Use the greeting, sign-off and paragraph plan below for this formal letter, write it on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model letter.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You missed an important meeting at work last week because of a travel problem.
Write a letter to Ms Dawson, your manager. In your letter
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Ms Dawson,
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
A letter to a named person ends Yours sincerely, followed by your full name.
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
Dear Ms Dawson,
I am writing to apologise sincerely for missing the budget meeting on Tuesday, which I know was important for the whole department.
I had left home in good time, but my train was cancelled because of a signal failure, and the replacement bus was caught in heavy traffic. There was no mobile signal in the tunnel, so I could not warn you until the meeting had started, and I regret that.
To catch up on what I missed, I have already asked Sarah for her notes and I have read the draft figures that were circulated. I would also like to meet you briefly this week to go through any decisions that were made, so that I can complete my part of the work before the deadline on Friday.
Please accept my apologies once again for any inconvenience this has caused. I will leave home earlier in future so that a single delay cannot cause the same problem, and I am ready to take on any extra work you think necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Wright
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| I am writing to apologise for | formally say sorry for something |
| I deeply regret any inconvenience this may have caused. | say you are sorry for the trouble |
| Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control | explain that the cause was not your fault |
| To make up for this, I would like to offer | suggest compensation |
| I assure you that this will not happen again. | promise to prevent a repeat |
Answer random Part 1, 2 and 3 questions on an exam timer.
Average your four skill bands, rounded the way IELTS rounds them.
Compare an IELTS band with TOEFL, Duolingo and PTE scores and CEFR levels.
Look up the IELTS score a university asks for.