Last year you attended a presentation skill course at the Sydney College of Australia. Your new employer has asked you to provide copies of your reports and assignments as quickly as possible. Write a letter to the director of the school. In your letter: - explain who you are and why you are writing - request these documents - ask whether you need to pay any fee for that
Same question Compare all 2 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to ask you for a very important favour. But, before I get into giving the details about the type of favour, I am asking, please allow me first to introduce myself. My name is Noah Kyle, and I attended a short presentation skill course the last summer at your renowned Sydney College of Australia. By the way, my student ID was S-231 556, and I have completed the course successfully from batch '37'. Now, I have been offered a new job at a telecommunication company, but before I get the formal offer letter in my hand, my new employer has asked me to produce copies of my reports and assignments from the course I attended at your college. I need them within the next two weeks. I understand that I may be asking for this favour on rather short notice, but I would really be grateful to you if you help me get all the necessary papers and documents from my course at your earliest convenience. Please also let me know if there is any fee for this service. If there is any payment involved, please do let me know promptly so that I can arrange to pay it quickly. Thank you in advance for your help. Yours faithfully, Noah Kyle
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Tighten the opening Original: I am writing this letter Suggested revision: I am writing Why it matters: The shorter phrase is more direct and suitably formal.
- 2. State the request Original: very important favour Suggested revision: copies of my course reports and assignments Why it matters: Naming the documents immediately makes the letter's purpose clearer.
- 3. Remove the article Original: the last summer Suggested revision: last summer Why it matters: No article is used before 'last summer' in this time expression.
- 4. Avoid unnecessary praise Original: renowned Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: This praise is unnecessary in a straightforward administrative request.
- 5. Use formal transition Original: By the way Suggested revision: For reference Why it matters: The replacement links the identification detail more formally.
- 6. Use past simple Original: I have completed Suggested revision: I completed Why it matters: A finished course at a specified past time requires the past simple.
- 7. Correct the collocation Original: successfully from batch '37' Suggested revision: successfully in batch 37 Why it matters: A student completes a course in a batch, not from a batch.
- 8. Improve company wording Original: at a telecommunication company Suggested revision: with a telecommunications company Why it matters: This is the more natural phrasing for employment by this type of company.
- 9. Remove awkward idiom Original: formal offer letter in my hand Suggested revision: formal offer letter Why it matters: The physical-image phrase is unnecessary and unnatural in this formal context.
- 10. Use precise verb Original: produce copies Suggested revision: provide copies Why it matters: An employer asks an applicant to provide documents rather than produce them.
- 11. Correct the preposition Original: on rather short notice Suggested revision: at rather short notice Why it matters: The fixed expression is 'at short notice'.
- 12. Use polite conditional Original: if you help me get Suggested revision: if you could help me obtain Why it matters: The conditional form fits the polite request introduced by 'would be grateful'.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am writing this letter I am writing
- very important favour copies of my course reports and assignments
- the last summer last summer
- renowned Delete
- By the way For reference
- I have completed I completed
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly identifies the writer, explains the employment-related urgency, requests the required documents, and asks about payment in an appropriately formal manner. Its main limitation is presentation: the entire body is one dense paragraph, while a few phrases sound awkward or overly conversational. The highest-priority improvement is to divide the request into purposeful paragraphs and use more natural, concise formal phrasing.
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 fully covered, and the generally formal tone suits the director.
Make the request even more direct by naming the reports and assignments explicitly at the first point of request.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a sensible sequence, but presenting the whole body as one paragraph weakens organization and readability.
Use separate paragraphs for identification, the document request and deadline, and the fee enquiry.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally appropriate, although expressions such as 'the last summer' and 'from batch' are unnatural.
Prefer precise, natural formal phrases such as 'last summer' and 'in batch 37' while removing conversational fillers.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is used with good control, despite occasional article, preposition, and punctuation problems.
Review long sentences for cleaner clause boundaries and accurate article and preposition choices.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Last year you attended a presentation skill course at the Sydney College of Australia. Your new employer has asked you to provide copies of your reports and assignments as quickly as possible. Write a letter to the director of the school. In your letter:
- explain who you are and why you are writing
- request these documents
- ask whether you need to pay any fee for that
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.