📩 A clear purpose: how clear is it what you want? 📩

"Hello! My name is Anna, and I would like to apply for your course." This the beginning of a message I recently got from a subscriber and was surprised by - in a good way.

This line has something seemingly simple and obvious, yet something I rarely get - a clear statement of purpose. What does the person want? The person wants to apply for the course. Most messages I get have very vague statements of purpose, like "When does the course start?" or "I am interested in this course." People usually think it's obvious that when they write this, they want to join. But it isn't, so I have to ask.

Why is this important?

We are now preparing to launch IELTS General Training writing courses and are writing model answers. Task 1 - letters - has the clarity of purpose as part of the assessment criterion "Task Achievement":
- Band 5: may present the purpose that is unclear at times;
- Band 6: presents a purpose that is generally clear;
- Band 7: presents a clear purpose.

So clarity - or lack thereof - can make a difference to your score.

I think IELTS Writing is very practical and close to real life. A clear statement of purpose is as important in an IELTS letter as it is in a message in real life. The only difference is in real life I can ask for clarification. In IELTS, you don't have that luxury.