You are studying for a qualification, and you would like some time off from your work to complete it. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter: - ask for some time off to complete the qualification - suggest what you will do later at work if you have time off - say how the qualification will help your job or company
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to explore the possibility of having a fortnight off from my work, from 12th June to 27th June, in order to complete my Advance diploma course in Digital Business and Trade. I am almost finished with the course, and now all I need to do is take the final exams which will start within two weeks. Luckily, I still have some unused annual leaves, and I want to finally use them up by taking the final exams to finish my diploma course. Having said that, however, if my company still feels that I would need to make up for those missing days at work, I would be more than happy to work on the weekends as well as show up early at work once the exams are over. For your kind information, this particular certification is important for me and the company since it will help me, in the capacity of a Senior Marketing Manager, to better position my company to tap into a huge number of prospective customers who want to buy our products online. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Kelly Bower
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. State the leave dates Original: a fortnight off from my work, from 12th June to 27th June Suggested revision: leave from 12 June to 27 June Why it matters: This removes the inaccurate duration label and states the requested period directly.
- 2. Use the adjective Original: Advance diploma course Suggested revision: Advanced Diploma course Why it matters: 'Advanced' is the adjective needed to modify the qualification name.
- 3. Remove double linking Original: Having said that, however Suggested revision: However Why it matters: The two contrast markers duplicate the same cohesive function.
- 4. Address the manager Original: my company still feels Suggested revision: you feel Why it matters: The letter should address the manager directly rather than refer vaguely to the company.
- 5. Use concise wording Original: work on the weekends Suggested revision: work at weekends Why it matters: This is a concise and natural way to describe the proposed arrangement.
- 6. Use formal wording Original: show up early at work Suggested revision: start work early Why it matters: 'Start work early' is more suitable for a formal letter to a manager.
- 7. Use direct phrasing Original: For your kind information, this particular certification Suggested revision: This qualification Why it matters: The revised phrase is direct and appropriately formal without sounding formulaic.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: Luckily, I still have some unused annual leaves, and I want to finally use them up by taking the final exams to finish my diploma course. Suggested revision: Luckily, I still have enough unused annual leave, which I would like to use to sit the final exams and complete my diploma. Why it matters: The rewrite corrects the uncountable noun 'leave' and removes repetitive wording.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: For your kind information, this particular certification is important for me and the company since it will help me, in the capacity of a Senior Marketing Manager, to better position my company to tap into a huge number of prospective customers who want to buy our products online. Suggested revision: This qualification will help me, as a senior marketing manager, position the company to reach many prospective customers who buy products online. Why it matters: The rewrite preserves the business benefit while removing wordiness and awkward collocations.
- 10. Organise the request Suggested revision: Use separate paragraphs for the leave request, the proposed make-up arrangement, and the qualification's benefit to the company. Why it matters: Clear paragraphing would give each required bullet point a distinct and logical place.
Suggested Rewrites
- a fortnight off from my work, from 12th June to 27th June leave from 12 June to 27 June
- Advance diploma course Advanced Diploma course
- Having said that, however However
- my company still feels you feel
- work on the weekends work at weekends
- show up early at work start work early
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter addresses every requirement directly and supports the request with precise dates, a practical work arrangement, and a convincing explanation of the qualification's value. Its main limitation is presentation as a single dense paragraph, while a few unnatural expressions and count-form errors reduce polish. The highest-priority improvement is to divide the content into focused paragraphs and edit formal phrases for greater accuracy and naturalness.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The request, proposed compensation at work, and benefits to the company are all clearly and sufficiently developed in a suitable formal tone.
Address the manager by name or job title where possible to make the professional context more credible and appropriately targeted.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a clear sequence and linking is effective, but the single-paragraph format obscures the distinct stages of the request.
Separate the request, make-up arrangements, and business benefits into three focused body paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and appropriately formal, although phrases such as unused annual leaves and For your kind information are not fully natural.
Use idiomatic workplace language such as unused annual leave and This qualification will benefit the company by.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are used with generally good control, but there are occasional form and count errors alongside some overextended structures.
Correct forms such as Advanced Diploma and annual leave, and split the final long sentence to improve grammatical control.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are studying for a qualification, and you would like some time off from your work to complete it. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:
- ask for some time off to complete the qualification
- suggest what you will do later at work if you have time off
- say how the qualification will help your job or company
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.