personal detail. Its main weakness is language precision: several awkward or incomplete expressions slightly reduce polish, while the lack of visible paragraphing makes the progression less easy to scan. Prioritise natural collocations and divide the response into clear purpose, evaluation, decision, and closing paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response fulfils the purpose, evaluates the business idea convincingly, and clearly explains the decision to decline.
Make the refusal even more direct at the start of its section before developing the reasons.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from greeting and evaluation to the refusal and its justification, but the response lacks clear paragraph divisions.
Use separate paragraphs for the business opinion, the decision and reasons, and the closing.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective business language, although several collocations are awkward.
Replace unnatural expressions such as "after a long" and "taken adequate time to determine it" with idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is used accurately overall, with a few local errors that do not impede meaning.
Proofread for omitted subjects and malformed phrases, particularly in "I am quite positive would be a success" and "owing and running".
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
One of your friends has asked you to be a partner in his/her new business. Write a letter to reply to your friend's offer. In your letter:
- give your opinion of your friend's business idea
- tell him/her whether or not you have decided to accept the
- offer and explain your reasons for this decision
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.