General Training Writing Task 1 · semi-formal · request

Letter to manager requesting emergency personal leave

You have a family emergency and need some time off work.

Write a letter to your boss. In your letter:

explain the nature of the family emergency
request a specific amount of time off work
suggest how your urgent tasks can be covered while you are away

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

Please accept this letter as a formal request for an urgent leave of absence from my role as a Senior Analyst, effective immediately. Due to an unexpected medical emergency involving my mother, who has been hospitalised following a sudden fall, I need to attend to her care and coordinate her recovery arrangements.

I am requesting one week of leave, starting tomorrow, 14th October, and I anticipate returning to the office on 21st October. Given the critical nature of this family situation, I hope you understand why I am unable to provide more notice.

Regarding my current workload, I have already updated the project tracking spreadsheet. My colleague, Sarah Jenkins, has kindly agreed to oversee the finalisation of the quarterly report in my absence. Furthermore, I have delegated the pending client enquiries to David Miller, who is fully briefed on the necessary protocols to ensure no deadlines are compromised.

I apologise for the sudden disruption this causes the team and appreciate your flexibility during this difficult time. I will remain reachable via email for any urgent matters that cannot be resolved by my colleagues.

Yours sincerely,

James Sterling

190 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response addresses all three bullet points with specific, logical details and maintains a professional, semi-formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a concrete plan for tasks or using an overly casual tone that is inappropriate for a workplace request.

Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.
Polite and friendly at once: a few contractions are fine, slang is not. Close with Yours sincerely or Kind regards.
State the purpose in the first two sentences; small talk costs words you need for the bullets.

Useful phrases from the letter

leave of absence: a period of time away from work
hospitalised: admitted to a hospital for medical treatment
anticipate: to expect or predict something will happen
finalisation: the process of completing the last parts
delegated: given tasks or responsibilities to another person
compromised: put at risk or caused to suffer

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.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Semi-formal. Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.

How long 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.