Structuring your letter

It is important that you remember to use paragraphs in your letter. The normal structure is that you start any letter by saying why you are writing and you finish it by saying what you expect to happen next. In this case:

paragraph 1: you need to change course (why you are writing)

paragraph 2: try to persuade your college director to let you change course by giving reasons why you want to change course

paragraph 3: ask to set up a meeting to discuss the problem (what you want to happen next)

Topic vocabulary

If you get a question like this about education, you should be happy as you should have lots of words to use. It is also good advice to write about what you know about and so I have chosen to make my model letter about studying IELTS. Take a look at some of the “education” language I used.

Dear Mr Jones

I am writing to ask whether it is possible to change my course. I am currently studying on a general English programme and I would like to enrol on an academic IELTS course instead.

The principle reason why I would like to change my course is that I do not believe the general English course is relevant to me because it is intended for students who wish to improve their social English. My circumstances are that I require a band 7.0 in order to be accepted on the masters programme at Aston University. Unless I obtain this score by the beginning of the next academic year, I will lose my place on the course and will need to return to my country. This being the case, I believe that it is essential that I get tuition in academic writing and IELTS skills.

I understand that it may be difficult to change my course mid-semester, but this is an urgent priority for me. If it would help, I would be delighted to discuss this with you in person.

Yours sincerely

Khaled Abdullah