You live in an area where the local council has made some changes to regulations. You believe these changes are not good for the residents. Write a letter to a councillor. In your letter: - introduce yourself - describe the problem - say what you think the council should do about the situation
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am Alicia Vikander, a resident of the Asperö, Gothenburg area and a university lecturer, writing to express my disapproval of the recent holding tax increase. The sudden increment is not cordially accepted by the people and as a representative of these people, you are requested to reconsider it. Increasing the holding tax to 25% from the next June would create some rage among ordinary citizens. People in our area are already paying an 18% holding tax, which is 2-3% higher than the national average, and making it 25% would only bring dissatisfaction to the local citizens. As a law-abiding resident, I have always honoured the regulation but I, as well as many others, also feel strongly about the decision. As a solution, I would like you to invite some members of the community to discuss the changes - a way to show that you are always respectful of people's decisions and make the holding tax less than 20%. I sincerely thank you for your consideration and judgement. Yours faithfully, Alicia Vikander
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct the place phrase Original: resident of the Asperö, Gothenburg area Suggested revision: resident of Asperö in the Gothenburg area Why it matters: The place name does not take 'the', and 'in' clarifies its location.
- 2. Use a natural noun phrase Original: holding tax increase Suggested revision: increase in holding tax Why it matters: This phrasing is more natural in a formal letter.
- 3. Choose the correct noun Original: increment Suggested revision: increase Why it matters: 'Increase' is the natural noun for a rise in a tax rate.
- 4. Use the right collocation Original: cordially accepted Suggested revision: well received Why it matters: 'Cordially accepted' does not naturally describe public reaction to a policy.
- 5. Name the affected group Original: by the people Suggested revision: by local residents Why it matters: This identifies the people affected by the council's decision more precisely.
- 6. Address the role directly Original: representative of these people Suggested revision: representative of those residents Why it matters: This avoids repetition and clearly connects the councillor with local residents.
- 7. Use a direct request Original: you are requested Suggested revision: I ask you Why it matters: An active first-person request is clearer and appropriately formal.
- 8. Remove the article Original: from the next June Suggested revision: from next June Why it matters: Month names do not take 'the' in this time expression.
- 9. Use formal wording Original: create some rage Suggested revision: cause considerable anger Why it matters: 'Create some rage' is an unnatural and overly emotive collocation.
- 10. Keep the group consistent Original: ordinary citizens Suggested revision: local residents Why it matters: The complaint concerns residents of the council area specifically.
- 11. Correct the collocation Original: bring dissatisfaction to the local citizens Suggested revision: cause dissatisfaction among local residents Why it matters: Dissatisfaction is caused among a group, not brought to its members.
- 12. Use the correct verb Original: honoured Suggested revision: complied with Why it matters: People comply with regulations rather than honouring them in this context.
Suggested Rewrites
- resident of the Asperö, Gothenburg area resident of Asperö in the Gothenburg area
- holding tax increase increase in holding tax
- increment increase
- cordially accepted well received
- by the people by local residents
- representative of these people representative of those residents
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear purpose, covers the writer's identity, explains the proposed tax increase with relevant figures, and gives two practical requests in an appropriately formal manner. Its main limitation is presentation and idiomatic control: the entire message is one block and phrases such as "cordially accepted" and "create some rage" sound unnatural; prioritise clear paragraphing and neutral council-letter vocabulary.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully addressed with a clear complaint, relevant tax details, and practical requests in a suitably formal register.
Make the requested outcome even sharper by presenting community consultation and a tax ceiling below 20% as two clearly separated actions.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically from introduction to problem and solution, but the letter is presented as one dense paragraph.
Separate the introduction, impact of the increase, and requested council action into distinct paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a reasonable range of formal vocabulary, though several collocations are unnatural or overly emotive.
Replace phrases such as "sudden increment," "cordially accepted," and "create some rage" with neutral administrative language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is generally controlled, but article, punctuation, modifier, and coordination problems appear in several places.
Proofread long sentences for clear clause boundaries and use forms such as "from next June" and "honoured the regulations."
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You live in an area where the local council has made some changes to regulations. You believe these changes are not good for the residents. Write a letter to a councillor. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- describe the problem
- say what you think the council should do about the situation
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.