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 Henry,
I am writing to request the opportunityformally request an opportunity to work at our company’s head office in Germany for six months. I am hoping that you will allow me to take the opportunity to work in our head office for about half a year.
I believe that working at the head office would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of our global operations and learn best practices from senior colleagues. This experience would enhance my skills and enable me to bring new insights and strategies back to our team. Additionally, it would give me the opportunitychance to build stronger relationships with key stakeholders, which could be beneficial for our department over the longer termin the long run.
To ensure that my responsibilities are handledmanaged smoothly during my absence, I propose delegating my routine taskssome of my tasks to James, who is already familiar with my ongoing projects. I would also be happy to provideoffer remote support when needed and completeensure a thorough handover before I leave.
I would appreciate your guidance in arranging this transfer and discussing any formal procedures that need to be completed. Please let me know a convenient time for you to discussa convenient time to discuss this further.
Yours sincerely,
Liam Bennett
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter is highly effective: it clearly explains the professional value of the placement, presents a practical plan for maintaining responsibilities, and makes a suitably respectful request for managerial support. Organisation and language are consistently controlled, with only minor repetition in the opening and a little generality about the transfer arrangements. The best refinement would be to streamline the introduction and specify the exact assistance required from the manager.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully and relevantly developed, and the formal, respectful tone suits a letter to a manager.
Make the final request even more precise by naming the particular approval or coordination needed from the manager.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is arranged in purposeful paragraphs with clear progression from the request to its benefits, practical cover, and next steps.
Remove the repeated statement of the six-month request in the opening to make the progression still more economical.
Lexical Resource
The response uses flexible and precise professional vocabulary, including appropriate language for operations, stakeholders, delegation, and handover.
Replace the small amount of repetition around opportunity and head office with more varied, concise phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately and naturally, with consistently well-controlled punctuation and agreement.
Maintain this accuracy while tightening the two similar opening sentences into one more sophisticated sentence.
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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.