Formal Letter to the Editor Responding to an Article
A complete IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 question with a model answer of 189 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 20 minutes. Write at least 150 words.
You recently read an article in a national newspaper that claimed young people in your country are no longer interested in reading books. You disagree with the article. Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper. In your letter: - Explain why you are writing - Describe what you think the article got wrong - Suggest what the newspaper could do in future to give a more accurate picture Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam,
How to approach it
- 01Use formal salutation 'Dear Sir or Madam' and sign off with 'Yours faithfully'
- 02State the reason for writing in the opening paragraph and reference the article by title or date
- 03Be polite but firm — challenge claims with evidence, not emotion
- 04Cover all three bullet points: why you are writing, what the article got wrong, and your suggestion
- 05Use formal vocabulary: 'I respectfully disagree', 'I would suggest that', 'a balanced picture'
- 06Conclude with a courteous closing line before signing off
Model answer
189 words in 6 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing in response to the article entitled "The Death of Reading: Why Young People Have Abandoned Books," published in the Saturday edition of your newspaper on 9 May. As a public librarian who works with readers under the age of twenty-five every day, I respectfully but firmly disagree with the conclusions presented.
The article relies heavily on a single survey of 400 respondents and ignores a substantial body of evidence pointing in the opposite direction. In our borough alone, library memberships among under-twenty-fives have risen by 38 percent over the past three years. Independent bookshops report record sales of fiction by young authors, and platforms such as BookTok have introduced millions of teenagers to classic and contemporary literature alike. Far from rejecting books, young readers are simply discovering them through new channels.
I would respectfully suggest that in future, your journalists consult librarians, booksellers, and teachers before publishing such sweeping claims. A follow-up article exploring how reading habits are evolving — rather than declining — would offer readers a far more balanced and informative picture.
Thank you for considering my views.
Yours faithfully, Daniel Aitken
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 31 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
35 fewer than the median answer for this task type
4 words at the shortest, 34 at the longest
1 fewer than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 18.9 words and vary by 8.7 words either side of that, running from 4 words to 34. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 2 of the 10 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
1 in total, spread across 1 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
such as
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 89 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 82 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 4 words. Examiners discount wording lifted from the question, so a short run here is the right outcome: the answer restates the topic in its own words rather than borrowing the question's.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Achievement
Address all three bullet points, maintain a clear formal tone, and meet the minimum word count.
Coherence & Cohesion
Organise the letter into clear paragraphs with logical flow and cohesive devices.
Lexical Resource
Use vocabulary appropriate for formal correspondence with the press, avoiding informality.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Use a range of grammatical structures accurately including conditionals and complex sentences.
You have read one model answer. Now get one marked.
Paste your own attempt at this question and get a band for each criterion, with the exact sentences costing you marks.
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