General test: How to write a letter of request

IELTS letter writing is a fantastic way to learn how to write for many different circumstances, whether it is through a letter, an email, or to be said in conversation.

The idea with this task is that it is designed to replicate many every day, realistic instances, that you are very likely to encounter. It is therefore useful to know how to express yourself within the given context!

The example we are using today is: requesting to be relocated with work.

Let's go through the IELTS General Task 1 checklist first.

This checklist provides the measure of where you need to be scoring well in your IELTS. It is not that you need to have each and everyone one of the, but the more you can tick off, the higher your score will be. These check points range from 6.0-9.o. As you practice, refer to this checklist and see how many you are ticking off. If you are not entirely sure, seek an IELTS tutor to help mark your work and give you detailed feedback.

Task achievement

✅ 150 words minimum

✅ Each bullet point well covered

✅ The purpose of the letter runs clearly throughout

✅ Correct use of tone (informal or formal)

Coherence and cohesion

✅ Clear, ordered paragraphs

✅ Linking words- at least 3 across whole letter

✅ Lexical resource- a healthy amount of varied vocabulary

✅ Topic specific vocabulary

✅ Collocations

✅ Phrasal verbs

✅ Without any spelling mistakes

✅ Avoid repetition with vocabulary, linking words, ideas (clauses), collocations- essentially avoid repeating at all other than articles (a, and, an, the)

Grammatical range and accuracy

✅ Multiple use of tenses (at least 2)

✅ Modal verbs

✅ Comparatives and superlatives

✅ Quantifiers (some/any, few/little, etc)

✅ Gerunds and infinitives

✅ Relative clauses (who, which, that, etc)

✅ No mistakes in punctuation

✅ No mistakes in grammar (prepositions, articles, tenses, etc)

Sample essay

Letter theme: Requesting for relocation with work.

You would like to be moved to a different city so that you are closer to your family.

Write a letter to your employer to request a transfer to a different office.

In the letter:
 - Explain why you would like to move
- Request that your employer place you in a specific city
- Request that it be completed by a certain date

Dear Management,

My name is Rachel Carter and I have been a loyal, dedicated employee of Affinity Profiles for over ten years. For the past year, I have been the project manager for the Lauder campaign. This has been an excellent project to manage and I am thrilled for its upcoming release. Notwithstanding the exciting projects I have previously been part of, and other large-scale projects I have helped to bring to fruition.

Regretfully, it has recently come to my attention that my husband's father now requires full time care. I would like to request that I be transferred to a different office, so that we may be more involved and can actively be part of the extensive care that he needs.

I am aware that the company operates an office in Suffolk. Being within a closer proximity to my father-in-law, would culminate in a substantial difference to his health and the circumstances we find ourselves in. If my exact role is not available in light of this change, I am more than willing to interview for other relevant roles and consider them on a case-by-case basis.

Unfortunately, this is a time sensitive issue, and so I would like to further request that I receive confirmation of the transfer within the next 15 days. Without responsive action, I may have to consider leaving the company entirely, which is something I would whole-heartedly like to avoid.

Yours faithfully,

Rachel Carter

Letter sample reflections:

1. Use a generic mode of address like management when making a formal request, whilst you also would not necessarily know exactly who would read this within management (management)
2. Attempt to start sentences with fronted adverbials, or other linking devices so that you are presenting a clear ability to link ideas together (regretfully, notwithstanding, regretfully, unfortunately)
3. Apply high-level vocabulary where you can- you don't need to be excessive, but have some presence of high-level vocabulary (fruition, extensive, responsive, substantial)
4. Use collocations where you can, a mere one or two will raise your score (large-scale, time-sensitive, whole-heartedly)