IELTS Semi-formal Letter: Letter to manager requesting emergency leave of absence

The task

You are experiencing a family emergency and need to take a week off work at short notice.

Write a letter to the relevant person. In your letter:

→explain the nature of the emergency
→state exactly when you need to be away from work
→suggest how your work will be covered while you are absent

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ___________,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8186 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to request an urgent leave of absence from my role as a Senior Analyst, effective immediately, due to an unexpected family emergency. My elderly father has been hospitalised following a sudden fall, and as his primary caregiver, I am required to travel interstate to manage his medical arrangements and recovery process.

I would like to request leave for one week, starting tomorrow, 14th October, and returning to the office on 21st October. I understand that this is extremely short notice, and I sincerely regret the disruption this will cause to the team during our current project phase.

To ensure my responsibilities are managed, I have updated the status of all pending reports in our shared drive. Sarah Jenkins has kindly agreed to act as the point of contact for the client queries I am currently handling, and I have provided her with a detailed handover note this afternoon. I will ensure that my inbox is set to auto-reply with her contact details before I depart.

Thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time.

Yours sincerely,

James Abernathy

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.

Write a letter, get a band free →

Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific, plausible details and maintaining a professional, consistent semi-formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a concrete plan for work coverage, instead offering only vague promises to 'catch up' later.

→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.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

leave of absence
a period of time away from one's job
primary caregiver
the person responsible for someone needing constant care
interstate
existing or taking place between different states
short notice
a small amount of time given before an event
handover note
a document detailing tasks for a colleague to cover
pending
waiting to be finished or decided

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 many words 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.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More request letters

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