The manager at the company you work for is going to retire next month. The manager’s assistant has invited some suggestions about what kind of event they should do to say goodbye to him. Write a letter to your manager’s assistant. In your letter: - say what kind of event you have in your mind - mention why you liked him/her as a manager - what kind of present can be given to your manager
Sample Response
Dear Linda,
I am writing in response to your request asking for suggestions about the farewell event you are planning for Mr Smith, who is retiring next monthleaving the organization soon. As he was highly regarded in his departmentrenowned in his department, it would be a great idea to bid him farewell by organizing a small party and invitingincluding his colleagues from the department, keeping his preference in mind.
Mr Smith is an inspiration not only to me but also to all our colleagues. I have always adored him for his honesty, professionalismwork-oriented skills, and dedication to his work. Also, it would be nice to give a heartfelt speechgive an elaborate speech about his life and career and the good things he has done for the company.
We should also take up a collectionmake some collection by making a small contribution from everyoneon everyone’s part so that we could buy a nice gift for him. I think a decent executive wristwatch would be perfect for this occasion. Also, we should give him a mementogift him a moment that he would love to keep with him.
Given all the things Mr Smith has done for us over all these years, let us make this farewell event a memorable one for him as well as for us.
Yours sincerelySincerely,
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter is well organised and uses an appropriately respectful tone, with all three requested points addressed through a party proposal, reasons for admiring the manager, and a specific gift. Its main weakness is imprecise wording and a few underdeveloped details, especially around the event and the final reference to a ‘moment.’ Prioritise clearer collocations and explain how the celebration would reflect the manager’s preferences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, the tone is suitable, and all three bullet points are addressed with relevant suggestions.
Develop the party proposal with one or two concrete details showing how it would suit the manager.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically through distinct paragraphs devoted to the event, the manager’s qualities, and the gift.
Reduce repetitive use of “also” and make the links between supporting details more natural.
Lexical Resource
The letter shows a good range of relevant vocabulary, but several collocations are imprecise or unnatural.
Replace phrases such as “make some collection” and “gift him a moment” with clear, idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of sentence structures is used with generally good control, and errors rarely affect clarity.
Check article, pronoun, and clause choices carefully so that complex sentences remain precise and natural.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
The manager at the company you work for is going to retire next month. The manager’s assistant has invited some suggestions about what kind of event they should do to say goodbye to him. Write a letter to your manager’s assistant. In your letter:
- say what kind of event you have in your mind
- mention why you liked him/her as a manager
- what kind of present can be given to your manager
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.