A friend who is about to enter university wants your advice about whether to specialise in history, which interests him/her, or computer science, which offers better job prospects. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - recommend which subject your friend should specialise in - consider your friend's interest in history - consider the job prospects offered by computer science
Sample Response
Dear Diana, I hope this letter finds youHope this letter finds you in good health and high spiritsgood health and spirit. I feel truly pleasedhonoured and flattered since you've decided to ask for my advicetake my advice into confidence about choosingwith regard to choosing a subjecta subject of study before starting universityentering your university. However, this is not an easy decision to make - probably because none of us can be sure what the future would be like. Nonetheless,But, again, since you have taken the trouble to ask for my advice, I'd suggest you choosego ahead with historythe “History” subject, primarily because you are genuinely interested in historyreally like to study history. Besides, conventional wisdom suggests that whenever a person likes to do something, the chances are that he or she will become a real expert in that subject or profession, sooner rather than later. Finally, in defence of studying History, the job prospects after studying history are no worse than those after studying computer sciencethe job prospect after studying this subject is no less than studying computer science since many universities would compete among themselves to appoint you to a teaching positionrecruit you as a faculty member to teach history if you achieve strong resultsif you have good results. However, I would like you to give the matter more thoughtthink more becauseas it is ultimately your future. I hope whatever you decide, would be best for you. Warm wishes, Elina
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter makes a clear recommendation and gives a persuasive explanation of why Diana’s interest in history matters, using a warm and supportive closing. Its main limitation is that the superior job prospects associated with computer science are barely examined, while some phrasing is overly formal or unnatural for a friend. Give a balanced, concrete comparison of career options and organise the advice into clear paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose and recommendation are clear, and the interest in history is developed, but computer science job prospects receive only a passing comparison.
Discuss the employment advantages of computer science explicitly before explaining why personal interest still makes history the better choice.
Coherence and Cohesion
The advice follows a generally logical sequence, but presenting the entire body as one paragraph weakens organisation and readability.
Separate the opening, recommendation, comparison of subjects, and closing advice into purposeful paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a fairly broad vocabulary, though several collocations such as ‘take my advice into confidence’ and ‘job prospect’ sound unnatural.
Choose more natural personal-letter phrasing and use precise plural forms such as ‘job prospects’ when comparing careers.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is handled with generally good control, and the few grammatical lapses do not impede meaning.
Refine clause punctuation and conditional phrasing, especially in the final sentence about whatever Diana decides.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A friend who is about to enter university wants your advice about whether to specialise in history, which interests him/her, or computer science, which offers better job prospects. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- recommend which subject your friend should specialise in
- consider your friend's interest in history
- consider the job prospects offered by computer science
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.