You attended an interview with a company but are still waiting for the result. Write a letter to the manager of the HR department requesting information. In your letter: - describe the position you applied for - explain why you think the interview went well - explain why you need the result of the interview
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Jamie Ferguson, and I am writing this letter to enquire about the status of my job application and interview.
I applied for the position of Management Trainee at your company, and my interview took place on 14th March. Unfortunately, I have not got any decision yet from your end, even though I was told that the human resource department would inform me about a hiring decision on me within one week of the interview.
I am contacting you also because I thought that I did excellent in the interview. After all, four people quizzed me for almost 30 minutes, and yet, I never stumbled for once. At the end of my interview, they even told me that they were very impressed with my performance.
I need to know the result of this interview because I will have to decide on whether or not to renew my apartment lease within the next week or move to another area. If I am selected for the job, I will renew the rental lease.
So, I hope that you understand the urgency of my situation and be kind enough to let me know about a hiring decision on me at your earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully,
Jamie Ferguson
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify requested outcome Original: status of my job application and interview Suggested revision: outcome of my job interview Why it matters: This wording states more precisely what information you are requesting.
- 2. Use natural phrasing Original: have not got any decision yet from your end Suggested revision: have not yet received a decision Why it matters: The original phrase is unnatural in a formal enquiry.
- 3. Correct department name Original: resource Suggested revision: resources Why it matters: The standard department name uses the plural form 'resources'.
- 4. Fix decision collocation Original: inform me about a hiring decision on me Suggested revision: inform me of its hiring decision Why it matters: A company makes a decision about an application rather than a decision 'on' a person.
- 5. Place adverb naturally Original: contacting you also Suggested revision: also contacting you Why it matters: Placing 'also' before the main verb gives the natural adverb order.
- 6. Correct word form Original: did excellent Suggested revision: performed very well Why it matters: The verb requires an adverbial expression rather than the adjective 'excellent'.
- 7. Use formal wording Original: quizzed Suggested revision: interviewed Why it matters: 'Interviewed' is more appropriate than the informal and potentially adversarial 'quizzed' here.
- 8. Fix negative expression Original: never stumbled for once Suggested revision: did not stumble once Why it matters: The original negative construction is not idiomatic English.
- 9. Make wording concise Original: decide on whether or not to renew Suggested revision: decide whether to renew Why it matters: The shorter form expresses the same choice more directly.
- 10. Clarify final request Original: let me know about a hiring decision on me Suggested revision: let me know its decision regarding my application Why it matters: This collocation clearly identifies the application as the subject of the decision.
- 11. Use lower-case job title Original: position of Management Trainee Suggested revision: position of management trainee Why it matters: A generic job title is normally lower-case when it follows 'position of'.
- 12. Refine date format Original: 14th Suggested revision: 14 Why it matters: The cardinal-number date format is concise and conventional in formal British correspondence.
Suggested Rewrites
- status of my job application and interview outcome of my job interview
- have not got any decision yet from your end have not yet received a decision
- resource resources
- inform me about a hiring decision on me inform me of its hiring decision
- contacting you also also contacting you
- did excellent performed very well
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter addresses the request directly, covers all three points with specific supporting details, and maintains a suitably formal tone throughout. Its main limitation is a cluster of awkward collocations and phrasing that slightly reduces precision, so the highest-priority improvement is to replace expressions such as those about receiving a decision and interview performance with more natural professional English.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the formal register suits an HR manager.
Make the practical connection between receiving the result and renewing the apartment lease slightly more explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is organised into focused paragraphs that progress naturally from the application to the interview, personal urgency, and request.
Tighten the final request to avoid repeating the idea of receiving a hiring decision.
Lexical Resource
A strong range of relevant professional vocabulary is used, although several collocations such as ‘decision on me’ and ‘did excellent’ are unnatural.
Use more idiomatic combinations, such as ‘receive a decision on my application’ and ‘performed well in the interview’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex sentence forms is handled accurately, with only occasional non-impeding errors.
Check adjective-adverb choices and preposition patterns in phrases such as ‘did excellent’ and ‘decide on whether’.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You attended an interview with a company but are still waiting for the result. Write a letter to the manager of the HR department requesting information. In your letter:
- describe the position you applied for
- explain why you think the interview went well
- explain why you need the result of the interview
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.