A magazine wants to include contributions from its readers for an article called 'The book that influenced me most’. Write a letter to the editor of the magazine about the book that influenced you most. In your letter: - describe what this book was about - explain how this book influenced you - say whether this book would be likely to influence other people
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
A recent announcement in your magazine for an upcoming article of yours, titled “The book that influenced me most”, has motivated me to write a few words about a book that had influenced my thoughts very significantly. The name of the book is "My Journey to a Bigger Journey".
The book was about how a person from a very “humble” family background eventually became the president of a country. It was more like a “biography”, and the author, and also the main character in the book, so beautifully wrote about his struggles and life experience before reaching the pinnacle of success. The book also has many motivating stories and pieces of useful advice.
Until I read the book, I had a habit of virtually blaming anything and everything around me for the bad or negative things that were happening to me. As a result of this, I couldn’t really see my own shortcomings or my faults that were hindering my success. But, after reading that book, I finally got a chance to look at myself – my own negative thoughts and behaviour problems that are – and thereby changing my overall outlook on the world and people around me.
So, it was a great book indeed, and if it could change a negative person like me, it sure could change many others as well.
I hope you would mention this book in your article.
Yours faithfully,
Anjali Prabhakar
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use present perfect Original: had influenced Suggested revision: has influenced Why it matters: Use the present perfect because the book's influence continues into the present.
- 2. Choose concise emphasis Original: very significantly Suggested revision: profoundly Why it matters: A single precise adverb expresses the strength of the influence more naturally.
- 3. Remove unnecessary quotes Original: “humble” Suggested revision: humble Why it matters: Quotation marks are unnecessary because the word is being used in its ordinary sense.
- 4. Improve word choice Original: motivating stories Suggested revision: inspiring stories Why it matters: The adjective 'inspiring' is more idiomatic when describing stories that encourage readers.
- 5. Clarify the habit Original: virtually blaming Suggested revision: constantly blaming Why it matters: The revision clearly expresses the repeated behaviour rather than suggesting it happened almost but not entirely.
- 6. Remove repetition Original: bad or negative things Suggested revision: negative things Why it matters: The two adjectives repeat the same idea, so one is sufficient.
- 7. Avoid duplicated meaning Original: my own shortcomings or my faults Suggested revision: my own shortcomings Why it matters: 'Shortcomings' and 'faults' convey the same meaning in this context.
- 8. Complete the phrase Original: my own negative thoughts and behaviour problems that are Suggested revision: my own negative thoughts and problematic behaviours Why it matters: The original relative clause is incomplete and leaves 'that are' without a complement.
- 9. Fix clause linkage Original: and thereby changing Suggested revision: thereby changing Why it matters: Removing 'and' lets the participial phrase correctly express the result of looking at himself.
- 10. Use suitable register Original: it sure could change Suggested revision: it could certainly change Why it matters: 'Certainly' is more appropriate than the conversational intensifier 'sure' in a letter to an editor.
Suggested Rewrites
- had influenced has influenced
- very significantly profoundly
- “humble” humble
- motivating stories inspiring stories
- virtually blaming constantly blaming
- bad or negative things negative things
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter is strongest in its clear purpose, appropriate formal tone, and convincing account of how the book changed the writer’s outlook. Its main limitation is that the claim about influencing other readers is asserted rather than developed, while one long sentence about self-reflection loses grammatical control. Add a specific reason or example for the book’s wider appeal and recast that sentence into a complete, accurately coordinated structure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are addressed, and the formal tone suits an editor, although the final point receives limited development.
Explain why the book’s advice or story could influence other readers, using one concrete reason or example.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from identifying the book to describing its content, personal impact, and potential effect on others.
Break up the long self-reflection sentence so each stage of the change is expressed through a clear grammatical link.
Lexical Resource
A broad and generally precise range, including ‘humble family background’, ‘pinnacle of success’, and ‘shortcomings’, conveys ideas effectively.
Refine a few awkward combinations, such as ‘behaviour problems’, by choosing a more natural phrase like ‘negative patterns of behaviour’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex sentences with generally good control, but the self-reflection sentence contains a fragment and faulty coordination.
Rewrite that section as ‘I examined my negative thoughts and patterns of behaviour, thereby changing my overall outlook.’
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A magazine wants to include contributions from its readers for an article called 'The book that influenced me most’. Write a letter to the editor of the magazine about the book that influenced you most. In your letter:
- describe what this book was about
- explain how this book influenced you
- say whether this book would be likely to influence other people
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.