IELTS Letter Writing / GT Writing Task 1:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You have been offered a job, asking you to start next week. You want the job very much but, because of a previous commitment, you want to delay the start for another two weeks.

Write to the Manager, accepting the job, but explaining your situation and asking for the change to your start date.

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Sample Answer 1:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am absolutely honoured to learn from your email that you have finalised my joining to your company as an executive. I consider it a great leap towards my future career and I will serve my position with my best effort. However, I am writing to seek your permission for a delay on the joining date.

I am afraid I cannot join on 15th June, the date you expect me to start. After I formally notified my current employer a month ago, they welcomed my decision. However, they have recently requested an extension to hand over the projects I am currently working on and train a colleague. I am already committed to a project with my current employer and I will need another week to finish it. Thus, the new request from my manager forces me to work another two weeks with them.

Therefore, I would request you to delay my joining date and I am absolutely positive about starting with you from the 1st of July. I hope you would allow me to finish my commitment to the current employer and let me join your company on 1st July.

Yours faithfully,

Daren Smith

Sample Answer 2:

Dear Sir or Madam,

First of all, I would like to thank you for offering me the position of Senior Accounting Analyst at your company. Not to mention, I would like to start the job as soon as possible since I am looking forward to starting my work at your company. But, it looks like I will not be able to start from next week, as you have asked, because of a few commitments with my current employer.

In fact, the employment contract, I have with my current employer, clearly states I will have to give my current employer at least two weeks notice before leaving the company. Besides, I still have few important projects in my hands to finish all by myself and hand them over to my superior because, currently, I am the only qualified personnel in my company to take care of these tasks in a professional manner.

Therefore, based on these prior commitments and obligations I mentioned above, I would be grateful to you if you please kindly delay my starting date for this job position until after another two weeks.

Thank you for your consideration in advance.

Yours faithfully,