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 one 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 which would make her a suitable candidate to work in your organisation. I have been close to Millie since my childhood. She was my classmate both in school and college. Due to her leadership quality, excellent academic performance and pleasant personality, teachers and students loved her dearly. She won a prestigious prize during her school graduation ceremony and then got admitted to Johanson's Merit College where she was an active organiser of social events. She completed her graduation from the University of Eden and then worked as an interpreter for the United Nation. Afterwards, she travelled extensively and worked closely with two different humanitarian organisations in many parts of the world. She can speak English, 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 please do not hesitate to write to me. Yours faithfully, Elyse Villani
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate greeting and body Original: Dear Sir or Madam, I am Suggested revision: Dear Sir or Madam, I am Why it matters: The body of a formal letter should begin on a new line after the salutation.
- 2. Use direct relationship phrase Original: one of my close friends Suggested revision: my close friend Why it matters: The replacement is more direct and avoids an unnecessary partitive phrase.
- 3. Add relative-clause comma Original: amiable personality which Suggested revision: amiable personality, which Why it matters: The non-defining relative clause requires a comma before which.
- 4. Avoid organisation repetition Original: candidate to work in your organisation Suggested revision: candidate for the position Why it matters: The replacement is more concise and avoids repeating organisation.
- 5. Use concise time phrase Original: since my childhood Suggested revision: since childhood Why it matters: The possessive is unnecessary in this fixed time expression.
- 6. Use correct institution preposition Original: both in school and college Suggested revision: at both school and college Why it matters: At is the natural preposition for attendance at educational institutions.
- 7. Use plural qualities Original: quality Suggested revision: qualities Why it matters: The plural form is natural when referring generally to leadership attributes.
- 8. Use professional endorsement Original: loved her dearly Suggested revision: held her in high regard Why it matters: The replacement is more appropriate for a formal recommendation.
- 9. Remove redundant school label Original: school graduation ceremony Suggested revision: graduation ceremony Why it matters: The surrounding context already establishes that the event occurred at school.
- 10. Use formal passive verb Original: got Suggested revision: was Why it matters: Was admitted is the correct formal passive construction.
- 11. Add relative-clause comma Original: College where Suggested revision: College, where Why it matters: The additional information about the college requires a preceding comma.
- 12. Use direct graduation verb Original: completed her graduation from Suggested revision: graduated from Why it matters: Graduate is the correct verb and does not require completed.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Sir or Madam, I am Dear Sir or Madam, I am
- one of my close friends my close friend
- amiable personality which amiable personality, which
- candidate to work in your organisation candidate for the position
- since my childhood since childhood
- both in school and college at both school and college
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
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
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.