You work for an international company and would like to spend six months working in its head office in another country. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter: - explain why you want to work in the company’s head office for six months - say how your work could be done while you are away - ask for his/her help in arranging it
Sample Response
Dear Mr. Matthews,
I would like to request the opportunity to spendI want to express my interest in spending six months working at our company's head office in Vietnam. This seems to be great potential for both my self-growth and also for the company.
Among all the company's branchesOut of all the company's branches, the Vietnam office would help me gain first-hand insight intoget a first-hand view of the company's processes and its global strategy. I can make a stronger contributionboost my contributions and adoptdraw parallels to the company’s best practices to reduce inefficienciesto eliminate waste and enhance overall efficiency. Additionally, I can apply the company's established practicesbuild on the company's existing practices. The experience and knowledge I gainacquire can support my professional developmentshape my future and support the company's goalsendeavors.
As for my duties, I would continue to handlewould be doing my projects remotelyremote project management. I would do my best to make it not feel any different, using virtual meetings and emails. I would like to addressease any concerns by making sure the tasks and projects would be managed efficiently.
Coordinating to get this finalized would be a great help. I would like to address any questionsease any inquiries by making sure the tasks and projects would be managed efficiently. Any support in the planning this placementearly stages of the project would be appreciated.
Yours sincerely,Yours Sincerely,
Sreenath Kamte
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter maintains an appropriately respectful tone and gives a clear, relevant reason for seeking the placement, with a workable outline for remote project management. Its main weakness is that the request for managerial help remains vague and the final paragraphs repeat the same assurance. Prioritise a specific request—such as approval, introductions, or assistance with transfer arrangements—and replace repeated claims with concrete cover arrangements.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and all three bullet points are addressed, although the request for help and the cover arrangements lack specific detail.
State exactly what assistance the manager should provide and name who will handle key duties during the placement.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter follows a sensible progression, but repeated assurances about efficient task management weaken cohesion near the end.
Give each paragraph one distinct function and remove the duplicated sentence about managing tasks and projects efficiently.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a reasonably varied work-related vocabulary, though several collocations are unnatural or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as “great potential,” “draw parallels to,” and “ease any inquiries” with direct, natural workplace language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the message clearly, with occasional awkward constructions and word-form choices.
Review clause structure and noun forms in sentences such as “This seems to be great potential” to improve grammatical naturalness.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You work for an international company and would like to spend six months working in its head office in another country. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:
- explain why you want to work in the company’s head office for six months
- say how your work could be done while you are away
- ask for his/her help in arranging it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.