Letter

Band 8+: You were supposed to meet a close friend for their birthday dinner, but you completely forgot and missed it. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - Apologize sincerely for missing the dinner - Explain why you forgot and why you didn't contact them sooner - Suggest a way to make it up to them.

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Dear Anita,

I am writing to apologise for missing our dinner last night. I feel terrible about it and hope you will forgive me.

To explain what happened, when I was on my way to the restaurant, I had a call from my husband that my mother-in-law had a sudden terrible chest pain with other symptoms which made me feel like a cardiac issue and being a doctor I realised that it was an emergency. So, I had to rush back to the home and take her to my cardioloist friend Dr.Anita who suggested a must bypass the next day after treating her with emergency medicines. When her condition was settled, it was past midnight. Moreover my phone was running out of battery and I could not find a charger. So, I could not contact you.

I can understand how irritating it would be to leave you waiting there for a long time without giving any explanations and keeping you wandering what would have happen. I know I could have asked someone else’s phone to call you but, amidst a lot of chaos and panic I totally lost the track of time and could not realise until it was late night.

I am planning now to make it upto you that we shall meet at the famous Blue Ivy restaurant this Saturday and will pay the entire bill this time. I will book the table and let me know if that works for you.

Once again, I am really sorry for the inconvenience and the worry I caused. I hope we can still meet soon.

Warm regards,

Sameena.

Word Count: 268

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Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

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

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:

could: 4

Try using synonyms for the above words

Task Response

The letter fully addresses all three bullet points with clear explanations and a sincere apology. The reason for missing dinner is detailed and plausible, the apology for not contacting earlier is heartfelt, and the plan to make up is specific. There are minor lapses in punctuation and word choice (e.g., 'cardioloist', 'make it upto'), but these do not detract from the overall clarity and task achievement. To reach a higher band, ensure error-free writing and slightly more concise phrasing.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter is well-organized and easy to follow. The paragraphs are logically structured: apology, explanation, further apology, and plan to make amends. However, the explanation paragraph is very long and could be broken into smaller sentences or paragraphs to improve readability. The use of cohesive devices is natural, but a few transitions could be smoother (e.g., 'Moreover' and 'So' are used effectively, but the flow within the long sentence about the medical emergency could be improved).

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary is appropriate and mostly natural. There is good use of specific terms like 'cardiac issue', 'emergency medicines', and 'cardioloist' (though misspelled). The tone is appropriately apologetic and warm. However, there are a few awkward phrases: 'a must bypass' should be 'an urgent bypass', 'keeping you wandering' should be 'keeping you wondering', and 'make it upto' should be 'make it up to'. Overall, the range of vocabulary is good, but some expressions could be more precise.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter demonstrates a good range of grammatical structures, including complex sentences and appropriate use of past tenses. There are only minor errors, such as 'had a call' (should be 'received a call'), 'a must bypass' (should be 'an urgent bypass'), 'wandering' (should be 'wondering'), and 'make it upto' (should be 'make it up to'). Punctuation is generally correct, but the long sentence in the explanation paragraph could be broken down for clarity. Overall, the grammar is accurate and does not impede understanding.

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