Buổi 8: Writing Task 1 – Bảng thu nhập theo nhóm: so sánh tỉ lệ chính xác (A) & thư thương lượng lại điều khoản thanh toán (GT)

The table compares how total household income in Country T was divided among five equal-sized groups of households in 2006 and 2026, and shows the average annual income of each group in both years.

Overall, although every group became better off in absolute terms, the top fifth was the only one whose share of total income increased, so income became more concentrated at the top over the twenty-year period.

In 2006, the highest-earning fifth of households received just over two-fifths of all income (41%), while the lowest-earning fifth received 7%. By 2026, the top group's share had risen to 45%, nearly half of the total, whereas each of the other four groups saw its share fall by one percentage point.

The figures for average income tell a similar story. The top fifth's average income climbed from 52,000 to 82,000 units, an increase of almost 60%, compared with a rise of only around 11% for the bottom fifth, from 9,000 to 10,000. As a result, the average income of the top group, which had been almost six times that of the bottom group in 2006, was more than eight times as high by 2026. The middle three groups experienced moderate gains of roughly 35–40%.

Dear Ms Reyes,

I have very much enjoyed working with your marketing team over the past two years, translating product brochures and website content, and I hope to continue doing so. I am writing, however, about the timing of payments for my work.

Our agreement states that invoices are payable within 30 days. Over the last four months, however, my invoices have been settled between 55 and 70 days after issue, and one from August remains outstanding. I appreciate that delays can arise for many reasons, and I have not raised the matter until now for that reason.

As a self-employed translator, I rely on regular payments to cover my own fixed costs, and these delays have made it increasingly difficult to plan my finances and to accept other projects with confidence.

I would therefore like to propose two changes. First, could larger projects be invoiced in two stages, with half payable on agreement and half on delivery? Second, would it be possible to set up payment by bank transfer on a fixed date each month, so that invoices do not depend on manual approval?

I value our working relationship and am confident we can find an arrangement that works for both sides. I would be happy to discuss this by phone at your convenience.

Yours sincerely, Duc Pham