You have recently started work in a new company. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter: - explain why you changed jobs - describe your new job - tell him/her your other news
Sample Response
Dear Angela, I hope you and your family are doing fine, and I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch with you recently. I’m writing to let you know that I've resigned from my previous company and took a new job recently. Do you remember that I was working for a consultancy firm, and I told you how much I was looking forward to changing my job? Well, I've joined a travel agency last month, and the new job is exciting. In my previous job, I was working really long hours and, to be honest, the pay wasn’t great. So basically I applied for a job at a new company that was looking for people enthusiastic about taking on challenges and are interested in travelling. I thought it is a good fit for my expectation and took the opportunity. I was a bit nervous in the interview, but in the end, I got the job as a senior travel consultant. The remuneration in the new job is better, the working conditions are great and I don’t have to work long hours anymore. Besides, they offer performance bonuses, and I would be able to travel to different places and explore many places! I've also enrolled in a diploma course at the University of Edinburgh and started a new travel blog. My parents have come to meet me this week, and I've plans to take them to show them around.
Take care. With love, Emma
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Keep present perfect parallel Original: took Suggested revision: taken Why it matters: The auxiliary have applies to both resigned and taken, so the past participle is required.
- 2. Use concise wording Original: how much I was looking forward to changing my job Suggested revision: how eager I was to change jobs Why it matters: The replacement communicates the same idea more directly and naturally.
- 3. Use simple past Original: I've Suggested revision: I Why it matters: A finished past time marker such as last month requires the simple past.
- 4. Remove filler word Original: So basically Suggested revision: So Why it matters: Basically adds no meaning to the explanation of the application.
- 5. Fix parallel description Original: people enthusiastic about taking on challenges and are interested in travelling Suggested revision: people who were enthusiastic about taking on challenges and interested in travelling Why it matters: The two qualities need a shared relative clause and parallel adjective structure.
- 6. Use past tense Original: is Suggested revision: was Why it matters: The thought and decision occurred in the past, so was is required.
- 7. Use natural expression Original: for my expectation Suggested revision: for what I wanted Why it matters: Good fit for my expectation is not a natural collocation in this context.
- 8. Name the job decision Original: took the opportunity Suggested revision: accepted the offer Why it matters: Accepted the offer describes the job decision more precisely.
- 9. Match friendly tone Original: remuneration Suggested revision: salary Why it matters: Salary sounds more natural than the highly formal remuneration in a letter to a friend.
- 10. Fix comma splice Original: better, the working conditions Suggested revision: better; the working conditions Why it matters: A semicolon correctly separates these closely related independent clauses.
- 11. Add clause comma Original: great and I don’t Suggested revision: great, and I don’t Why it matters: A comma should precede and when it joins two independent clauses here.
- 12. Use friendly addition Original: Besides, they offer Suggested revision: On top of that, they offer Why it matters: This transition fits the informal tone and adds another job benefit clearly.
Suggested Rewrites
- took taken
- how much I was looking forward to changing my job how eager I was to change jobs
- I've I
- So basically So
- people enthusiastic about taking on challenges and are interested in travelling people who were enthusiastic about taking on challenges and interested in travelling
- is was
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter is engaging and fully covers the reasons for leaving, the benefits and responsibilities of the new role, and several pieces of personal news in a suitably friendly tone. Its main limitation is recurring tense and agreement inconsistency, alongside some repetition about travel; the priority is to organise the three bullet points into distinct paragraphs and edit the account into consistent past and present-perfect forms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response fully develops all three bullet points with convincing reasons for the change, substantial new-job detail, and relevant personal updates in a friendly register.
Refine the new-job description by briefly stating the main duties of a senior travel consultant as well as its benefits.
Coherence and Cohesion
The conversational progression is easy to follow and the ideas are logically sequenced, though the long central block and repeated travel references weaken grouping.
Divide the letter into paragraphs for the job change, the new position, and other news, and combine overlapping points about travelling.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a flexible range suited to an informal update, with occasional awkward combinations such as good fit for my expectation and explore many places.
Use natural forms such as matched my expectations, opportunities to travel, and show my parents around.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A broad range of structures is attempted successfully, but tense, agreement, and auxiliary errors recur in otherwise clear sentences.
Correct time-linked forms such as joined last month, thought it was, people who are interested, and I have plans.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently started work in a new company. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter:
- explain why you changed jobs
- describe your new job
- tell him/her your other news
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.