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IELTS Writing Samples

IELTS essay samples (writing task 2), report and letter samples (writing task 1) with Band Scores, marked by IELTS teachers, including comments and suggestions on how to increase your score

IELTS Report, topic: Process diagram describing the cycle of pollution (from IELTS High Scorer’s Choice series, Academic Set 1)

This is a model response to a Writing Task 1 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 1 Academic book, Practice Test 5

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The images below explain the process of how pollutants from modern life become acid rain that in turn pollutes the environment and the food chain.


Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

You should write at least 150 words.

Process diagram describing the cycle of pollution (from IELTS High Scorer's Choice series, Academic Set 1 book)

Sample Band 9 Report

This diagram shows the cycle of pollution that contributes to the development of acid rain and how it affects the environment on which human life is dependent.

The majority of the pollutants created come from housing, transport, factories and power stations. These sources release various compounds such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, different nitrogen oxides, mercury and other compounds. These pollutants then rise up into the air and are absorbed by clouds, which then become contaminated in turn and travel across countries and continents. Then, once condensation occurs, water containing the pollutants in the clouds will condense and fall to the Earth in the form of precipitation, namely acid rain.

The acid rain will fall onto hills, fields, trees, plants and into rivers and lakes, contaminating them. This leads to the pollution of the environment and the food chain, as the pollutants are absorbed into the Earth or plants, which either act as a habitat or a food source for animals, destroying them or affecting their biological processes. This in turn will lead to the dying out of the animals, which will then lead to imbalance in the food chain, greatly impacting the ecosystem.

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IELTS Letter, topic: Requesting information about a foreign language course

This is a model response to a Writing Task 1 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 2 General Training book, Practice Test 6

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You have seen an advertisement for an evening course to study a foreign language. Write a letter to the institution offering the course.

In your letter,

– ask for details of the course
– ask if the course teachers are qualified native speakers
– request that the institution sends you their brochure

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Sample Band 9 Letter

Dear Sir / Madam,

I have recently read about the evening course on the French language that your institution is offering and I have a few questions.

As I am an advanced speaker in French and have read that the Course “B1” is offered for this level, I would like to know what this course comprises, so that I will be able to decide whether this matches my abilities or whether I would need to sign up for another course. I would also like to know if the teachers giving the lessons are qualified native speakers, as I believe this is very important in order to get an authentic insight into the cultural context of the language studied. A native teacher has the greatest knowledge and understanding possible of the language he or she is teaching.

Lastly, I would like to ask for you to send me a brochure of the different courses offered at your institution, using the address I have sent this letter from as the recipient address.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Harris

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