An apology letter in the IELTS test could be informal (to a friend) or formal (to your boss).
Recently I’ve seen a few apology letters about being late or missing something e.g. a party or a meeting, in the past or in the future.
The main thing is to be consistent with your tone. The examples below start with the most formal option.
Watch the YouTube video here.
[Past Time] You missed an important meeting at work. Write a letter to your manager. In the letter:
- Apologize for not going
- Explain why you were not there
- Say how you will make up for it
[Future time] Your boss has called an important meeting but you will be unable to attend. Write a letter to your boss. In your letter
- Apologise for your absence
- Explain why you will not be able to attend
- Say what you will do to make up for your absence
How to start or ‘open’ your apology letter
The way you start the letter determines the tone of the whole letter.
So if you start with a formal ‘Dear Mr/Mrs Smith’, you should remain formal throughout the letter.
If you start by using a first name e.g. ‘Dear Max’, then you must ensure that you remain informal but polite throughout.
*Common mistakes 1: ‘Dear Mr Steven’.
The way you start the letter gives the examiner a first indication/impression of your Writing ability. A common mistake is simply the choice of name. Many people mix up a common first name with a family name e.g. ‘Dear Mr Steven’*.
The examiner might think you have made a mistake, so choose a well-known family name like ‘Mr/Mrs Smith’ to stay safe.
*Common mistakes 2: ‘Dear Sir or Madam’*.
It is very unlikely that you would start a letter to your boss with ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ as this is only used for people you don’t know.
Try to imagine a real person when you write your Task 1.
I see my boss on a daily basis, so I would use the first name ‘Dear Max’.
If you are planning to write more formally e.g. to the manager of your company, you should say ‘Dear Mr/Mrs Smith’.
2. Make your purpose clear in the introduction
You’ll need to give some background to the letter (these start with formal versions and then get less formal).
- I am writing to apologise for my absence…
- I’m writing with regards to the meeting…
- I just received your email about the meeting…
- Many thanks for your invitation to…
- Just got your text about the party…
3. Introduce the apology
It’s probably best to get your apology in first before you give the explanation and you might need to ‘soften the blow’.
- Unfortunately I will be unable to attend…
- I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend…
- I’m really sorry but I have already made other arrangements…
- What a pity! I can’t make it that day…
4. How to apologise
Try not to go OTT (over the top) – just be sincere and show that you are genuinely sorry.
- Please accept my sincerest apologies for my absence.
- I would like to apologise for missing the meeting.
- I’m (ever so) sorry I couldn’t make it to your party last weekend.
5. Give an explanation
This could be in the Past Tense (the reason why you missed the meeting) or in the Future Tense.
- I fully understand how important this meeting is/ was but…
- I know how much the party means to you, but…
6. Say how you will ‘make amends’
The questions usually ask you to say how you will compensate/make up for (make amends for) your absence.
- (I assure you that) I will do everything possible to avoid this happening again.
- I promise it won’t happen again.
- I’ll make it up to you, I promise!
7. Ask for forgiveness?
You don’t have to do this, but it depends on the question.
- I sincerely hope that you were not inconvenienced by (my actions, my mistake, this misunderstanding)
- I hope that you can forgive me.
- Please don’t be mad at me!
8. Take responsibility
It might help to accept that you were to blame.
- I take full responsibility for any inconvenience caused.
- I realise that this is my fault.
- I owe you an apology.
- It’s all my fault!
- How careless/thoughtless/stupid of me!
- My bad!* (slang – use for friends only)
9. How to express regret
should/shouldn’t + have + Past Participle
- I shouldn’t have left it so late to book the tickets
- I should have booked the tickets earlier
wish + had + Past Participle
- I wish I’d known about this earlier.
- I wish I hadn’t said yes.
could/would + have + Past Participle
I could have/would have done something about it (if I’d known about it earlier)
10. How to ‘close’ a letter of apology
You might want to remind them about how sorry you are.
Once again, I sincerely regret missing the activities and hope you understand the unavoidable circumstances that led to my absence.
I hope that this will not cause too much inconvenience and would be very grateful if you could keep me up to speed with any developments.
I hope the meeting goes well and look forward to hearing about the plans as soon as possible.
I really hope you will accept my sincerest apologies.
- Please let me know if you have any further issues
- Hope you have a great time at your party!
Yours sincerely, … (formal e.g.your manager)
Best wishes, ... (less formal e.g. a boss you know well)
All for now/Speak soon/See you soon,...
GT Letter of apology models
Dear Mrs Smith,
I am writing to apologize for not attending the team-building away day last week. I understand that these events are valuable but unfortunately I had transport problems and could not get there on time.
I had originally intended to drive up to London the night before, but my car broke down on the way back from work and had to be left at the mechanic’s. I immediately booked train tickets online, but, as often happens on Sundays, engineering works on the line over-ran, meaning that all trains between Colchester and London were cancelled and if I had used the replacement bus service, I would have arrived at midday, thus missing most of the team-building activities.
I have emailed everyone in the office to explain why I was not there and invited them to an informal after-work drink to fill me in on anything I missed. I would be delighted if you could join us.
Once again, I sincerely regret missing the activities and hope you understand the unavoidable circumstances that led to my absence.
Best regards,
Fiona Wattam
Hi Nina
I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it to the restaurant last weekend. I hope you had a really great time.
I was all set to drive up to London on Sunday morning, but as I was on my way back from a late shift at the hospital, my car packed up! I had to abandon it at the side of the road and get a taxi home at huge expense!
So I went online to get train tickets but as soon as I got to the station – what a surprise – all trains were cancelled from Colchester to Liverpool street. This has been going on for years now – they’re always fixing the lines on Sunday. Will they ever be fixed, I ask myself? I thought there would be a replacement bus service but after hanging around for ages with no-one telling me what was going on, I realised that by the time I got to the party, you would already have sat down to eat.
I’m really sorry about that. Maybe I could take you out to lunch this weekend if you’re around? I’ll come and pick you up if my car’s been fixed, so you can have a drink and I’ll drive. How does that sound?
Let me know if you’re free,
Lots of love
Fiona
If you need help and feedback with your writing, my 28-Day General Training Writing Course in the Members Academy is designed to help you develop your ability to write in both formal, informal and semi-formal styles.
It takes you step by step through both Task 1 and Task 2 with
- daily videos
- daily emails
- daily tasks
- daily worksheets
- daily quizzes
- weekly feedback
- access to me
- closed Facebook group
Superb!
Thanks Sourabh,
Best wishes
Fiona
Where I can get more like this?
Hi Charles. Here are all the General Training Lessons on the site:
https://ieltsetc.com/category/ielts-general-training/
You’re welcome.
Really clear explanation thanks