For the past year, you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter: - state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this - give details on how you have benefited from the club - explain why you want to leave
Sample Response
Dear Mrs Watson, I regret to inform you that I can no longer continuemaintain my classic membership with your club from next monthfrom next month onwards. I am Andrew Scott, living a few blocks away from the club and have been a member since the beginning of its journey. I would like to ask youI would request you to cancel my membership effectivefrom next month. I paid my monthly membership fee online and it was £35 per month. The attached documents show my last six months' paymentstransactions to the club and all my fees were paid on timetransactions are paid in time. This club is indeed an asset to our communitya blessing to our locality as the community members did not have enough recreational facilities and just had a jogging track without proper markingswithout any proper marking. However, withBut with the opening of this well-equipped clubemergence of this distinguished club, they benefited greatlywere benefitted profoundly. I personally benefited from it greatlygained from it enormously - I made severalsome good friends, learned the rules of various games, took part in outdoor activities and alsolast but not least, learned valuable skills. RegrettablyWith a heavy heart and immense regret, I am ending my membership with this clubdiscontinuing my bond with this club due to my recent job transfer to the USA. I have no words to fill my sorrow over this decision, but I feel this is just the softest way to communicate my decision. Sincerely yours, Andrew Scott
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly states the membership type, online monthly payment, specific personal benefits, and job transfer that makes cancellation necessary. Its main limitation is an overly dramatic register, particularly the repeated expressions of sorrow, while all content is compressed into one paragraph. Prioritise a concise, professional cancellation request with separate sections for payment history, benefits, and the reason for leaving.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully covered with specific payment, benefit, and relocation details, and the cancellation purpose is unmistakable.
State the exact final membership date and request written confirmation of cancellation while reducing excessive emotional language.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content progresses logically from cancellation and payment to club benefits and the reason for leaving, but one-paragraph presentation weakens structure.
Use separate paragraphs for membership details, benefits received, relocation, and the final administrative request.
Lexical Resource
A reasonably wide range conveys appreciation and regret, though several choices are overly ornate or unnatural for a routine cancellation.
Prefer restrained phrases such as 'valuable community facility', 'benefited greatly', 'relocating for work', and 'regret having to cancel'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most sentence structures are clear, but errors in clause coordination, tense, passive forms, and collocation occur regularly.
Revise forms such as 'I live nearby and have been a member', 'payments were made on time', and 'community members benefited'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
For the past year, you have been a member of a local club. Now you want to discontinue your membership. Write a letter to the club secretary. In your letter:
- state what type of membership you have and how you have paid for this
- give details on how you have benefited from the club
- explain why you want to leave
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.