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,

Annotated response

3 correction notes

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have recently come across an article, published in your popular daily newspaper, which tried to shed some light on the in our country. I am writing to thank you for the my opinion on that.

No doubt, it was rather well-written, and I do agree with most of the points that were presented in the article. For example, I agree with the author when he says that the areas of most of the town centres have expanded over the years. I also agree with the fact that the number of parking spaces in and around the city centres has become relatively low.

However, I do not agree with the author when he claims that city centres in our country, pretty much, look the same. For instance, my city centre looks different since it has managed to preserve many of its old buildings, unlike many other city centres. But, if the author of the article does not believe what I am saying here about my city centre, I would be more than happy to give him a guided tour so that he can witness this fact and get some more

Yours faithfully,

Morris Buchanon

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

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.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

7.0

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.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

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.

Lexical Resource

7.0

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'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

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.

More responses with feedback

View all 3 responses (7.0–8.0)