You have recently changed your job and started working for a new company. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter: - explain why you have changed your previous job - describe your new job - tell him/her your other news
Sample Response
Dear Kathy, Hope you are doing well. It's been a long since we have last met. I am writing to let you know that I have recently changed my job and I really like it. I hope we would be able to meet soon and spend some exciting time together. Though I was professionally satisfied with my previous job, it was hard for me to balance my professional and personal life. Long working hours were not allowing me to get some time for myself. Moreover, I was looking for an opportunity that would allow me to grow in the people management area along with technical skills. The new company offers both. I am responsible for the project delivery and I lead a team of eight people. I am truly excited about this new role. I would also like to inform you that I have finally purchased a car. It is a second-hand car, however, it is in good condition. I enjoy a daily drive to work. No more today. Please convey my regards to your family. I look forward to knowing what you are doing these days. Please write me back at your convenience. Warm wishes, Naaz
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use future form Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: After "I hope," use "will" for this realistic future possibility.
- 2. Use simple past Original: were not allowing me Suggested revision: did not allow me Why it matters: The simple past is more appropriate for a completed situation at the previous job.
- 3. Use natural phrasing Original: grow in the people management area Suggested revision: develop my people-management skills Why it matters: This phrasing states the intended area of professional development more naturally.
- 4. Remove unnecessary article Original: the project delivery Suggested revision: project delivery Why it matters: The uncountable activity "project delivery" does not need "the" here.
- 5. Clarify the routine Original: a Suggested revision: my Why it matters: The possessive determiner makes this personal routine sound more natural.
- 6. Use friendly closing Original: No more today Suggested revision: That's all for now Why it matters: This is a more natural informal way to bring a letter to a friend to a close.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: knowing what you are doing Suggested revision: hearing what you have been doing Why it matters: "Look forward to hearing" is the natural expression for inviting a friend's news.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: It's been a long since we have last met. Suggested revision: It's been a long time since we last met. Why it matters: Add the missing noun and use the simple past after "since" to refer to the last meeting.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: It is a second-hand car, however, it is in good condition. Suggested revision: It is a second-hand car; however, it is in good condition. Why it matters: A semicolon correctly joins the two independent clauses around "however."
- 10. Organise the letter Suggested revision: Separate the opening, reasons for changing jobs, description of the new role, car news, and closing into short paragraphs. Why it matters: Clear paragraph breaks would make the progression between the required bullet points easier to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- would will
- were not allowing me did not allow me
- grow in the people management area develop my people-management skills
- the project delivery project delivery
- a my
- No more today That's all for now
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly fulfils its friendly purpose, covers all three points with relevant detail, and uses a generally natural range of vocabulary and sentence structures. Its main limitation is presentation as one continuous paragraph, while several awkward phrases and tense choices reduce polish; the highest priority is to group the job change, new role, and personal news into distinct paragraphs and proofread collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are covered, and the friendly letter contains relevant supporting detail.
Develop the new role slightly further by explaining one specific responsibility or benefit rather than only naming the team and delivery duties.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the reason for changing jobs to the new role and personal news, but the response is not divided into paragraphs.
Use separate paragraphs for the job-change reason, the new position, and the car news so each stage of the message is immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
The letter shows a good range of relevant vocabulary, although phrases such as "It's been a long" and "enjoy a daily drive" are unnatural.
Choose more idiomatic collocations, such as "It has been a long time" and "I enjoy driving to work every day."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of simple and complex structures is used with generally good control, though several tense and sentence-boundary errors remain.
Proofread tense choices and punctuation, especially "since we last met" and the comma splice before "however."
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently changed your job and started working for a new company. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter:
- explain why you have changed your previous job
- describe your new job
- tell him/her your other news
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.