You are working for a company. You need to take some time off work and want to ask your manager about this. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter: - explain why you want to take time off work - give details of the amount of time you need - suggest how your work could be covered while you are away
Sample Response
Dear Mr Pattison, My parents are going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on 14th December and I would request some unpaid leave from the office next month to prepare for the party and enjoy the occasion. The 50th wedding anniversary is a significant occasion both for our parents and us and we want to make it distinctive. We will celebrate the occasion on 14th December and have already booked a large party hall for that. The whole family, including my nephews and nieces, and almost 50 other guests are expected to be present and it demands a huge preparation. To participate in this occasion, I would need to be away from work for three days, considering the travel time and some preparation works that I am expected to finish before the party. I would, hence, be absent from work from 13th December to 15th December. I do not have any urgent work commitment at that time and Tania has agreed to look after my tasks while I would be away. She had done that before and after I return, I would be ready to work some extra hours to cover any of my pending tasks. I would be very grateful if you could allow me the time off. The occasion is very special to me and my family and I want to make it memorable by attending it. Thank you in advance. Yours sincerely, Donna Roth
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Make a polite request Original: I would request some unpaid leave from the office Suggested revision: I would like to request unpaid leave from work Why it matters: Would like to request is the appropriate form for making this present request to a manager.
- 2. Avoid repeated event name Original: The 50th wedding anniversary Suggested revision: This anniversary Why it matters: The reference is already clear from the preceding sentence and need not be repeated in full.
- 3. Balance both elements Original: both for our parents and us Suggested revision: both for our parents and for us Why it matters: The paired structure requires the preposition for before both coordinated objects.
- 4. Use natural celebration wording Original: distinctive Suggested revision: special Why it matters: Special is the natural adjective for describing a meaningful family celebration.
- 5. Use concise phrasing Original: celebrate the occasion Suggested revision: hold the celebration Why it matters: The revision avoids repeating occasion and describes the planned event directly.
- 6. Specify the venue Original: party hall for that Suggested revision: venue for the celebration Why it matters: Venue is the precise term for the booked location.
- 7. Use attend an occasion Original: participate in this occasion Suggested revision: attend this occasion Why it matters: People attend an occasion rather than participate in it.
- 8. Use countable preparations Original: some preparation works Suggested revision: some preparations Why it matters: Work is uncountable in this meaning, while preparations naturally expresses the required tasks.
- 9. State personal need Original: that I am expected to finish Suggested revision: that I need to complete Why it matters: The revision makes clear that these are the writer's own preparations.
- 10. Use a clear result Original: I would, hence, be absent Suggested revision: Therefore, I would be absent Why it matters: The sentence-initial connector presents the consequence more smoothly than the parenthetical adverb.
- 11. Use plural commitments Original: urgent work commitment at that time Suggested revision: urgent work commitments during that period Why it matters: A general statement about duties naturally uses the plural, and period fits the three-day range.
- 12. Use handle tasks Original: look after my tasks Suggested revision: handle my tasks Why it matters: Handle is the natural workplace verb for taking responsibility for another person's tasks.
Suggested Rewrites
- I would request some unpaid leave from the office I would like to request unpaid leave from work
- The 50th wedding anniversary This anniversary
- both for our parents and us both for our parents and for us
- distinctive special
- celebrate the occasion hold the celebration
- party hall for that venue for the celebration
Why this response received Band 7.0
The request is courteous, purposeful, and complete, with especially clear dates and a practical plan for covering the writer's duties. The main weakness is recurring awkwardness in collocation and in the handling of tense and modal forms, even though meaning remains clear. The highest-priority improvement is to use consistent future and conditional structures when describing the leave arrangement and work cover.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly explains the family occasion, specifies the three-day absence, and provides a credible work-cover arrangement in a suitable tone.
Make the opening request slightly more direct by using would like to request before giving the supporting detail.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content follows a clear sequence from the reason for leave to dates, cover arrangements, and a polite closing.
Use distinct body paragraphs for the reason, duration, and work-cover proposal so each requested point is immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficiently varied and appropriate for a workplace request, despite several awkward collocations such as huge preparation and preparation works.
Prefer natural combinations such as extensive preparation, preparation tasks, and pressing work commitments.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good range of complex sentences, but tense and modal choices are inconsistent in several clauses about future arrangements.
Keep the future time frame consistent by writing while I am away, she has done this before, and after I return I will work extra hours.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are working for a company. You need to take some time off work and want to ask your manager about this. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:
- explain why you want to take time off work
- give details of the amount of time you need
- suggest how your work could be covered while you are away
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.