You have been offered a job and have been asked to start next week. You want the job, but because of a previous commitment you want to delay starting for two weeks. Write to the manager. In your letter: - accept the job - explain your situation - ask for a change to your start date
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am delightedabsolutely honoured to learn from your email that you have confirmed my appointmentfinalised my joining as an executive atin your company. I consider it an important step in my careera great leap forward towards my future career, and I will perform my duties to the best of my abilityserve my position with my best effort. However, I am writing to requestseek your permission for a postponement of my start datedelay in the joining date. I am afraid I cannot start on 15 Junecannot join on 15th June, my expected start datethe date you expect me to start. After I formally notified my current employer a month ago, they welcomed my decision. However, they have recently requested an extension to hand over the projects I am currently working on and train a colleague. I am already committed to a project with my current employer and I will need another week to finish it. Thus, the new request from my manager requires me to remain with them for another two weeksforces me to work another two weeks with them. Therefore, I would request you to postpone my start datedelay my joining date and I am able to start with you onabsolutely positive about starting with you from 1 Julythe 1st of July. I hope you will allow me to fulfilfinish my commitment to my current employer and allow me to start at your companylet me join your company on 1st July. Yours faithfully, Daren Smith
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the request, explaining the existing work commitment and proposing a clear alternative start date in an appropriately respectful tone. Its strongest feature is the specific, credible justification, while the main limitation is awkward phrasing around accepting and joining the new role. Prioritise a more direct acceptance statement and replace strained expressions with natural professional wording so the message sounds confident and polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is fully achieved through a clear acceptance, a well-developed explanation of the current work commitment, and a specific request to start on 1 July.
Make the acceptance completely explicit in the opening with a direct sentence such as 'I am delighted to accept the position'.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically from acceptance to explanation and request, although the single-block presentation and repeated linking words limit structural clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for accepting the offer, explaining the commitment, and requesting the revised date.
Lexical Resource
A sufficient range of formal vocabulary conveys the message, but recurring collocational problems include 'finalised my joining', 'serve my position', and 'delay in the joining date'.
Use natural professional combinations such as 'confirmed my appointment', 'perform my duties', and 'postpone my start date'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses varied complex structures with generally good control, and the few grammatical lapses do not impede communication.
Refine infinitive and complement structures, especially when describing the extension needed to hand over projects and train a colleague.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have been offered a job and have been asked to start next week. You want the job, but because of a previous commitment you want to delay starting for two weeks. Write to the manager. In your letter:
- accept the job
- explain your situation
- ask for a change to your start date
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.