IELTS Letter Writing – Formal Letter Example

Question

You recently noticed a local restaurant that was offering a part-time job.

Write a letter to the restaurant’s manager. In your letter,

explain that you would like to apply for the job
give some details of any relevant experience that you have
specify the days and times that would suit you
Write at least 150 words

You do NOT need to write any addresses
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Modal answer

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my strong interest in applying for a part-time position at Delightful Bites Restaurant, as recently advertised. I am excited about the opportunity to join your team and contribute to the excellent service and culinary experience you provide to your patrons.

I bring relevant experience from my previous role as a server at The Gourmet Grove, where I worked for two years. During my tenure, I developed exceptional customer service skills, mastered menu knowledge, and honed my ability to ensure a delightful dining experience for customers.

As for availability, I am flexible and can work on weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and on Saturdays from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This schedule allows me to balance my academic commitments effectively while dedicating my time and enthusiasm to your restaurant.

I am confident that my skills, enthusiasm, and availability make me a strong candidate for this role. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss my application in more detail.

Thank you for considering my application.

Yours faithfully,
Alexandra Johnson

Break Down

1. Task Achievement — Band 8

What the candidate did well

• All three required points are clearly addressed:

  • The candidate explains the purpose of writing:

    “I am writing to express my strong interest in applying for a part-time position…”

  • Relevant experience is provided:

    “my previous role as a server at The Gourmet Grove, where I worked for two years.”

  • Availability is clearly specified:

    “Monday to Friday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and on Saturdays from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.”

• The response is well developed rather than simply mentioning the three points.
• The experience section gives useful details about skills gained:
  • customer service
  • menu knowledge
  • creating a good dining experience
• The availability is particularly strong because it gives specific days and times, exactly as required.

• The closing is appropriate for a formal application:

  “I look forward to the opportunity to discuss my application in more detail.”

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2. Coherence & Cohesion 

What was done well

The organisation is excellent.

The letter follows a very logical structure:

1. Purpose of writing
2. Relevant experience
3. Availability
4. Final statement/closing

Each paragraph has a clear purpose, which makes the letter easy to follow.

The candidate also uses cohesive expressions effectively:

• “During my tenure…”
• “As for availability…”
• “This schedule…”
• “I am confident that…”
• “I look forward to…”
• “Thank you for considering…”

These help the letter progress logically without making the organisation confusing.

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3. Lexical Resource

This is one of the strongest aspects of the response.

Strong vocabulary

The candidate demonstrates a broad range of vocabulary:

• “strong interest”
• “part-time position”
• “relevant experience”
• “exceptional customer service skills”
• “mastered menu knowledge”
• “honed my ability”
• “academic commitments”
• “dedicating my time”
• “strong candidate”
• “considering my application”

There is also good use of collocation:

“customer service skills”

“academic commitments”

“strong candidate”

“discuss my application”

These are appropriate combinations of words.

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4. Grammatical Range & Accuracy 

This is arguably the strongest criterion.

What the candidate does well

The answer contains a good mixture of sentence structures.

For example:

“I am writing to express my strong interest in applying for a part-time position at Delightful Bites Restaurant, as recently advertised.”

This demonstrates confident control of a complex sentence.

Another good example:

“This schedule allows me to balance my academic commitments effectively while dedicating my time and enthusiasm to your restaurant.”

The candidate also uses:

• subordinate clauses
• participial structures
• relative clauses
• prepositional phrases
• complex sentence structures

Accuracy

There are no obvious grammatical errors that would significantly affect the score.

The following structures are handled correctly:

• “where I worked for two years”
• “During my tenure…”
• “while dedicating…”
• “make me a strong candidate…”
• “I look forward to the opportunity…”

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5. Formality and Tone

Very good overall

The tone is appropriately formal and respectful.

Good examples:

“I am writing to express…”

“I am confident that…”

“I look forward to…”

“Thank you for considering my application.”

The use of:

“Yours faithfully,”

is also correct because the letter begins with “Dear Sir or Madam,”.

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6. Word Count

The response is approximately 190 words, so it comfortably meets the requirement of at least 150 words.

That’s a good length.

The candidate has enough space to develop the ideas without becoming excessively long.

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Final Examiner-Style Verdict

Estimated Band: 8.0

This would be a very strong IELTS General Training Task 1 response.

Why Band 8?

• ✅ Fully addresses all three bullet points
• ✅ Clear purpose
• ✅ Relevant experience is explained
• ✅ Availability is precise
• ✅ Excellent paragraph organisation
• ✅ Strong formal tone
• ✅ Wide vocabulary
• ✅ Excellent grammatical control
• ✅ No significant grammatical errors
• ✅ Appropriate closing

Practice Real Exam Question