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 Mrs Lindsay, I am writing to request some unpaid leave next month and I am hoping you willwould approve my leave requestpermit me to take the leave. My parents' 50th wedding anniversary is on 21 Novemberon November 21st, and they are planning to celebrate this significant milestoneachievement with all their children and grandchildren. For the celebration, theyTo do this, they have rented a house largebig enough to accommodate the whole family. To attend this special celebrationTo participate in this special occasion, I would need to be away from work for four days, from Monday, 19th to Thursday 23rd. My workloadschedule for that week is relatively light, apart from two meetings with clients. Netta would be able to attend these meetings on my behalfattend these in my place, as she has had previous dealings with both companies and knows the relevant staff there. I have no other urgent work commitments at that time. I would be very grateful if you could allow me this time. These few days are very important to my parents and the whole family, and it would be a way to thank them for all the support they have given me. Best regards, Caroline Laina
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter gives a convincing family reason for leave and explains a practical coverage plan by naming the colleague who can handle two client meetings. Its tone is polite and workplace-appropriate. The main limitation is the duration: ‘four days’ conflicts with the stated period from the 19th to the 23rd, which spans five calendar dates. Prioritise giving an exact, internally consistent absence and return-to-work date.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The reason and work-coverage plan are fully developed, but the stated four-day duration conflicts with the 19th-to-23rd date range.
State the precise four working days requested and confirm the date on which normal duties will resume.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses smoothly from the request and family event to the absence period, work coverage, and courteous closing.
Use distinct paragraphs for the personal reason, dates, and coverage arrangements to make managerial review faster.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, natural, and suitably professional, with only minor repetition and occasional imprecision such as calling an anniversary an achievement.
Use ‘milestone’, ‘cover the meetings’, ‘urgent commitments’, and ‘approve my leave request’ for maximum precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A broad range of structures is generally accurate and clear, with only minor tense, punctuation, and date-format issues.
Use parallel date forms and check agreement between the stated number of days and the calendar range.
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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.