You recently read an article in a newspaper about your childhood friend with whom you have lost contact for a long time. Write a letter to the editor. In your letter: - Say which edition and when did the article appear - Explain why you lost contact with your friend - Say how you want them to help you to get back in touch
Sample Response
Dear Sir, This mail is in reference to an article on the chef of local cuisine titled "Thai Gourmet Specialist" published in your daily "Bangkok Post" in the 5th edition on the 7th of this month. I was overwhelmed after reading the article as it is about my friend Barry, a very dear childhood friend with whom I had lost contact for over a decade. Barry and myself were born on the same day in the same hospital and were inseparable for most of our childhood. However, when we were in our grade 5, my father got transferred to another country for professional compulsion. We stayed in touch over letters for a few years, but unfortunately the contacts fizzled out over time as we got busy with our respective lives. Coming across such an exceptional piece on Barry brought back memories from my childhood which are worth reminiscing. I would like to rekindle the friendship with Barry again and for that I request you to kindly inform me his contact details. If it is conflicts with your confidentiality protocol then I request you to kindly pass on my contact details and message to him. I will be looking forward to your kind reply as well that of my friend's at the earliest. Yours thankfully, RITA
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use inclusive salutation Original: Dear Sir Suggested revision: Dear Sir or Madam Why it matters: This salutation is more suitable when the editor's name and gender are unknown.
- 2. Name the format Original: mail Suggested revision: letter Why it matters: The response is a letter rather than an email, so 'letter' is the accurate noun.
- 3. Use natural phrasing Original: article on the chef of local cuisine Suggested revision: article about a local-cuisine chef Why it matters: This wording states the subject of the article more naturally and concisely.
- 4. Specify the emotion Original: overwhelmed Suggested revision: thrilled Why it matters: 'Thrilled' conveys the positive emotional response more precisely.
- 5. Use subject pronoun Original: myself Suggested revision: I Why it matters: The coordinated subject requires the subject pronoun 'I', not the reflexive 'myself'.
- 6. Correct grade expression Original: in our grade 5 Suggested revision: in Grade 5 Why it matters: The standard expression does not use a possessive determiner before the school grade.
- 7. Use formal passive Original: got Suggested revision: was Why it matters: The passive form is more appropriate for the formal register of a newspaper letter.
- 8. Use natural wording Original: for professional compulsion Suggested revision: for work reasons Why it matters: 'Professional compulsion' is not an idiomatic way to explain a work-related move.
- 9. Correct the preposition Original: over letters Suggested revision: by letter Why it matters: The idiomatic expression for this means of communication is 'by letter'.
- 10. Use singular contact Original: the contacts fizzled out Suggested revision: our contact gradually faded Why it matters: 'Contact' is uncountable here, and the revision expresses the gradual loss of communication clearly.
- 11. Remove redundancy Original: rekindle the friendship with Barry again Suggested revision: rekindle my friendship with Barry Why it matters: 'Rekindle' already means to begin again, so 'again' is unnecessary.
- 12. Make request polite Original: for that I request you to kindly Suggested revision: so I would be grateful if you could Why it matters: This phrasing makes the request to the editor more courteous and natural.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Sir Dear Sir or Madam
- mail letter
- article on the chef of local cuisine article about a local-cuisine chef
- overwhelmed thrilled
- myself I
- in our grade 5 in Grade 5
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter covers every requested point with a clear account of the lost friendship and a practical, confidentiality-aware request to the editor. Its range of expression is a strength, but awkward collocations and several grammatical errors, especially in the final request and closing, reduce precision; the priority is to simplify formal phrasing and proofread pronouns, verb forms, and sentence links.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all bullet points are developed with relevant detail, and the suggested alternative for protecting confidentiality is thoughtful.
State the edition and publication date more conventionally and use a standard formal closing to maintain an appropriate relationship with the editor.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account moves logically from identifying the article to explaining the separation and requesting help, with generally clear connections between ideas.
Divide the letter into distinct paragraphs for the article, the history of the friendship, and the requested action.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a good range of less common vocabulary, but several choices are awkward or imprecise, including professional compulsion and inform me his contact details.
Prefer natural formal collocations such as professional reasons, provide me with his contact details, and pass my message on to him.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied complex sentences are attempted successfully, but errors with pronouns, clause structure, and coordination recur and occasionally disrupt fluency.
Correct forms such as Barry and I and if this conflicts, and rebuild the final sentence so each coordinated element is grammatically complete.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently read an article in a newspaper about your childhood friend with whom you have lost contact for a long time. Write a letter to the editor. In your letter:
- Say which edition and when did the article appear
- Explain why you lost contact with your friend
- Say how you want them to help you to get back in touch
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.