Write a letter to the Information Officer at the TAPE Information Office about the Tertiary Preparation Certificate. In your letter: - ask for information about the certificate - describe your educational background - explain why you want to do the course
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to request the necessary information about the Tertiary Preparation Certificate programme that is offered at your university. For your kind information, I am planning to pursue the course in the next term. As far as my previous educational qualifications are concerned, I have finished my higher school certification about 8 years ago, after completing 12 years of schooling, in India with a GPA of 3.75. Later on, I also finished my Bachelor degree in science before starting my career as a Nutrition Expert at a leading snack manufacturing company in my country. By the way, my major was science, and I studied physics, mathematics, chemistry, zoology and English among other subjects. Currently, I am planning to get admission to a renowned Engineering university in Australia in order to pursue a post-graduate education because I am convinced that this tertiary preparation programme would help me further my career. Therefore, I would really appreciate it if you please send me all the necessary information regarding the admission procedure, course duration and tuition fees at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your consideration. Yours faithfully, Mousumi Ahona
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate the salutation Original: Dear Sir or Madam, I am Suggested revision: Dear Sir or Madam, I am Why it matters: The salutation should appear on its own line before the letter begins.
- 2. Remove redundant wording Original: writing this letter Suggested revision: writing Why it matters: The context already makes clear that this is a letter.
- 3. Use concise modifier Original: programme that is offered Suggested revision: programme offered Why it matters: The reduced relative clause is clearer and more concise.
- 4. Match the recipient Original: at your university Suggested revision: through TAPE Why it matters: The task identifies the TAPE Information Office rather than a university as the source of information.
- 5. Use natural formal phrase Original: For your kind information, Suggested revision: I would like to mention that Why it matters: The original expression is unnatural in a formal information request.
- 6. Use natural course verb Original: pursue Suggested revision: take Why it matters: People normally take or enrol in a course rather than pursue it.
- 7. Remove unnecessary article Original: in the next term Suggested revision: next term Why it matters: No article is needed before “next term” in this time expression.
- 8. Avoid redundant phrasing Original: previous educational qualifications Suggested revision: educational background Why it matters: The replacement is concise and matches the requested bullet point.
- 9. Fix tense and qualification Original: have finished my higher school certification Suggested revision: completed my high school certificate Why it matters: A finished event eight years ago requires the simple past, and “high school certificate” is the natural term.
- 10. Spell out small number Original: 8 Suggested revision: eight Why it matters: Spelling out a small number is more natural in a formal letter.
- 11. Remove incorrect comma Original: schooling, in India Suggested revision: schooling in India Why it matters: The comma incorrectly separates the place phrase from the clause it modifies.
- 12. Use possessive degree form Original: finished my Bachelor degree Suggested revision: completed a bachelor’s degree Why it matters: The qualification requires an article and the possessive form “bachelor’s.”
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Sir or Madam, I am Dear Sir or Madam, I am
- writing this letter writing
- programme that is offered programme offered
- at your university through TAPE
- For your kind information, I would like to mention that
- pursue take
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses the request by giving a detailed educational background, a clear reason for taking the programme, and specific questions about admission, duration, and fees. Its main limitation is occasional unnatural or overly conversational phrasing within an otherwise formal register; the highest-priority improvement is to organise the three purposes into distinct paragraphs and phrase the final request more directly and naturally.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the formal tone is sustained with only minor lapses.
Refine the request by asking explicitly whether the certificate meets the entry requirements for the intended postgraduate engineering course.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas follow a sensible sequence from purpose to background, motivation, and requested information, but the continuous paragraph reduces visual clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for educational background, reasons for applying, and the specific information requested.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a flexible range of education and career vocabulary, though phrases such as "For your kind information" and "By the way" are not fully natural in this formal context.
Replace those expressions with direct formal transitions such as "Regarding my educational background" and "In addition."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex sentences is handled well, with occasional errors in forms such as "Bachelor degree" and the request clause "if you please send me."
Use standard forms such as "bachelor's degree" and "I would appreciate it if you could send me the relevant information."
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Write a letter to the Information Officer at the TAPE Information Office about the Tertiary Preparation Certificate. In your letter:
- ask for information about the certificate
- describe your educational background
- explain why you want to do the course
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.