General Training Task 1 · 187 words
A temporary shift change: a practical request
Use a respectful, personal workplace tone while explaining the training, exact schedule change and proposed cover.
Study the method: Semi-formal letters: make clear requests and workable proposals →
Band 6 goal: Workplace tone
Complete every task part clearly and organise the response so the reader can follow it. This is a study route, not an examiner score assigned to the answer. How IELTS Writing is assessed.
The question
You need to change your working hours temporarily to attend a training programme. Write a letter to your manager. Explain the programme, describe the change in hours you need, and suggest how your work could be covered.
The sample answer
Dear Ms Patel, I am writing to ask whether I could adjust my working hours temporarily while I attend a training programme. I have been offered a place on a six-week evening course in spreadsheet analysis, which would help me prepare the monthly stock reports more efficiently.
The classes will run on Tuesdays from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m., beginning on 12 October. For those six Tuesdays, I would need to finish work at 3.30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. so that I can reach the training centre on time. I could start at 7.30 a.m. on the same days to make up the difference.
I would complete the routine stock checks before leaving and hand over any urgent requests to the afternoon team. If you agree, I could discuss the arrangement with Sam, who usually handles similar enquiries. I would not confirm anything with the course provider until you are satisfied that the cover is suitable.
Please let me know if we could discuss this at our next meeting, or if a different arrangement would work better. Thank you for considering my request. Yours sincerely, Alex Morgan
Vocabulary in context
Each phrase appears in the answer above. Learn how it works, not just a replacement word.
- adjust my working hours
- Change the times when I begin or finish work.
Adjust suggests a limited change; specify the actual times elsewhere in the letter.
- make up the difference
- Provide the amount missing after a change.
Here the missing amount is working time, not money.
- hand over
- Pass responsibility for something to another person.
Use hand over a task to someone, or hand a task over to someone.
Now make it your own
Rewrite the schedule paragraph for a course held on two mornings each week. Check that the hours you propose to work compensate for the time away.
For a smaller practice step, use the explanation, knowledge check and self-review exercise in Write a letter with purpose and tone.
The practice link opens the original question, not a copy of this answer.
Open the writing workspaceMore examples of this question type
Write to someone you know in an official context, such as a manager or neighbour. Stay polite and direct without sounding either distant or overly casual.