You normally go shopping in the area where you live. However, you think some of the facilities for shoppers could be improved. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter: - say in general - what you like about shopping in your area - say what is wrong with the facilities - suggest how they can be improved
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to express my opinion about the local shopping area where I frequently shopwhere I frequently go shopping. It offersThey offer some really nice amenities but there are still scope for improvementscopes for improvements. I hope you will publish these concernsI am hoping you would publish it in your newspaper so that the market authoritiesauthority learn about it and take stepsinitiatives to develop the area. To start with, the Agora Community Shopping Complex is the largest shopping centremarket in our town where several thousand people shop every day. The strictly monitored pricesThe strictly monitored market price and the availability of productsthe products under a single roof are two attractive aspects of this market. Moreover, I like the way the shops are arranged on each floor. Overall, I am happy with this market and visit it almost two or three timestwice to thrice each month. Regrettably, most shops still do not acceptmost of the shoppers still do not accept international credit cards. I have seen many tourists suffer due to this. Since this is a touristtourists area and many foreigners visit this market, international credit cards should be accepted by all merchants. Besides, the food court area is too smallreally compact and cannot serve many customers at a time. One has to stand in a queuecue for a long time evenfor a long even for a cup of tea! This area should be expandedextended and more food outletsbusinesses should be encouraged to open new shops for the convenience of shoppers. I think your newspaper is widely read in our area and if you run a poll regarding the issues I mentioned, you will find a realistic picture of it. Please publish an editorial and help improve the local people's shopping experience. Thank you in advance for giving the matter your attention. Yours faithfully, Mark Almond
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter achieves its public-facing purpose well by balancing specific strengths of the shopping complex with two clearly explained problems and practical remedies. Its main weakness is that all content appears in one dense paragraph, while several inaccurate word choices and grammatical slips lessen the authority of the formal register. Prioritise clear paragraphing, then edit collocations and agreement carefully for a more polished submission.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is explicit, the positive features and facility problems are well developed, and each problem is matched with a relevant improvement.
Make the requested newspaper action slightly more concise so the focus remains firmly on the facilities and proposed solutions.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from context and advantages to problems, solutions, and a call for action, but there are no visible paragraph divisions.
Give the introduction, positive features, each problem-solution pair, and conclusion their own purposeful paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a broad formal vocabulary, but phrases such as 'scopes for improvements,' 'tourists area,' and 'stand in a cue' are inaccurate.
Proofread collocations and word forms, using natural alternatives such as 'scope for improvement,' 'tourist area,' and 'wait in a queue.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is used successfully, although agreement, article, and noun-form errors recur without obscuring meaning.
Check subject-verb agreement and noun modification carefully, particularly in phrases such as 'the market authority learns' and 'a tourist area.'
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You normally go shopping in the area where you live. However, you think some of the facilities for shoppers could be improved. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter:
- say in general
- what you like about shopping in your area
- say what is wrong with the facilities
- suggest how they can be improved
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.