One of your friends wants to apply for a job that involves working with foreign teenagers. Write a letter of recommendation for him/her. In your letter express: - how well you know your friend - what qualifications he/she has - why you think she would be suitable for the job
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I have been notified by one of my close friends that your organisation is looking for a few bilingual assistant tutors to work with foreign children. I am writing to you to recommend one of my best friends, Anna Pattison, whom I consider a deserving candidate for the post. I know Anna for more than 14 years. She used to be my classmate at the Cherry Blossom International School and then at Saint John College. She used to be an enthusiastic organiser and participant in extracurricular activities. For her outstanding leadership skills and cheerful personality, she was nominated class captain for most of her academic years in school. Her excellent skills in both English and Spanish make her ideal for the post that involved working closely with children. She completed her graduation from Arts major and received a distinctive medal for her exceptional academic performance. Upon her graduation, she worked as a teacher in an international school in London, where she has been teaching bilingual lessons for five years. What’s more, she loves being around children and easily wins their hearts. Therefore, I do not hesitate to recommend her as an ideal candidate for the post you advertised. I am sure she would be an excellent candidate for the post. Yours faithfully, Enya Brennan
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Match the target age Original: children Suggested revision: teenagers Why it matters: The task specifically concerns working with teenagers rather than children generally.
- 2. Use natural recommendation wording Original: deserving Suggested revision: strong Why it matters: 'Strong candidate' is the more natural phrase in a professional recommendation.
- 3. Use the correct reason phrase Original: For her outstanding leadership skills and cheerful personality Suggested revision: Because of her outstanding leadership skills and cheerful personality Why it matters: 'Because of' correctly introduces the reason she was selected.
- 4. Clarify the leadership role Original: nominated class captain Suggested revision: chosen as class captain Why it matters: The replacement makes clear that she actually held the position.
- 5. Use concise school wording Original: academic years in school Suggested revision: school years Why it matters: The shorter phrase expresses the period naturally and precisely.
- 6. Correct the job tense Original: the post that involved Suggested revision: the post, which involves Why it matters: The present tense is required because the advertised role still involves this work.
- 7. Correct the qualification phrase Original: completed her graduation from Arts major Suggested revision: graduated with an arts degree Why it matters: This is the natural English construction for stating her degree qualification.
- 8. Use professional wording Original: easily wins their hearts Suggested revision: easily builds rapport with them Why it matters: The replacement conveys her connection with children in a more professional register.
- 9. Open more directly Original: I have been notified by one of my close friends Suggested revision: I understand Why it matters: The concise opening states the writer's knowledge without an awkward passive construction.
- 10. Use concise relationship wording Original: one of my best friends Suggested revision: my close friend Why it matters: The shorter phrase conveys the relationship clearly in a professional letter.
- 11. Remove unnecessary wording Original: I am writing to you to recommend Suggested revision: I am writing to recommend Why it matters: The recipient is already clear, so 'to you' is redundant.
- 12. Avoid an unintended implication Original: She used to be an enthusiastic organiser and participant Suggested revision: She was an enthusiastic organiser and participant Why it matters: The simple past avoids suggesting that Anna no longer has these positive qualities.
Suggested Rewrites
- children teenagers
- deserving strong
- For her outstanding leadership skills and cheerful personality Because of her outstanding leadership skills and cheerful personality
- nominated class captain chosen as class captain
- academic years in school school years
- the post that involved the post, which involves
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fulfils its recommendation purpose convincingly, covering the long friendship, Anna's bilingual and academic qualifications, teaching experience, leadership, and rapport with children in a suitably formal tone. Its main weakness is presentation as one continuous block, while a few awkward phrases reduce polish. The highest priority is to organise the three requested areas into clear paragraphs and refine tense and collocation choices.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is fully clear, all three bullet points are developed with relevant evidence, and the formal recommendation tone is consistently suitable.
Refer specifically to working with foreign teenagers rather than broadening the role to children, so the suitability evidence matches the advertised post exactly.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content follows a logical progression from relationship to qualifications and suitability, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens readability.
Use separate paragraphs for how you know Anna, her qualifications and experience, and the reasons for recommending her.
Lexical Resource
A varied formal vocabulary communicates the recommendation effectively, although a few combinations such as deserving candidate and completed her graduation are awkward.
Choose natural professional phrases such as strong candidate, graduated with an Arts degree, and received a distinguished academic award.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses a good range of mostly accurate complex structures, with a few tense and clause-selection errors that do not impede meaning.
Correct time-sensitive forms such as I have known Anna for fourteen years and keep present and past references to the advertised post consistent.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
One of your friends wants to apply for a job that involves working with foreign teenagers. Write a letter of recommendation for him/her. In your letter express:
- how well you know your friend
- what qualifications he/she has
- why you think she would be suitable for the job
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.