General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · other

Recommendation letter for a colleague seeking promotion: 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.
  • 189 words
  • Formal letters
  • Other
  • 20 minutes

The task

A colleague is applying for a promotion and asked you for a recommendation.

Write a letter to your department head. In your letter:

  • →state who you are writing the recommendation for
  • →describe specific instances where the colleague demonstrated leadership
  • →explain why they are the best fit for the new role

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear Mr/Ms [Name],

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8189 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Mr Henderson,

I am writing to formally endorse Sarah Jenkins for the Senior Project Manager position currently vacant within our department. Having worked alongside Sarah for the past four years, I have gained significant insight into her professional capabilities and leadership potential.

Sarah has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, most notably during the Q3 infrastructure migration. When the project faced a critical bottleneck, she proactively assumed control of the cross-functional team, reallocating resources efficiently and mentoring junior staff to ensure we met our deadline. Furthermore, during our recent client summit, she spearheaded the strategy session, facilitating productive dialogue between stakeholders who initially held conflicting visions for the project.

She is the ideal candidate for this role due to her unique combination of technical proficiency and emotional intelligence. She possesses a rare ability to maintain team morale under high-pressure conditions while ensuring that organizational objectives remain the primary focus. I am confident that her strategic mindset will be a major asset to the senior leadership team.

Thank you for considering this recommendation. Please feel free to contact me if you require further information regarding her performance.

Yours sincerely,

David Miller

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

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific, illustrative examples rather than vague praise, maintaining a consistent professional tone. A common Band 6 mistake is providing only general compliments about the colleague's personality without describing concrete professional instances of leadership.

  • →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

  • endorse

    to publicly express support for a person's application

  • bottleneck

    a point of congestion that slows down progress

  • proactively

    taking action before a problem develops

  • spearheaded

    led an activity or a group of people

  • stakeholders

    people with an interest in a project's success

  • proficiency

    a high degree of skill or competence

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?+

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific, illustrative examples rather than vague praise, maintaining a consistent professional tone. A common Band 6 mistake is providing only general compliments about the colleague's personality without describing concrete professional instances of leadership.

Keep practising

More other letters

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