You are unhappy about a plan to make your local airport bigger and increase the number of flights. You live near the airport. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter: - explain where you live - describe the problem - give reasons why you do not want this development
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,Dear Sir or Madam, As a resident living near the airportAs a local resident, I would like to oppose the proposed expansion of our local airportprotest the development of our local airport as it would bring several serious consequencesmany negative consequences. I am writing to askrequest you to publish an editorial in your newspaper aboutregarding the problems the expansion of the local airport would cause. I live near the Bogra International Airport where more than two thousand citizens, including children and older people, reside. Living near the airport is already difficult as there is frequent excessive noiseharsh noises are frequent, especially at night when the aeroplanes land or take offland or depart the runway. If the number of flights increasesIf the number of flights is increased, the noise will become unbearable. This could result in considerable distress for local residentsimmense distress to the people. In additionBesides, it would worsen traffic conditionsthe traffic condition on nearby roadsof the adjacent roads. Moreover, the airport authority wants to expand the area; so our lovely park, which is essential for every citizen of this locality, will be diminished. For these reasonsDue to this, everyone in our locality is against this proposed development. If you agree with me, please publish an editorial in your newspaper to disagree with this unnecessary and detrimental development. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Shohag Khan
Why this response received Band 7.5
This is a purposeful and persuasive formal letter that identifies the writer's location, explains several likely effects of expansion and makes a clear request to the newspaper. The response uses varied language and mostly accurate complex sentences, but presenting everything as one paragraph obscures the progression, and a few expressions are imprecise. Clear functional paragraphing is the highest-priority improvement.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all required points are covered and the objections are supported with relevant consequences for residents.
Make the location detail more concrete by stating the writer's neighbourhood or approximate distance from the airport.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses logically from context to noise, traffic and loss of public space, but the single-block presentation limits clarity.
Divide the letter into paragraphs for purpose and location, current and future problems, and the requested action.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a good range of appropriately formal vocabulary, with occasional imprecise collocations such as 'harsh noises' and 'traffic condition'.
Choose more natural phrases such as 'aircraft noise', 'traffic congestion' and 'the park will be reduced in size'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are varied and generally accurate, with only occasional awkward clause attachment and punctuation choices.
Refine clause boundaries and avoid joining an independent result clause with a semicolon followed by 'so'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are unhappy about a plan to make your local airport bigger and increase the number of flights. You live near the airport. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter:
- explain where you live
- describe the problem
- give reasons why you do not want this development
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.