You are leaving your job soon, and a colleague will be taking over your responsibilities. Write a letter to this colleague.
This letter has to transfer real, usable information to a colleague, not just announce a departure.
The question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You are leaving your job soon, and a colleague will be taking over your responsibilities. Write a letter to this colleague.
In your letter,
tell them that you are leaving and that they will be taking over your role
explain the main tasks and projects they will need to manage
offer to meet them before you leave to explain everything in person
You do not need to write your own address. Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Mr Patel,
Write at least 150 words.
What this letter needs
The difficulty in this scenario is that it is genuinely informational: the letter needs to name specific responsibilities, deadlines and an unfinished project clearly enough that the colleague could actually take over from reading it, while still reading as a personal, warm handover rather than a dry set of instructions. Candidates who list tasks without any specifics tend to sound vague and lose marks for underdeveloped content.
Structure
Salutation — Dear Mr/Ms [Surname], — a colleague you work alongside, addressed personally rather than via a mass handover email.
Opening — State clearly that you are leaving and that they are the one taking over your responsibilities.
Body 1 — List the main recurring tasks they will inherit, with enough specifics (deadlines, frequency) to be genuinely useful.
Body 2 — Flag the one ongoing project that needs extra background before you go.
Body 3 — Offer a specific way to hand everything over properly, such as a meeting or written notes.
Closing — Ask them to confirm a time that works, keeping the tone supportive rather than purely procedural.
Model answers
Band 6.0 model answer
173 words
Dear Mr Patel,
I hope you are doing well. As you may already know, I will be leaving my position at the company at the end of this month, and I have been told that you will be taking over most of my responsibilities.
I wanted to write to you directly to explain the main tasks you will need to manage. The most important one is the monthly report for the marketing team, which must be sent by the 25th of every month. You will also be responsible for updating the client database and replying to customer emails, which usually take about an hour each morning.
There is also a big project with the Dalton account that is still ongoing, and I think it would be useful for you to know the background before I leave.
I would be happy to meet with you this week to go through everything in more detail and show you how the systems work. Please let me know a time that suits you.
Yours sincerely, [Your Name]
Why this is Band 6.0
Covers all three points but the task list reads plainly: 'The most important one is...' followed by 'You will also be responsible for...'
Vocabulary is functional, using general verbs like 'manage' and 'go through' repeatedly.
Sentences are mostly simple and separated, with limited linking between the different tasks described.
The offer to help is present but basic: 'I would be happy to meet with you this week.'
Band 7.0 model answer
184 words
Dear Mr Patel,
I hope this message finds you well. As you may already be aware, I will be leaving my role at the end of this month, and I understand that you will be taking on the majority of my current responsibilities.
I wanted to reach out personally to outline the main areas you will need to manage going forward. The most time-sensitive task is the monthly marketing report, which must be submitted by the 25th of each month, along with maintaining the client database and responding to customer enquiries, both of which typically take up the first hour of each working day.
There is also an ongoing project with the Dalton account that requires some background context, as several details have not yet been finalised, and I think it would be worth talking you through where things currently stand.
I would be glad to set aside some time this week to walk you through the relevant systems and hand over any notes or files that might be useful. Please let me know which day works best for you.
Yours sincerely, [Your Name]
Why this is Band 7.0
Content is fully covered and grouped clearly, with the ongoing Dalton project separated into its own paragraph rather than mixed in with routine tasks.
Uses less common vocabulary accurately, such as 'time-sensitive' and 'finalised'.
Mixes sentence types, e.g. 'along with maintaining the client database and responding to customer enquiries, both of which typically take up the first hour of each working day' adds a longer descriptive clause smoothly.
Register is consistently professional and warm, e.g. 'I wanted to reach out personally' signals genuine care without becoming casual.
Band 8.5 model answer
204 words
Dear Mr Patel,
I hope you're keeping well. As you may already have heard, I will be leaving the company at the end of this month, and I understand that the bulk of my current responsibilities will be passed on to you.
I wanted to get in touch personally, rather than leave everything to a generic handover note, to flag the areas that will need the most attention early on. Chief among these is the monthly marketing report, due by the 25th of each month, alongside the client database and the morning round of customer enquiries, both of which tend to eat up the first hour of the day if left unattended. There is also the Dalton account, a project still very much in motion, with a few loose ends I would rather explain in person than leave for you to untangle later.
With that in mind, I would be glad to set aside an afternoon this week to walk you through the relevant systems, introduce you to the key contacts, and leave you with a set of notes covering anything I haven't managed to mention here.
Just let me know what suits your schedule, and I'll work around it.
Yours sincerely, [Your Name]
Why this is Band 8.5
Content covered with real precision and emphasis — the Dalton account, the most complex item, gets the most development: 'a few loose ends I would rather explain in person than leave for you to untangle later.'
Idiomatic, natural phrasing throughout, such as 'rather than leave everything to a generic handover note' and 'eat up the first hour of the day if left unattended.'
Flexible complex grammar handled with no strain, e.g. the long sentence listing three separate responsibilities within one controlled structure.
Precise vocabulary with no padding: 'chief among these', 'in motion' and 'untangle' are all used accurately and naturally.
Closes with a genuinely casual, well-judged sign-off line, 'Just let me know what suits your schedule, and I'll work around it', that fits a colleague relationship exactly.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.
This is a semi-formal letter question. The answers above show you what each band looks like when it is finished. What they cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in twenty minutes.
That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the letter is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.
Answers checked here may be published on this page, without your name, to help other learners. Nothing else about you is stored.
Common questions
How specific do I need to be about the tasks being handed over?
Very specific — naming an actual deadline like 'by the 25th of each month' and a named client account like 'the Dalton account' is what separates a Band 8.5 answer from a vague one that just says 'you will take over my duties'.
Is it strange to mention feelings about leaving in a letter that's mainly practical?
A brief warm note is fine and actually expected in a semi-formal letter to a colleague — closing with something like 'Just let me know what suits your schedule, and I'll work around it' keeps the tone personal without derailing the practical content.
Should I explain why I'm leaving the job?
No — the task only asks you to cover the handover, not your reasons for leaving, so that detail is better left out to save space for the responsibilities themselves.
What's the best way to offer help before I go, beyond just saying 'let me know if you need anything'?
Propose something concrete, such as setting 'aside an afternoon this week to walk you through the relevant systems' — a specific offer is far more useful, and reads as more sincere, than an open-ended one.
