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 Harry, I am writing to you about the possibility of taking 12 days off work in order to complete my thesis and final exams for my Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Manchester. I am hoping that you would grant me leave from 17th July to 28th July 2025. I have almost finished my thesis, which I must submit to my teacher by July 24th. I need some time to completely finish it and to prepare for the upcoming exams. Hence I am asking for your permission to take time off work. I can assure you that I would check my emails daily, perhaps reply to some of them and be available for emergency phone calls from the office. Once I complete my exams and get back to the office, I would endeavour to come into the office earlier than usual and work Sundays in order to catch up on anything I had missed. I have already talked to Ethan and he is ready to share some of the responsibilities during my absence. I realise my temporary absence could be an inconvenience to you and the rest of the team, but I really need to take the leave to complete my Master’s degree qualification. I am looking forward to hearing from you and expecting your kind cooperation. Yours sincerely, Susanne Dvorak
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix institution preposition Original: for my Master’s degree in Finance from Suggested revision: for my Master’s degree in Finance at Why it matters: At correctly links an ongoing degree programme to the university where it is studied.
- 2. Use direct request form Original: I am hoping that you would grant Suggested revision: I hope that you will grant Why it matters: This tense and modal combination makes the present request clearer and more direct.
- 3. Use academic term Original: my teacher Suggested revision: my supervisor Why it matters: Supervisor is more precise for the person overseeing a master's thesis.
- 4. Remove redundancy Original: completely finish it Suggested revision: finish it Why it matters: Finish already means bring something to completion, so completely is redundant.
- 5. Use future commitment Original: I would check my emails daily Suggested revision: I will check my emails daily Why it matters: Will expresses the concrete arrangement during the requested future leave more accurately than would.
- 6. Fix future perspective Original: anything I had missed Suggested revision: anything I have missed Why it matters: The present perfect fits work missed by the time the writer returns to the office.
- 7. Use formal wording Original: talked to Ethan Suggested revision: spoken to Ethan Why it matters: Spoken to is slightly more appropriate for a formal workplace request.
- 8. Remove redundant noun Original: Master’s degree qualification Suggested revision: Master’s degree Why it matters: Degree already names the qualification, so the final noun is unnecessary.
- 9. Fix parallel structure Original: am looking forward to hearing from you and expecting Suggested revision: look forward to hearing from you and would appreciate Why it matters: The replacement creates a grammatical and appropriately formal closing with parallel verb forms.
- 10. Clarify work coverage Suggested revision: Specify which responsibilities Ethan can cover and identify any remaining work that will be handled remotely or after the leave. Why it matters: The coverage plan is relevant but remains vague about how the writer's duties will be managed.
Suggested Rewrites
- for my Master’s degree in Finance from for my Master’s degree in Finance at
- I am hoping that you would grant I hope that you will grant
- my teacher my supervisor
- completely finish it finish it
- I would check my emails daily I will check my emails daily
- anything I had missed anything I have missed
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses the request with precise dates, a well-explained academic reason, and practical arrangements for maintaining and recovering the writer’s workload. Its main weakness is presentation: the entire response forms one dense paragraph, which slightly obscures the otherwise clear progression; prioritise separating the purpose, reasons, cover arrangements, and closing into distinct paragraphs while retaining the professional tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully and relevantly developed through precise dates, a clear reason, and several workable cover arrangements.
Make the coverage plan even more operational by stating which specific responsibilities Ethan will handle during the absence.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a clear, cohesive sequence, but presenting the whole letter as one paragraph limits organisational clarity.
Separate the request, academic explanation, work-cover plan, and courteous closing into purposeful paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, specific, and appropriately professional, with only occasional slightly awkward phrases such as completely finish and expecting your kind cooperation.
Polish the few unnatural combinations by using finish it, complete my master’s degree, and I would appreciate your approval.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses a wide range of complex sentences with strong control, though a few tense and conditional choices are not fully consistent.
Maintain consistent time reference in phrases such as anything I miss and use will after once for the planned return to work.
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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.