You have heard that a developer plans to build a shopping centre near your home. Write a letter to the council. In your letter: - say how you heard about the plan - explain how you feel about it - ask for more information about it
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am a resident of Boundary Road and I recently read in the local newspaperI have recently read in the local newspaper that a shopping centre is going to be built near my homenear where I live. This news was rather a surprise to me. I have been living in Boundary Road for five years now and it has always been a very quiet street with very few tall buildings. I think a developmentconstruction like this will change the atmosphere of the area considerably and, like many other residents I have spoken to, I am not at all happy about it. I think local residentspeople who live in the area have a right to know more about the plan before the development proceedsbefore it goes ahead, so I would like to request further details regarding the planned start and completion dates of the building workthe dates of the planned building work and the size of the centre. Also, I sincerely hope you are planning to provide a car park, as otherwise parking will become very difficult for everyone in the area. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, John Carlson
Why this response received Band 8.5
The letter’s strongest feature is its complete, purposeful coverage: it clearly identifies the news source, explains the writer’s concerns, and requests specific information in an appropriately formal tone. Its main limitation is presentation, as all the content is compressed into one long paragraph despite the logical progression. The highest-priority improvement is to separate the context, concerns, and requests into clear functional paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fully achieves its purpose, covers all three bullet points with relevant detail, and maintains an appropriately formal tone.
Make the request even more actionable by asking when and how residents can submit comments on the proposal.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically from the source of the news to the writer’s concerns and requests, with cohesive links used naturally.
Separate the context, concerns, and information requests into distinct paragraphs to make the letter easier to navigate.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and well suited to a formal complaint and information request, with only a slightly awkward phrase.
Replace “a construction like this” with a more natural expression such as “a development of this kind.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of simple and complex sentence structures is handled accurately, with secure punctuation and agreement throughout.
For even greater clarity, shorten the longest sentence about the building dates, centre size, and parking provision.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have heard that a developer plans to build a shopping centre near your home. Write a letter to the council. In your letter:
- say how you heard about the plan
- explain how you feel about it
- ask for more information about it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.