A friend who is about to enter university wants your advice about whether to specialise in history, which interests him/her, or computer science, which offers better job prospects. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - recommend which subject your friend should specialise in - consider your friend's interest in history - consider the job prospects offered by computer science
Sample Response
Dear Charles, I was delighted to receivegot so delighted to receive your letter yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to learn thatit was a pleasant surprise to know that you've already completed high school and will soon be admitted to universitywould get admitted to a university soon. How time flies!How time does fly! You've asked for my opinionasked my opinion on which subject to choosetake as your major. I think you should follow your instinctsinstinct and choose a subjectgo for something you feel passionate about. I know you very wellclosely and can sayadvise that you do better when you feel genuinely interested in a subjectfeel connected to something. From your letter, I understand that your preference is historyyour personal choice is history , but your parentsbut your parents want you to follow in your older cousin Ryan's footstepsfollow your elder cousin Ryan's track who earns a high income in ITwho is earning a lot from his IT career. Who says you cannot have a great career if you studytake history? I can give you many examples of when someone from a more demanding subject is doing mediocrely while someone from a traditional subject is doing quite excellently. I guess you personally want to study history, I've got that impression from your letter, and that's why I would advise you to follow your own track and set an example for others instead of blindly walking through a street you do not want to be in. Warm wishes, Simmon
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear, warm purpose and gives confident, personally relevant advice in an appropriately friendly voice. Its main limitation is that the better job prospects in computer science are acknowledged only through the cousin's earnings and then dismissed, while the response is presented as one long paragraph. Develop that trade-off more directly and organise the recommendation, reasons, and conclusion into distinct paragraphs for a more balanced and readable answer.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response clearly recommends history, engages with the friend's interest, and maintains a suitable personal tone, but its consideration of computer science careers is brief and one-sided.
Explain the concrete career advantages of computer science before showing why the friend's motivation still makes history the better choice.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the friend's circumstances to the recommendation, although the entire letter body forms one dense paragraph and some sentences carry several points.
Use separate paragraphs for the opening context, the comparison of subjects, and the final recommendation.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and expressive, but several choices are awkward or imprecise, including 'got so delighted,' 'demanding subject,' and 'mediocrely.'
Prefer natural collocations and precise comparison language, such as 'was delighted,' 'career-focused subject,' and 'performs only moderately.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is used with generally secure control, though there are occasional awkward forms and a comma splice near the end.
Separate the clauses in 'I guess you personally want to study history, I've got that impression' and review tense choices for greater accuracy.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A friend who is about to enter university wants your advice about whether to specialise in history, which interests him/her, or computer science, which offers better job prospects. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- recommend which subject your friend should specialise in
- consider your friend's interest in history
- consider the job prospects offered by computer science
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.