IELTS Writing Guide

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing with regard to an accident that occurred in your supermarket last Thursday afternoon.

My name is Christopher Pell and I am a 32-year-old man from Ireland. I have been living in Manchester for the last two years and I am studying a master’s degree at the University of Manchester. I am a regular customer and I visit your shop on a daily basis.

I was walking in the frozen food section and suddenly a piece of glass fell out of one of the display cabinets. It caught me on the arm before smashing on the ground. I suffered a large gash on my forearm and had to be taken to hospital to receive stitches.

I recommend that all of your glass displays are tested thoroughly in order to prevent such an accident occurring in the future. I would also like to suggest that you install signs warning people of the dangers of tampering with the glass in any way.

Yours faithfully,
Chris

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you about a recent incident that occurred on one of your buses.

I was travelling on the number 32 bus in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City when the driver caused a traffic accident. The driver was driving over the speed limit and also driving in the wrong lane, and this caused him to crash into a motorbike.

Many of your passengers, including myself, were very angry because they were late for work because they had to switch to another mode of transport, and the accident also caused severe congestion on the road. To make matters worse, some of your customers suffered minor injuries such as whiplash.

I would like to suggest that your drivers have to undergo regular driving tests to ensure that they are fully competent and aware of the rules of the road. You could also place a phone number on the back of all buses so that the public can make complaints about any reckless driving.

I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,
Chris P.

Dear Annie,

I hope you’re well. I’ve got a great place for you to visit when you get some time off work.

I went to Shanghai in China a fortnight ago and it was just perfect. It only takes about three hours from where you live and there are some direct flights. We also visited a few other cities in China, but Shanghai was our favorite.

We stayed in a little boutique hotel called the Dragon Inn. It wasn’t the biggest hotel or the most expensive, but I really loved the personal service and the family who run it were so hospitable. They made us a home-cooked meal every night, so authentic.

There are loads of things to do, but my favorite has to be the Bund. You can stroll along there in the evening and admire the view or grab a coffee and watch the world go by. It’s really touristy, but I’m sure you won’t mind that.

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions about your trip.

Best wishes,
Chris

Dear Tom,

I’m just writing to let you know about the music school that I used to attend.

It is called Premier Music Academy and it’s in the center of District 1. It is quite a small school with only a few classrooms, but it has an excellent reputation among parents and past pupils. Lots of their past students have gone on to become famous musicians.

Your daughter should join Mrs. Smith’s piano class. She’s my old teacher and I absolutely loved her. Not only that, but learning the piano actually helps young people to develop their other skills, such as their intellect. I also noticed a piano in your living room, so Sarah could practice at home.

I highly recommend the school. As I said before, I attended Mrs. Smith’s classes when I was a child and I couldn’t be happier. I also know many other parents who send their kids there and they have always said how safe it is and how friendly the teachers are.

Keep in touch.
Cheers,
Chris.

Adverts for beer, wine, and spirits are now banned in many nations. This essay agrees with this idea because drinking can lead to serious health problems, and advertisers can influence people to drink more than they should.

Advertising alcoholic drinks should be banned because alcohol is harmful to a person’s health. Drinking too much causes several conditions, including liver cancer, diabetes, and brain damage. This puts a huge strain on the health service and not only causes suffering to the patients but also to their families. For example, Russia had a huge problem with alcoholism and many men were dying from alcohol-related diseases, but after they decided to stop companies promoting alcoholic beverages on TV and in print ads, it resulted in a huge reduction of such cases.

Another reason why the promotion of alcohol should be prohibited is the fact that it influences people unfairly to buy that product. The main goal of any advertising campaign is to sell more, and this could be seen as irresponsible considering the harm drinking can do. Commercials often make certain drink brands look cool or sexy in order to sway potential customers and don’t actually talk about the dangers. For example, Hennessy adverts often portray attractive men and women in a luxurious setting drinking cognac with a beautiful woman.

In conclusion, alcohol is a hazardous product and advertisers should not be allowed to try and convince people to drink it, and I therefore believe that more countries should ban the advertising of liquor.

Some would argue that people who are addicted to drugs should go to jail because they have broken the law, while others say that they are sick and should be taken care of in hospital. While sentencing them to a term in prison is the quick and easy solution, I believe that it is better to be compassionate and help them get better in hospital.

On the one hand, custodial sentences provide a short-term solution to the drugs problem. By locking up addicts, the government can take them off the street and they believe that this will stop them using narcotics and also causing any harm to others. For example, in the United States, someone caught with even a small amount of heroin is likely to be locked up for at least a year. However, I believe that this does not solve the actual problem because drug addicts can gain access to drugs while in prison and will be still hooked upon release.

On the other hand, helping drug addicts kick their habit under medical supervision is thought to reduce the number of addicts in the long term. By treating addiction as a disease and the person with compassion, the root cause can be addressed and that person can eventually become free from drugs. For example, in Switzerland, heroin addicts are given free heroin by doctors until they are ready to stop using the drug, and this has resulted in drug-related crime falling by 80%. I believe this method is preferable because addiction is a disease and it benefits both the individual and society as a whole.

In conclusion, although throwing addicts in jail might get them off the streets for a few years, it does not treat the actual problem, and that is why it is more important to help them get off drugs in a medical facility.

The planet’s resources are being consumed at an alarming pace. The primary cause of this phenomenon is the wasteful lifestyle in many countries in the West, and the most viable solution is to educate their young people about this issue.

Countries in North America and Europe have a culture of waste. That is to say that their lifestyles involve consuming lots of natural resources for their transport, food, and leisure time. This results in a huge amount of energy being consumed in the form of petrol and cars and coal and gas in electrical power stations. Many have become so used to this type of luxury that it is very difficult for them to contemplate a life without modern conveniences. For example, the most popular car in the United States is the SUV, which has the lowest fuel efficiency of any car, and it is not unusual for the average home in Europe to have a TV in every room along with many other electronic devices.

A long-term solution to this predicament is to educate young people about the dangers of consuming resources irresponsibly. Children in schools could be taught about how to conserve energy and recycle so that the next generation will act more responsibly. They are also likely to teach their parents about the things they learned at school and adults will also be influenced by this initiative. For example, school children in Germany were taught about the consequences of treating the planet in a reckless manner and now they have one of the highest rates of recycling and renewable energy in the world.

In conclusion, the planet is being depleted at a staggering rate because American and European citizens consume more than their fair share of energy and their children must be taught that conservation is the only answer.

Nowadays it is common for young people to travel to far-flung places to study. This essay will argue that despite the fact that it often leads to financial difficulties, it is far more advantageous to study in places that are far away from one’s parents because it leads to independence.

Young people frequently face financial problems if they decide to enrol in a degree course in a distant town. This is because it is no longer possible for them to live in their parents’ house, and they therefore have to pay for their own accommodation as well as utilities and food. For example, in this country, it is common for young people in this situation to take on part-time jobs so that they can pay their expenses while at university. I believe that this shows that it is possible to survive financially in this situation and that this is not a significant drawback.

The great advantage of studying in a far-off place is that it allows young people to experience what it is like to be independent of their families. Leaving the family home allows them to choose whatever lifestyle they want and not be under the influence of their elders. For instance, at universities in the UK, it is noticeable that students who are no longer living in their parents’ houses mature more quickly than those who are still living at home, and this is clearly because they cannot depend on their parents and must instead embrace their newfound independence. Therefore, I would argue that the benefits of studying away from home are more significant than the drawbacks.

In conclusion, travelling to a distant place to study might be financially challenging for those who have just left their childhood home, but the advantages of being independent far outweigh that drawback.

It is claimed that global warming is the chief threat to human civilisation. I do not agree with this statement because people can find technological solutions to this problem, whereas the threat from nuclear weapons cannot be so easily solved and, therefore, poses a graver threat.

Some would argue that the increase in the planet’s average temperature will lead to catastrophe on a global scale, but the technology already exists to stem this threat. Solar power, combined with the use of electric vehicles, will remove the need for fossil-fuelled power stations and transportation. The result will be a massive reduction in the release of greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere, which is the principal cause of global warming. For example, Tesla Motors manufactures excellent cars that produce zero CO2, and its sister company, Solar City, allows people to produce their own electricity using innovative photovoltaic roof tiles and Power Wall battery packs.

A much larger threat is the risk of thermo-nuclear war. It would only take one blunder or the breakout of a major war between nuclear states to wipe out every living thing on earth. This would be caused by the explosions themselves and the ensuing nuclear winter, which would wipe out all plant life and poison the air and oceans. For instance, the United States of America alone has enough nuclear warheads to wipe out every man, woman and child on earth, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s demonstrated how close it is possible to come to global nuclear war.

In conclusion, climate change is not the gravest peril the earth faces because we have the technological capability to solve it, and the threat from nuclear arms is much greater.