General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to College Director Requesting Academic Documents: IELTS formal letter sample

An IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 formal letter with a Band 8 sample answer, why it scores well and the phrases worth borrowing for your own letter writing.
  • 190 words
  • Formal letters
  • Request
  • 20 minutes
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The task

Last year you attended a presentation skill course at the Sydney College of Australia. Your new employer has asked you to provide copies of your reports and assignments as quickly as possible.

Write a letter to the director of the school. In your letter:

  • →explain who you are and why you are writing
  • →request these documents
  • →ask whether you need to pay any fee for that

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8190 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Dr. Harrison,

I am writing to formally request copies of my academic records from the Presentation Skills course I completed at the Sydney College of Australia during the autumn semester last year. My name is Julian Thorne, and I was a student in your certificate programme.

I have recently secured a new position, and my employer requires documented evidence of the coursework and assignments I submitted during my time at your institution to finalise my onboarding process. Accessing these materials is essential for me to demonstrate the practical competencies I developed under your guidance.

Could you please arrange for digital copies of my final project reports and graded assignments to be sent to my registered email address? If physical copies are required, I am happy to provide a mailing address at your earliest convenience.

Furthermore, I would appreciate it if you could clarify whether there is an administrative fee associated with retrieving these archived documents. Please let me know the payment method should such a charge apply.

Thank you for your time and assistance in this matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Thorne

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response maintains a consistently formal tone while addressing all three bullet points with clear, logical development. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to explain the urgency of the request or using overly casual language that undermines the professional nature of the correspondence.

  • →Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
  • →If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
  • →No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

  • onboarding process

    the procedure of integrating a new employee

  • competencies

    the skills or knowledge required for a task

  • at your earliest convenience

    as soon as it is easy for you

  • administrative fee

    a charge for processing paperwork or requests

  • archived

    stored historical documents that are not current

  • secured

    successfully obtained or achieved a job

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

A Band 8 response maintains a consistently formal tone while addressing all three bullet points with clear, logical development. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to explain the urgency of the request or using overly casual language that undermines the professional nature of the correspondence.

Keep practising

More request letters

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