Task
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
Candidate’s Answer
This is an answer written by a candidate who achieved a Band 6.5 score.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing you because I would like to give you my opinion on your article about town centres which you published in a national newspaper called Denik.
First of all I have to agree with the part where you mentioned a shape and an organization of main squares. Most of them have a rounded shape with lots of different shops around and to a fountain in the center.
However, I found the center of Brno quite different from most of other cities. Mostly because it has nice older architecture combined with modern style. Brno has also one unique difference that is that a tram goes right across of the middle of the main square. Also the main train station together with tram station is placed right under the main square, which is not so common in other cities.
At the end, I would like to offer a tour in Brno in hope that it could change your opinion. If you decide to visit my town, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I will be more than happy to show you the beauty of this city.
Yours faithfully,
Examiner’s Comment
All three bullet points are addressed and the tone is polite in this letter to a newspaper. In this task, the bullet points ask ‘which points / explain ways’ (plural) which means more than one point or example is required per bullet point. In this response, two examples are provided for each of the first two bullet points, satisfying the requirements for this task.*
Progression is clear and cohesive devices are used well [which you published | Most of them | that is that]. There are some inaccuracies [At the end | finally]. The range of vocabulary does allow some flexibility [mentioned | architecture combined with modern style | unique difference | not so common | change your opinion]. However, a wider range would be needed to score more highly here. Similarly, complex sentence forms are attempted, but generally sentences are short and flexibility is limited in this response.
Note
*It is important for test takers to notice if more than one example is required for each bullet point (e.g., problems, points, ways, examples) because if only one is provided, this is not a complete response to the question.
