GT Letter4 July 2026 6 min read

IELTS General Training Task 1: A Band 7.5 Resignation Letter (Master's Abroad), Graded

A formal resignation letter announcing a move abroad for a Master's degree — graded band-by-band by Cuepen's AI examiner, including the classic 'Dear Madam… Yours sincerely' format trap and the exact fixes toward Band 8.

Question:

You have decided to resign from your current job to pursue a Master's degree abroad. Write a letter to your employer. In your letter:

Explain why you are leaving the company
State what you have gained from working there
Specify your planned last day of work and make necessary arrangements

Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter with: Dear Madam,

Illustration: a resignation letter rising from an envelope beside a graduation cap, with a plane flying abroad — Leaving a job to study abroad — the situation this letter must handle with the right tone and format.

Candidate's answer:

Dear Madam,

I wish to inform you regarding my pursual of Master's degree abroad. First of all, I thank you sincerely for giving me my first job opportunity, where I have not only enriched my technical knowledge, but also practiced professionalism and work ethics. Owing to the extraordinary peer group that you have provided, I was inspired to upskill myself and unlock my true potential.

I have recently applied to the University of Chicago's Robotics department and received a letter of acceptance from their admissions' committee. I strongly believe that the curriculum will equip me with the latest skills in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Furthermore, I forsee the entrepreneurship clubs in the university unlocking new avenues to build an enterprise on my own soon. The program commences in the first week of July and lasts for about two years.

To plan my accomodation and travel, I would require atleast one month, prior to my joining date. Hence, I would request you to accept this letter of resignation and plan to relieve me from my duties and responsibilities by the end of May, this year. I humbly request your approval and will look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Manoj

Full Cuepen report:

This is the complete assessment, exactly as the model returned it. Click a criterion card to filter the line-by-line view, or any flagged sentence for its feedback.

7.5/9.0

Overall Band Score

Words200✓

Paragraphs6

Candidate's Answer

Dear Madam,

I wish to inform you regarding my pursual of Master's degree abroad.¹click for feedback

First of all, I thank you sincerely for giving me my first job opportunity, where I have not only enriched my technical knowledge, but also practiced professionalism and work ethics.

Owing to the extraordinary peer group that you have provided, I was inspired to upskill myself and unlock my true potential.

I have recently applied to the University of Chicago's Robotics department and received a letter of acceptance from their admissions' committee.

I strongly believe that the curriculum will equip me with the latest skills in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Furthermore, I forsee the entrepreneurship clubs in the university unlocking new avenues to build an enterprise on my own soon.

The program commences in the first week of July and lasts for about two years.

To plan my accomodation and travel, I would require atleast one month, prior to my joining date.

Hence, I would request you to accept this letter of resignation and plan to relieve me from my duties and responsibilities by the end of May, this year.²click for feedback

I humbly request your approval and will look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, Manoj³click for feedback

Task Achievement feedback (3)

1Unclear purpose

I wish to inform you regarding my pursual of Master's degree abroad.

💡The purpose is implied through the study plan; the word 'resignation' only arrives in the final paragraph.

I am writing to tender my resignation, as I have decided to pursue a Master's degree abroad.

2Underdeveloped details

Hence, I would request you to accept this letter of resignation and plan to relieve me from my duties and responsibilities by the end of May, this year.

💡The 'necessary arrangements' bullet is only half-met: a release date is requested, but no handover or transition help is offered.

Hence, I request you to accept this letter of resignation and to relieve me of my duties by the end of May this year; I am happy to document my work and train my replacement during the notice period.

3Tone mismatch

Yours sincerely, Manoj

💡Letter-format convention: a letter opening with 'Dear Madam' (name unknown) closes with 'Yours faithfully', not 'Yours sincerely'.

Yours faithfully, Manoj

The fastest route to Band 8

Match the close to the opening: "Dear Madam" (name unknown) pairs with "Yours faithfully", not "Yours sincerely".
Cover the third bullet fully — offer handover arrangements (documenting work, training a replacement), not just a release date.
Fix the three spellings (foresee, accommodation, at least) and the small grammar slips: "a Master’s degree", "relieve me of", "at the university", "look forward to".

Frequently asked questions

What band is this IELTS resignation letter?+

It scores an overall Band 7.5 — Task Achievement and Coherence at Band 8, with Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range at Band 7.

Should I write 'Yours sincerely' or 'Yours faithfully'?+

When the letter opens with 'Dear Madam' or 'Dear Sir' (name unknown), close with 'Yours faithfully'. 'Yours sincerely' is for a named recipient — this letter loses a Task Achievement mark for mixing them.

Does Cuepen grade General Training letters?+

Yes — Cuepen's AI examiner scores GT Task 1, Academic Task 1 and Task 2 against all four IELTS criteria with line-by-line feedback.

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