You successfully passed a job interview.

You are expected to start on November 15, but you will not be available on that date. Task: Write a letter to your new boss, explaining your situation, expressing your concern and suggesting a solution. Dear Sir/Madam, I am Leonardo Gomes and I have recently passed a job interview for the Software Engineer position at the Software Infrastructure group. I was expected to start on November 15, as agreed, and am writing because, unfortunately, I will not be able to present myself on that date. During the interview I estimated fifteen days as the amount of time needed for me to finish my activities at my current job and start at your company, but due to fact that I got sick for the last whole week and was not able to work, I could not finish my tasks and will need another week to do so. If necessary, I can give you a copy of a letter from my doctor informing that I had to stay at home and under medical care during that week. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and hope this will not affect our relationship. If I am expected to present any other form of proof or talk to someone else in the company, please let me know. Faithfully yours, Leonardo You stayed at your friends house when you participated in a business seminar in Australia. You left a file with important documents in your room. Task: Write a letter to your friend, describing the file and ask him/her to return it to you by post. My dearest Philip, I am sorry I am writing only now. Firstly, I would like to thank you for all the attention and support you gave me while I was in Sydney. Things like that are priceless and all I can give you is my gratitude. I expect you and Ingrid to come to Rio soon, so that I try to somehow propiciate equaly joyful moments as those youpropiciated to me. I am writing also, because of the fact that I forgot a very important document in the room where I stayed at your house. The document is a signed contract and was the most important reason for my trip to Australia, after the business seminar I attended. You certaintly can imagine how desperate I have been in the last days looking for this document in my luggage. I could not find it anywhere and now I am sure I left it in your house. Please let me know if you find it, and post it with express delivery as soon as possible. I will pay for the expense; just let me know what is your bank, account and branch numbers. With best wishes, Leonardo

You and your family are planning to spend a weekend at a seaside hotel. Task: Write a letter to the hotel making the arrangements. Let them know when you will be arriving and leaving, what type of rooms you would like, and ask them how much the weekend will cost. Also enquire about activities and places of interest near the hotel. Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing this letter to make arrangements for the stay during the weekend at your hotel and to get more information on the places of interest and different activities nearby. I will be arriving with my parents and wife to celebrate my parentswedding anniversary on the 4th of July which will be on Saturday morning, and leaving on the 7th of July afternoon. I am looking to book double-rooms with the attached bathroom for more privacy and convenience. I would love to have at least one bedroom withthe balcony or seaside view for my parents. I would also appreciate if you could provide me with the list of activities that we can take part in during our stay for more fun and adventure. I prefer the locations to be nearby the hotel as we are not familiar with the place. Furthermore, I would also like to know if there are any historical sites or market nearby where we can explore more about the places history and local culture. You could send me the detailed information through email or fax no later than the 4th of July with the total cost of stay during the weekend. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, A.G. The student has addressed all the parts of the task statement fairly well. The information is organized nicely and conveyed coherently. The grammar and sentence formation are mostly fine, with only minor improvements needed. The range of vocabulary is adequate for the requirements of the task response. Overall, this letter is a very good one, and seems worthy of Band 8.

Example Letter 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter explain 1. Why you are selling the television 2. Describe the television 3. Suggest a date when your friend can come and see it You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Model Answer
Dear Gary, Hope you are doing well. Im doing fine, though my life is quite hectic at the moment because, as you know, I am moving abroad and there is so much to do! There are a few things that I cant take with me because they are too big so I am seeing if any of my friends would be interested in buying them. One of the things I do not want to take with me is my television, and I thought you might like to buy it off me for a cheap price. Its a 32 flat screen TV, and its a Phillips model. It has a USB port so you can just plug in a thumb drive to watch movies or listen to music. It has great stereo surround sound. As you know, Im leaving the country at the end of the month, which is only two weeks away. So if you want to see it, it would be best to come on 20th or 21st. That will give me time to sell it elsewhere if you are not interested. Ok, I look forward to seeing you. Let me know if you cant make it. All the best, John. (202 Words)