A magazine is inviting its readers to contribute to one of its articles titled ‘The Book I Was Most Influenced By’. Write a letter to the magazine editor about the book that you were influenced by the most. In your letter • describe the topic of the book • explain in what way it influenced you • say whether you think it might influence other people
Sample Response
Dear editor,
Recently, I got acquainted with unusual book by Hanya Yanagihara " A little life". It explores more problems as racism, pedofilizm, traumas, friendship, abuse, harmful adults, and poor fate of little boy, who just wanted to love and be loved.
I chose this book, because it has definetely affect to my thinking and whole life. In my opinion, it isn't just story about a little boy, this story presents a terrible world where everyone can be murdered or haunted by gosts from past. Jude is an immersion of us, we can see something about ourselves and this is the main point of the book.
I truly hope that readers will discover the problems wich author includes in this book, to demonstrate all issues in society. Of course, this book won't simple, calm or relaxing way of spending time. As a result, readers even may find themselves too emotional, since this book can astonish them, but in conclusion, they will flip their worldview.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for opportunity to express my opinion.
Yours faithfully,
Anthony
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Missing article Original: acquainted with unusual Suggested revision: acquainted with an unusual Why it matters: The singular countable noun phrase 'unusual book' requires an indefinite article.
- 2. Incorrect prepositional phrase Original: more problems as Suggested revision: various problems such as Why it matters: Use 'such as' instead of 'as' to introduce a list of examples.
- 3. Spelling error Original: pedofilizm Suggested revision: pedophilia Why it matters: The correct spelling of this term in English is 'pedophilia'.
- 4. Missing article Original: poor fate of little boy Suggested revision: the tragic fate of a little boy Why it matters: The singular countable noun 'boy' needs an article, and 'tragic' is a more natural collocation than 'poor' here.
- 5. Incorrect verb form and preposition Original: definetely affect to Suggested revision: definitely affected Why it matters: The verb 'affect' is transitive and does not take the preposition 'to', and it should be in the past tense.
- 6. Missing article Original: isn't just story Suggested revision: isn't just a story Why it matters: The singular countable noun 'story' requires an indefinite article.
- 7. Spelling and article error Original: gosts from past Suggested revision: ghosts from the past Why it matters: The word 'ghosts' is misspelled, and 'past' requires the definite article.
- 8. Unnatural word choice Original: immersion of us Suggested revision: reflection of us Why it matters: The word 'reflection' or 'representation' fits the intended meaning much better than 'immersion'.
- 9. Spelling error Original: wich Suggested revision: which Why it matters: The relative pronoun 'which' is misspelled.
- 10. Missing verb Original: won't simple Suggested revision: won't be a simple Why it matters: The auxiliary verb 'won't' must be followed by the base verb 'be' and an article before the noun phrase.
- 11. Inappropriate transition Original: As a result, Suggested revision: Indeed, Why it matters: The transition 'As a result' implies a direct cause-and-effect relationship that does not logically follow the previous sentence.
- 12. Adverb placement Original: readers even may Suggested revision: readers may even Why it matters: The adverb 'even' is more naturally placed after the modal verb 'may'.
Suggested Rewrites
- acquainted with unusual acquainted with an unusual
- more problems as various problems such as
- pedofilizm pedophilia
- poor fate of little boy the tragic fate of a little boy
- definetely affect to definitely affected
- isn't just story isn't just a story
Why this response received Band 6.0
The letter successfully addresses all parts of the prompt with a suitable semi-formal tone and clear development of the chosen book's impact. However, the overall quality is held back by frequent grammatical slips, particularly missing articles and auxiliary verbs, alongside several spelling errors. Prioritizing grammatical accuracy and proofreading for basic sentence structures will significantly improve the clarity of your writing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The letter fully addresses the prompt by describing the book's themes, explaining its personal impact, and discussing its potential influence on other readers.
To improve further, ensure that the explanation of how the book influenced you is more concrete and detailed.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, though some cohesive devices and transitions are used somewhat mechanically.
Practice using a wider variety of natural linking words and avoid repetitive structures like 'As a result' and 'In conclusion' within short paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
You use a decent range of vocabulary relevant to the topic, but spelling mistakes and incorrect word forms are noticeable.
Focus on the correct spelling of complex words, such as 'pedophilia' and 'ghosts', and learn correct verb-noun collocations like 'have an effect on'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
While you attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, grammatical errors—especially missing articles, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs—occur frequently.
Review the rules for article usage with singular countable nouns and ensure that verbs are not omitted in clauses, such as writing 'won't be a simple way' instead of 'won't simple way'.
Use this task for your next draft
Feedback is more useful when you actively apply it in a draft, rather than only recognising improvements on the page.
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.
The question will be loaded automatically.