Your local newspaper had an advertisement asking people to help with environmental projects in your area. Write a letter to the project manager to offer your help. In your letter: - Describe a local environmental issue in your area. - Explain how you can help? - Suggest how the problem could be avoided in future?
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Ankitha, a resident of the Dolfin community. I came across your advert in the regional newspaper published yesterday regarding the need for volunteers to assist with environmental projects in the neighbourhood. I am writing this epistle to provide my assistance and make our vicinity a better place to reside.
To commence, I would like to bring to your notice the copious amounts of garbage which gets accumulated frequently in our area. There are no adequate disposal pits to throw the waste. The dwellers are oblivious of where to throw garbage. They are randomly disposing everywhere, even on streets and roads, which eventually leads to foul smells and a lack of cleanliness. This is one of the critical problems we are experiencing in our locality.
Therefore, I would like to take responsibility for cleaning the paths regularly. I have further informed some of my neighbours to assist me with the cleaning. We will hire a mini truck to dispose of waste in the burial pits located 3 miles from our area.
In addition, I request you to inform the authorities to construct a burial ground in our vicinity so that it is convenient for residents to dispose of garbage correctly, and this hurdle will be resolved soon.
Thank you in advance, and I anticipate hearing from you soon.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural wording Original: this epistle Suggested revision: to you Why it matters: Epistle is unnecessarily literary for a practical letter to a project manager.
- 2. Improve collocation Original: provide Suggested revision: offer Why it matters: Offer assistance is the natural collocation for volunteering help.
- 3. Use direct wording Original: reside Suggested revision: live Why it matters: This wording is clearer and more natural in a community letter.
- 4. Use natural transition Original: To commence Suggested revision: To begin with Why it matters: This transition introduces the first main point more naturally.
- 5. Correct collocation Original: notice Suggested revision: attention Why it matters: Bring something to your attention is the standard formal expression.
- 6. Choose suitable register Original: copious Suggested revision: large Why it matters: Copious is overly ornate for this straightforward description.
- 7. Fix clause grammar Original: which gets accumulated Suggested revision: that accumulates Why it matters: The singular mass noun takes accumulates, and the active form is clearer.
- 8. Use community term Original: The dwellers Suggested revision: Residents Why it matters: Residents is the natural term for people living in a neighbourhood.
- 9. Clarify the meaning Original: oblivious of where to throw garbage Suggested revision: unsure where to dispose of their garbage Why it matters: Oblivious does not naturally express uncertainty about a disposal location.
- 10. Improve collocation Original: critical Suggested revision: serious Why it matters: Serious problems is the more natural collocation in this context.
- 11. Use precise location Original: paths Suggested revision: streets Why it matters: Streets matches the earlier description of where rubbish is being discarded.
- 12. Clarify the action Original: further informed Suggested revision: also asked Why it matters: The neighbours are being asked to help rather than merely given information.
Suggested Rewrites
- this epistle to you
- provide offer
- reside live
- To commence To begin with
- notice attention
- copious large
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter is well organised and fully engages with the request by describing the rubbish problem, offering practical help, and proposing a longer-term measure. Its main weakness is imprecise and sometimes unsuitable vocabulary, especially the references to burial pits and a burial ground, which obscures the intended waste solution. The highest priority is to replace forced wording with accurate environmental and waste-management terms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All bullet points are covered with relevant detail, and the formal offer of assistance achieves the communicative purpose.
Make the prevention proposal more credible by requesting proper waste bins, collection services, or a designated disposal facility.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically through the issue, proposed assistance, and future solution, with effective paragraphing and referencing.
Use less mechanical paragraph openers and connect the final preventive measure more directly to the rubbish problem.
Lexical Resource
A reasonably broad vocabulary is attempted, but unnatural choices such as epistle, burial pits, and burial ground frequently reduce precision.
Prefer natural formal terms such as letter, waste-disposal site, collection point, residents, and neighbourhood clean-up.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of sentence forms is used successfully, although agreement and verb-pattern errors appear in several places.
Correct structures such as garbage which accumulates and residents dispose of it everywhere, while checking subject-verb agreement throughout.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your local newspaper had an advertisement asking people to help with environmental projects in your area. Write a letter to the project manager to offer your help. In your letter:
- Describe a local environmental issue in your area.
- Explain how you can help?
- Suggest how the problem could be avoided in future?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.