Letter to Newspaper Editor About Town Centres

You have just read an article in a national newspaper which claims that town centres in your country all look very similar to each other. You don’t fully agree with this opinion.

Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper. In your letter • say which points in the article you agree with • explain ways in which your town centre is different from most other town centres • offer to give a guided tour of your town to the writer of the article

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam,

From essays on this question

Letter points: Letter to Newspaper Editor About Town Centres

WhyThis is aFormal letter — it asks you to cover every bullet point in a formal tone.

SoWe group the points under each bullet point of the task.

Say which points in the article you agree with

5 points

Explain ways in which your town centre is different from most other town centres

7 points

Offer to give a guided tour of your town to the writer of the article

1 point

Same question · Different responses

Sample responses and feedback

Response 01

Must fixSuggested

Answer · 209 words · 6 paragraphs · 3 comments

Score details

Response 01
Estimated band7.0/ 9

Overall assessment

The letter is well organised and addresses all three bullet points in a suitably formal register, with clear progression between paragraphs. Its main limitation is uneven development: the points of agreement and the claimed distinctiveness of the town centre are asserted rather than fully elaborated, and occasional awkward word choices persist.

TA

Task Achievement

The letter achieves its purpose with a consistently appropriate formal tone and covers all three bullet points, though the points of agreement and the town centre's differences are somewhat thinly developed.

7.0
CC

Coherence and Cohesion

Ideas are logically sequenced across clear paragraphs with effective use of referencing and a range of cohesive devices, including a well-handled contrast between agreement and disagreement.

7.0
LR

Lexical Resource

Vocabulary is generally flexible and appropriate for a formal letter, with phrases like 'shed some light' and 'witness this fact', though some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'the looks of our town centres'.

7.0
GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

A good range of sentence structures is used with generally accurate control, including complex constructions like 'unlike many other city centres', while occasional punctuation and phrasing slips do not impede meaning.

7.0

What to work on next

Develop the differences of the town centre with more concrete, specific detail, such as naming distinctive buildings, markets, or cultural features, to make the disagreement with the article fully persuasive.

From essays on this question

Useful vocabulary: Letter to Newspaper Editor About Town Centres

Practise this question

Write your response

Task 1 General question loaded.
Part 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words.

Words: 020:00 starts on first word