You have received an important document that needs to be translated. Write a letter to your friend and ask him/her to translate this important document for you. In your letter explain: - why it is important for you - how fast you need it back - why you need his/her expertise
Sample Response
Dear Mitchell, I hope that this letter finds you in great health and good spiritsjovial spirit. I know I haven't writtenI know, I didn’t write to you forin the last few months, but it’s because I was really busy with my work. Anyway, I am writing to youI am writing to you this time because I could use your help in translating a document written in Germanforeign document, written in the German language, which I received a week agowhich I received about a week ago from a German company in response to a job application that I submittedjob application which I sent a couple of months agoabout a couple of months ago. Now, I know a little Germanknow a little German language, but it is certainly not good enough to translate this document into English because, after reading part of itafter reading it a little, I felt that this document concernsthis document is talking about the conditions for accepting this jobconditions for availing of this job. As you knowBy the way, I know about your German-language skillsyour German language skill, and I know that you would do a great job in translating this document for me. Therefore, please help me translate the photocopy of this foreign document so that I can offer my feedback and answer this letter as soon as I can. I would also appreciate it if you could translate it at your earliest convenience, hopefully before the end of this week. Take care. Warm wishes, Benjamin
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter’s strongest feature is its complete and convincing coverage of the request: the document concerns a job opportunity, the translation is needed by the end of the week, and the friend’s German ability is clearly relevant. Its main limitation is presentation and phrasing, as one dense paragraph and several awkward expressions reduce polish; the highest-priority improvement is to separate the three purposes and simplify long sentences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully addressed with relevant detail, and the friendly tone is appropriate.
Make the expertise point slightly more specific by mentioning the friend’s fluency or translation experience rather than only general language skill.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas follow a logical order, but the entire message is compressed into one long paragraph and some sentences carry too many clauses.
Use separate paragraphs for the document’s importance, the friend’s expertise, and the deadline and request.
Lexical Resource
A good range of vocabulary supports the request, though phrases such as “jovial spirit,” “German language skill,” and “availing of this job” sound unnatural.
Prefer natural wording such as “good spirits,” “German skills,” and “the conditions of the job offer.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are generally controlled and meaning remains clear, with occasional punctuation, tense, and article errors.
Proofread comma placement and tense consistency, especially in “I know I haven’t written” and “the document appears to explain.”
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have received an important document that needs to be translated. Write a letter to your friend and ask him/her to translate this important document for you. In your letter explain:
- why it is important for you
- how fast you need it back
- why you need his/her expertise
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.