You recently read a newspaper article about someone you know personally and found that some information was wrong. Write a letter to the editor. In your letter: - describe the subject of the article - describe the error in the article - say what you expect the editor to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am Stephen Ben, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and I am writing regarding an article I read on 2424th November that was engaginga great read but unfortunately had some incorrect informationincorrect information and facts. The article was basically about Professorprofessor Albert, a renowned professor at Fordham University whom I personally know. First of all, I must state that the article was quite interesting and it gave many insights intoon how research in local universities can contribute to the national interest and how Professor Albert had been a pioneer in this fielda pioneer on that. I, however, was dismayeddaunted to notice some errorsblunders in the article that which I believe should notI deem should not have been overlooked. I have been a research assistant for Professor Albert for more than three3 years and we are still in touch. The fact that ProfessorMr Albert is from Germany is incorrect as he is originally from the UK. He graduatedachieved his graduation from an American university, not from an Australian universitynot from Australia. Moreover, he is not a father of 4 children, but three. Finally, the bio-hazard researchdigression project that was credited solely to him was actually conducted with the assistance of another professor from the same university. He is Professor Gill and he should have been credited withfor the work as well. I wish a follow-up article or an editorial correction should clarify those issues as soon as possible. Yours faithfully, Stephen Ben
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response fully explains the article, identifies several specific inaccuracies, and makes an appropriately formal request for correction, giving the letter a strong communicative purpose. The main weakness is occasional misuse of otherwise wide-ranging vocabulary, alongside a few awkward grammatical constructions. Focus first on natural word choice and request forms so the detailed content sounds consistently precise and professional.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the formal register suits a newspaper editor.
State the preferred remedy in a more direct final request rather than combining a follow-up article and editorial correction.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information follows a clear sequence from the article's subject to the errors and the requested action, with effective progression.
Group the article description, factual corrections, and requested remedy into separate paragraphs for even clearer navigation.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often precise, but some choices such as "daunted" and "achieved his graduation" are unnatural.
Choose idiomatic expressions such as "concerned" and "graduated from" instead of using less suitable formal-sounding words.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses a wide range of complex sentences with strong control, despite a few awkward clause constructions.
Correct the final request to a natural form such as "I would like a follow-up article or editorial correction to clarify these issues."
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently read a newspaper article about someone you know personally and found that some information was wrong. Write a letter to the editor. In your letter:
- describe the subject of the article
- describe the error in the article
- say what you expect the editor to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.