Sample Letter

01. Sample Band 9 - Advice Letter: One of your colleagues is leaving for a new job, your manager has
asked you to arrange a leaving party for him. Write a letter to your manager and

Suggest a suitable day and time for the party

Recommend a place
Discuss about the food and entertainment options available

Dear Mr Smith
I am writing to let you know about the arrangements for Patricks leaving party.
It has not been easy to settle on a time and date that is convenient for everyone as the school holidays are
coming up and several members of staff have already booked time off. Id suggest, however, that 7.30 on
Friday July 13th is the best option available as it is Patricks last day.
I have looked at a number of different venues and it would appear that Giorgios has the best package. The
catering there is slightly cheaper than the Armani Palace and it has the added benefit of being right next to
the Piccadilly Underground station.
Another benefit of choosing Giorgios is that they lay on a buffet with a good selection of dishes with both
vegan and vegetarian options. We could hire a DJ for the night too, but I think the free Karaoke machine is
likely to be more popular.
Please let me know what you think about these suggestions.
Your sincerely
Arnaud
02. A lost certificate - request letter
Your company sent you on a training course in another country and at the end of the training you got a
certificate which you have lost. Write letter to the course organiser and tell him/her:

How you lost your certificate.

Why you need the certificate now.

What you need him to do for you.

Dear Sirs
I attended your course in Marketing Strategies for the Ice Cream Industry which was held in the Jubilee
Centre in Brisbane in November. I am writing to ask if it would be possible to send me a certificate
confirming that I attended the course for all four days.
I lost the original on my flight back to Canterbury. I had put in my briefcase along with all the course notes
and foolishly I left the briefcase on the plane. Qantas were unable to find the case when I contacted them
and I suspect that a fellow passenger probably took the case by mistake.
Please could you send me the replacement certificate by post. Unfortunately, my company will not accept a
scanned copy as an email attachment.
I would appreciate it if you would treat this as a matter of urgency because I am in the process of applying
for a promotion and I need to have all my certificates for this process.

Thank you for your help.

Yours faithfully
03. Changing your course - request letter
You are not happy with the course you are doing at college and would like to change to a different course.
Write a letter to the college director requesting to change your course. You should include details about:

what course are you doing now

why you are not satisfied with that course

what course would you like to change to

Dear Mr Jones
I am writing to ask whether it is possible to change my course. I am currently studying on a general
English programme and I would like to enrol on an academic IELTS course instead.
The principal reason why I would like to change my course is that I do not believe the general English
course is relevant to me because it is intended for students who wish to improve their social English. My
circumstances are that I require a band 7.0 in order to be accepted on the masters programme at Aston
University. Unless I obtain this score by the beginning of the next academic year, I will lose my place on the
course and will need to return to my country. This being the case, I believe that it is essential that I
get tuition in academic writing and IELTS skills.
I understand that it may be difficult to change my course mid-semester, but this is an urgent priority for me.
If it would help, I would be delighted to discuss this with you in person.
Yours sincerely
Khaled Abdullah
04. Rented accommodation - apology letter
You are staying in rented accommodation. You recently held a party to celebrate your birthday. Several
neighbours have complained about the noise to your landlord. Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:

apologise for the disturbance

explain the situation

say how you will remedy the situation

Dear Mr Jones
I am writing to apologise for the incident last week when some of my neighbours complained to you. I am
most embarrassed about this, because I am normally a quiet person and I do respect the privacy of my
neighbours.
The reason for the excessive noise was that it was my 30th birthday party and my girlfriend threw a surprise
party for me. She had invited around 20 of my friends to help me celebrate the big day and perhaps she did
not realise how much noise would be made by the travelling disco she had hired. I would also explain that
after I had got over the shock, I did knock on the door of my immediate neighbours to ask if they wanted to

come round and offering to turn the music down after 11 oclock. Unfortunately, I did not think of inviting
the other residents of the block.
Once again, please accept my apologies and rest assured that this situation will not be repeated. I have
since personally apologised to my neighbours, who were all very understanding.
Yours sincerely
05. Cancelling an arrangement - apology letter
You arranged to visit a friend in England but an important event at home now means that you must change
the dates of the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

Explain the important event

Apologise for the situation

Suggest a new arrangement

Dear Peter
It was a shame that we missed each other on Skype, so I decided to write a letter to you instead. Theres
some good and bad news I need to tell you.
The good news is that my cousin Ravindra has finally managed to persuade Shilpa to marry him. As you
know theyve been going out together for over 5 years now and the family, especially Auntie Geetha, had
begun to despair that they would ever tie the knot. Im sure that you can imagine the celebrations being
planned for the reception.
The bad news is that the wedding is just when I was due to come and visit you in England. I do apologise for
this but Im sure that youll understand that I cant miss my cousins big day.
Id still love to visit you in England, if thats still possible. Its not just that Im dying to see you again, but
Im also longing to see the dreaming spires of Oxford youve told me about so often. Would sometime in
November suit you? If not, just let me know when is best for you.
All the best
Amy
06. Cancelling a visit to a friend - apology letter
A friend who lives in another country has invited to you come and stay with him/her on your next holiday.
You are too busy to accept the invitation. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

Thank him/her for the invitation

Explain why you cannot come

Give him/her your other news

Dear Rashid,
It was great to hear from you and Im really glad that things are working out for you down under. It sounds
as if you have landed on your feet!
Many thanks for your kind invitation to come and stay with you and Maybeline in Perth, but Im going to
have to turn you down this time. The problem is that Im just too busy studying for my IELTS exam and I

dont have enough time in the day as it is. Perhaps I can take you up on your offer sometime next year, when
I hope that Ill have got that magic band score 8.0.
My other news is that Acme have offered me a promotion and soon I should be the senior accounts manager.
Obviously that means more money but the downside is that Im almost certainly going to have to work much
longer hours too. Theres a cloud to every silver lining!
Anyway, I must get down to work again. So thanks once more for your kind invitation and I do hope that we
can get together sometime in the not too distant future.
All the best
Dominic
07. A faulty mobile phone - complaint letter
You have just bought a new mobile phone from a website on the internet. When it was delivered, the phone
was faulty. Write a letter to the website. In the letter:

introduce yourself

explain the situation

state what action you want to be taken

Dear Sirs,
I am writing to you to complain about the mobile I bought from your online store on 23rd November. I have
been a loyal customer of yours for the last 4 years and have successfully made many purchases over the
years. Unfortunately, however, this time I am dissatisfied with the service you have provided.
The mobile telephone I ordered was the latest smart phone, the Samsung Android SA23. My reasons for
choosing this model was that you advertised it on your website as having the new texting system and
complete social network support. Unfortunately, neither of these functions works properly. When I try to
write a text message, the system either crashes or switches into Chinese and does not recognise the words.
Likewise, the telephone does not have the advertised complete social network support, as I am unable to
upload photographs to Twitter and Facebook.
For these reasons, I would ask you either to refund the purchase price in full or send me a replacement
handset. I look forward to your immediate response.
Yours faithfully
08. Describing a national dish - advice letter
Your friend is an expert in international food and is going to publish a book soon. Write a letter to him
describing a special dish from your country. In your letter you should

describe a special dish from your country

explain what season people prefer to eat it in

say why your friend should include this dish in his book

Dear Joe
It seems like ages since Ive heard from you. I understand from Bill that youre writing a book on
international cuisine.

Can I suggest you include a recipe for roast beef and Yorkshire pudding in the UK chapter? It really is the
ultimate British dish as its not just the meal we traditionally have for Sunday lunch, but its what most
people think of when they think of British cooking. While I suppose the beef is simple enough, the Yorkshire
pudding is quite something and a real local delicacy and your book wouldnt be complete without it. Its so
traditional we eat it all year round, although I suppose its really a winter meal to be eaten in front of a good
log fire.
Anyway, I hope you dont get too stressed by the book and that it gets published on time. When it does come
out, I hope youll remember your old friend and send me a copy.
Hope to hear from you soon,
George
09. A holiday competition - invitation letter
You won a competition and received a vacation for two as a prize. Write a letter to ask them to go on holiday
with you. In the letter, you should:

tell him/her about the competition you won,

state what kind of vacation it is,

explain why you would like him/her to go on holiday with you

Dear Pablo,
Ive got some really exciting news to share with you. Guess what? Ive won a holiday for two people in a
competition. I do hope that you can come with me.
All I had to do to win the competition was write a slogan for a local travel agency. My winning submission
was Fly LTC and see the world. As I said, my prize is a holiday and it is a cruise around the
Mediterranean for a fortnight. The ship is the latest luxury liner and has all sorts of entertainment facilities
including a swimming pool, a cinema complex and onboard tennis courts. It sounds as if it should be great
fun.
I really hope that you are available sometime this summer. Id love it if you could come with me, as it sounds
just your cup of tea and you could always act as an interpreter for me when we get to Spain!
I need to book the cruise quite soon, so just drop me a line if you are free.
All the best
Angela
10. Part-time employment - application letter
You are looking for part-time employment. Write a letter to an employment agency. In your letter

introduce yourself

explain what type of work you are looking for

say what experience and skills you have

Dear Sirs

I am writing to register with your agency as a part-time teacher of English as a second language. I
am returning to work after an extended break to bring up my young children. While I am flexible and would
consider other positions, I would ideally prefer to work for around 12 hours a week in an accredited
language school teaching young adults.
You will see from my enclosed resume that I have over ten years experience as a teacher and that I have
been employed in a variety of different sectors including primary, secondary and higher education. My most
recent job was working in China teaching academic English to students studying to go to university in the
UK. I was not only responsible for delivering lessons, but also helped to redesign the course. You will also
note that I have a degree in TESOL in addition to my first degree in classics and a diploma in using
technology in the classroom.
Please could you let me know whether you have any suitable positions available for me.
Yours faithfully