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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: Shopping centre map comparison

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task

The maps below show the Happy Valley Shopping Center in 1982 and 2012. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words

Happy Valley Shopping Center in 1982 and 2012

Band 8 Answer

The two maps show the radical changes that Happy Valley Shopping Center underwent during the period between 1982 and 2012. Overall, it is clear that the redevelopment resulted in expansion of the shopping mall and rearrangement of its in-house facilities.

By 2012, the indoor shopping area spread to the west, and the outdoor lake was replaced by a furniture retailer. Additionally, considerable changes were made to the north-west part where a coffee shop was removed and an adjacent food store was relocated to the south-east corner of the mall. Two stores selling sports and electronic goods took over their previous locations along the northern wall. A linear array of themed restaurants moved in along the eastern wall of the shopping centre, replacing sports and electronics shops. On the western side, the lobby area at the main entrance was removed to allow for a bigger central entertainment area.

Yet another alteration was made outside, where a path leading to the main entrance of the mall was removed and instead a spacious car park was built. The entrance, however, was kept in the same location and the lines of trees surrounding the shopping centre remained largely unchanged where possible.

Teacher’s comment: This is a great report. All aspects were covered and a well-developed response was provided. The writer’s vocabulary could have been richer and word choice needs a bit more attention. Overall, seems worthy of Band 8.

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IELTS Letter, topic: writing to a friend about an article that captured your attention

The topic of this letter appeared in a recent IELTS exam in Canada. Below is a sample response that is likely to score Band 8 or above in IELTS.

You read a newspaper article that captured your attention. Write letter to your friend and recommended reading the article. Include the following in your letter:

– Where and when the article was published
– What the article was about
– Why it is important that your friend reads it.

Answer

Dear Jack,

I hope that you are well and enjoying your new apartment. I am writing to tell you about an article I have just read in our local newspaper. It was published in “The Croydon News” on September 21 (page 16).

The article is about a new coding course, which will be introduced by the London branch of a well-known international IT company. This program covers a vast number of different topics related to the Information Technology industry, and it was prepared for individuals with different backgrounds, ranging from a complete beginner to an experienced team leader. Moreover, during the initial period of 3 months the course is free of charge and has a flexible schedule, which makes it attractive for people in full-time employment.

As I remember, you always wanted to become a software developer and said that finding suitable courses in our area was nearly impossible. I hope this article will be useful to you and may even help you start your dream career. I am attaching a clipping of the article with all the details to this letter.

Looking forward to catching up with you again soon.

All the best,

Tony

Click here to see more IELTS letters of band 8