You applied for a college course and were accepted, but you cannot join the course. Write a letter to the principal of the college. In your letter: - say which course you applied for - explain why you cannot join the course - ask about the possibility of taking the course in the future
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am excited to be accepted into the "Advertising and Public Relations" course at your college in the summer semester. However, I regret to inform you that I will not be able to join the course as I was denied a visa byfrom the embassy. Last March, I applied for a full-time four-year Bachelor of Arts course in “Advertising and Public Relations” and receivedgot the acceptance letter on 12th April. I initially planned to enrol in the course atfrom the beginning of June, but unfortunately, my visa application towith the UK embassy was rejected. They are yet to send me details for the refusal, but I thought I should inform you without delay so that the place can be offered to another applicantas someone else should get the chance. I understand that I may have to waitI guess I will have to wait for the next semester to start the course. I would like to request you to consider me for the next semester. If this is not possibleIn case this is not possible, I would like to know the procedure to apply again to the same course. I am looking forward to hearing from you at your convenience. Yours faithfully, Rohit Kumar
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter communicates its purpose immediately, covers the course, visa refusal, and future-enrolment request in relevant detail, and uses generally accurate, suitably formal language. Its main weakness is that the entire response is presented as one paragraph, which obscures the otherwise clear progression; dividing the background, explanation, and request into distinct paragraphs should be the highest priority.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully addressed, and the supporting details are relevant, with only a slight lapse into informality in 'I guess'.
Maintain a consistently formal register when discussing the possibility of joining a later semester.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a logical sequence and linking is clear, but the single-block presentation does not provide appropriate paragraphing.
Separate the course details, reason for withdrawal, and future request into clearly defined paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective expressions such as 'denied a visa' and 'without delay', though a few collocations are less natural.
Refine phrases such as 'details for the refusal' to more natural alternatives such as 'reasons for the refusal'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is used accurately, and the few grammatical lapses do not impede meaning.
Polish article use and prepositional choices in phrases such as 'got the acceptance letter' and 'application with the UK embassy'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You applied for a college course and were accepted, but you cannot join the course. Write a letter to the principal of the college. In your letter:
- say which course you applied for
- explain why you cannot join the course
- ask about the possibility of taking the course in the future
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.