One of your friends wants to apply for a job that involves working with foreign teenagers. Write a letter of recommendation for him/her. In your letter express: - how well you know your friend - what qualifications he/she has - why you think she would be suitable for the job
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to recommend my close friendone of my close friends, Millie Mercy, for the position of assistant supervisor in your organisation. She has an outstanding academic record, prior work experience with children and an amiable personality, whichamiable personality which would make her a suitable candidate for the positioncandidate to work in your organisation. I have been close to Millie since childhoodsince my childhood. She was my classmate at both school and collegeboth in school and college. Due to her leadership qualitiesquality, excellent academic performance and pleasant personality, teachers and students held her in high regardloved her dearly. She won a prestigious prize during her graduation ceremonyschool graduation ceremony and then wasgot admitted to Johanson's Merit College, whereCollege where she was an active organiser of social events. She graduated fromcompleted her graduation from the University of Eden and then worked as an interpreter for the United NationsNation. Afterwards, she travelled extensively and worked closely with two different humanitarian organisations in many parts of the world. She can speak English, French, and SpanishEnglish, French and Spanish fluently. She even has prior teaching experience and children love her very much.
I would definitely recommend her for the position you have advertised. Should you need any further information, pleaseinformation please do not hesitate to write to me. Yours faithfully, Elyse Villani
Why this response received Band 7.0
The recommendation’s strongest feature is the substantial, relevant evidence of Millie’s academic achievement, languages, international experience, teaching background, and longstanding relationship with the writer. Its main limitation is presentation: most content sits in one dense paragraph, and the connection between these qualifications and working specifically with foreign teenagers remains somewhat implicit. Prioritise grouping the evidence and explicitly linking her language, teaching, and cross-cultural experience to the advertised role.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All requirements are covered in detail, with strong evidence of the relationship and qualifications, though suitability for foreign teenagers could be stated more explicitly.
Explain directly how her three languages, teaching experience, and humanitarian work prepare her to support teenagers from different countries.
Coherence and Cohesion
The recommendation follows a logical chronological progression, but nearly all supporting material is concentrated in one dense paragraph.
Separate the relationship, qualifications, and role-specific suitability into distinct paragraphs before the closing recommendation.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad and mostly precise formal vocabulary, with occasional awkward phrases such as ‘leadership quality’ and ‘completed her graduation’.
Use natural combinations such as ‘leadership qualities’, ‘graduated from’, and ‘worked for the United Nations’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter contains a good range of largely accurate complex sentences, with only minor article, punctuation, and noun-form errors.
Check articles and commas in long lists and relative clauses to make the otherwise controlled prose more polished.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
One of your friends wants to apply for a job that involves working with foreign teenagers. Write a letter of recommendation for him/her. In your letter express:
- how well you know your friend
- what qualifications he/she has
- why you think she would be suitable for the job
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.