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. 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 replacement is concise, formal, and idiomatic for an application enquiry.
- 2. Use the standard term Original: resource Suggested revision: resources Why it matters: “Human resources department” is the conventional name for this company function.
- 3. Correct the collocation Original: hiring decision on me within Suggested revision: decision on my application within Why it matters: A company makes a decision on an application rather than a decision “on” a person.
- 4. Place the adverb correctly Original: contacting you also Suggested revision: also contacting you Why it matters: “Also” should precede the participle it modifies in this clause.
- 5. Use an adverb Original: did excellent Suggested revision: performed excellently Why it matters: An adverbial form is needed to describe how the candidate performed.
- 6. Use professional wording Original: quizzed Suggested revision: interviewed Why it matters: “Interviewed” is more neutral and appropriate in a formal enquiry.
- 7. Correct the expression Original: for once Suggested revision: once Why it matters: After “never stumbled”, the idiomatic expression is “not once” or “never stumbled once”.
- 8. Remove redundancy Original: decide on whether or not Suggested revision: decide whether Why it matters: “Decide whether” expresses the choice directly without the unnecessary preposition and extra words.
- 9. Avoid redundancy Original: renew the rental lease Suggested revision: renew the lease Why it matters: A lease already refers to a rental agreement, so “rental” is unnecessary.
- 10. Make the opening concise Original: writing this letter to enquire Suggested revision: writing to enquire Why it matters: Removing “this letter” makes the formal purpose statement more direct.
- 11. Clarify the sequence Original: job application and interview Suggested revision: job application following the interview Why it matters: The replacement makes clear that the enquiry concerns the application after the interview.
- 12. Use a precise link Original: After all Suggested revision: In particular Why it matters: “In particular” introduces the specific interview evidence more accurately than “After all”.
Suggested Rewrites
- have not got any decision yet from your end have not yet received a decision
- resource resources
- hiring decision on me within decision on my application within
- contacting you also also contacting you
- did excellent performed excellently
- quizzed interviewed
Why this response received Band 7.5
This is a purposeful, well-organised letter that covers the position, evidence of a successful interview, and the practical urgency of receiving a decision. The main limitation is recurring awkward or inaccurate phrasing, especially around the hiring decision and interview performance. The highest-priority improvement is to use more idiomatic professional collocations and correct forms such as 'did well' rather than 'did excellent'.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly requests the result, fully covers every bullet point, and develops the lease-related urgency convincingly in a suitable formal tone.
Make the requested action even more precise by asking for the decision or a firm date by which it will be communicated.
Coherence and Cohesion
Focused paragraphs and a clear sequence from application details to interview evidence and urgency create strong overall progression.
Refine a few transitions, particularly 'I am contacting you also because' and 'So', to make the formal flow more seamless.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficiently varied and appropriate for a formal enquiry, although several collocations sound unnatural.
Use idiomatic phrases such as 'receive a decision', 'performed well', and 'a decision on my application' instead of the awkward alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good range of complex structures, but noticeable errors in forms and clause construction recur without obscuring meaning.
Correct patterns such as 'did excellent' and 'never stumbled for once', and review verb-complement and preposition choices.
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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.