Letter

Band 6+: You were scheduled to attend a very important meeting with your supervisor but you ended up being late. Write a formal letter to your supervisor apologizing for your lateness. You should include details about: - give the reasons for your lateness - explain how this will not happen again in the future - suggest a way to make up for the lost time at the meeting

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Dear Sir,

I am writing to let you know that I’m so sorry for not attending our meeting scheduled for 21/12/2025. I apologize for this short notice, but it was unavoidable.

My inability to attend the meeting is due to the demise of my uncle, my uncle has been the one who sponsored my education from primary school to my tertiary institution.

Additionally, my uncle has two children who are 4 years and 7 years of age. He has been divorced for eight years and has been taking care of the children alone. Due to these reasons, I will have to travel down to take care of the children until a family is designated a family to look after the children.

I understand how important our meeting is and the impact it will have on my project.

I promise this won’t repeat itself in the future.

Thank you for your understanding. To make up for the lateness, I will share some of the notes that I have written regarding the project for you to review.

Kind regards,

Quadri

Word Count: 178

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Overall Band Score

6.5

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B1 - Intermediate
Using more sophisticated words could be beneficial.

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:

meeting: 3

uncle: 3

children: 3

years: 3

Try using synonyms for the above words

Task Response

The letter adequately addresses the task by providing reasons for lateness, a promise of non-recurrence, and a suggestion to compensate for lost time. However, the scenario presented seems more appropriate for an absence rather than lateness, which slightly affects the relevance. To improve, focus on directly addressing the lateness and ensure the reasons provided align more closely with being late rather than completely missing the meeting. Also, the tone is generally appropriate, but maintaining a consistently formal tone throughout would enhance the letter.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter generally maintains coherence, but the flow could be improved. The reason for lateness is explained, but the connection to the meeting is not explicitly stated. The explanation of the uncle's situation, while providing context, could be more concise and directly linked to the inability to attend the meeting. To improve cohesion, use transition words or phrases to connect ideas more smoothly. For example, you could start the third paragraph with 'Therefore' to clearly indicate the consequence of your uncle's death.

Lexical Resource

The letter demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a formal apology. However, there's room to enhance the sophistication of word choice. For instance, instead of 'take care of the children,' consider using 'oversee the care' or 'attend to the needs' to add a more formal tone. Overall, the vocabulary is appropriate, but refining word choices could elevate the letter's impact.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentences, but there are some grammatical inaccuracies that affect clarity. For example, the sentence 'My inability to attend the meeting is due to the demise of my uncle, my uncle has been the one who sponsored my education from primary school to my tertiary institution' could be restructured for better clarity and flow. Pay close attention to subject-verb agreement, correct tense usage, and sentence structure to enhance grammatical accuracy. Proofreading carefully before submission can help identify and correct these errors.

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