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 jovial spirit. I know, I didn’t write to you in the last few months, but it’s because I was really busy with my work. Anyway, I am writing to you this time because I could use your help in translating a foreign document, written in the German language, which I received about a week ago from a German company in response to a job application which I sent about a couple of months ago. Now, I know a little German language, but it is certainly not good enough to translate this document into English because, after reading it a little, I felt that this document is talking about the conditions for availing of this job. By the way, I know about your 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
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate salutation Original: Dear Mitchell, I hope Suggested revision: Dear Mitchell, I hope Why it matters: A personal letter normally places the greeting and opening sentence on separate lines.
- 2. Use natural greeting Original: jovial spirit Suggested revision: good spirits Why it matters: "In good spirits" is more natural in a friendly greeting.
- 3. Fix tense and comma Original: I know, I didn’t write Suggested revision: I know I haven't written Why it matters: The present perfect connects the period up to now, and no comma follows "know."
- 4. Use duration preposition Original: in Suggested revision: for Why it matters: Use "for" to express the duration over which no writing occurred.
- 5. Remove double approximation Original: about a couple of months ago Suggested revision: a couple of months ago Why it matters: "A couple" already approximates the period, so "about" is redundant.
- 6. Name language naturally Original: know a little German language Suggested revision: know a little German Why it matters: Language names do not require the noun "language" in this construction.
- 7. Use document verb Original: this document is talking about Suggested revision: this document concerns Why it matters: A document concerns or discusses a topic rather than talking about it.
- 8. Use plural expertise phrase Original: your German language skill Suggested revision: your German-language skills Why it matters: The plural "skills" and hyphenated modifier form the natural expression.
- 9. Remove redundant phrase Original: I am writing to you this time Suggested revision: I am writing to you Why it matters: "This time" adds no useful meaning to the request.
- 10. Use concise description Original: foreign document, written in the German language, Suggested revision: document written in German Why it matters: The revision removes unnecessary wording and punctuation.
- 11. Tighten time phrase Original: which I received about a week ago Suggested revision: which I received a week ago Why it matters: "About" is unnecessary when the writer is comfortable giving a one-week timeframe.
- 12. Use application collocation Original: job application which I sent Suggested revision: job application that I submitted Why it matters: An application is normally "submitted" rather than "sent" in this context.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Mitchell, I hope Dear Mitchell, I hope
- jovial spirit good spirits
- I know, I didn’t write I know I haven't written
- in for
- about a couple of months ago a couple of months ago
- know a little German language know a little German
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.”
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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.