General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Letter to local councillor regarding new parking regulations

You live in an area where the local council has made some changes to regulations. You believe these changes are not good for the residents.

Write a letter to a counselor. In your letter:

introduce yourself
describe the problem
say what you think the council should do about the situation

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Councillor Higgins,

I am a long-term resident of the Oakwood district and am writing to express my profound concern regarding the recently implemented parking restrictions on Maple Avenue.

The new regulations, which prohibit all street parking between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., have caused significant disruption to our community. Many households in this area lack private driveways, and these changes have left families with no viable place to leave their vehicles during the day. Furthermore, local small businesses are already reporting a noticeable decline in foot traffic as customers are deterred by the lack of accessible short-term parking, which threatens the economic vitality of our neighbourhood.

I strongly urge the council to reconsider this policy and introduce a permit-based system for residents instead of a blanket ban. Allocating specific zones for local permit holders would alleviate the current congestion while ensuring that residents are not unfairly penalised for living in the area. I would appreciate it if you could raise this matter at the next council session to find a more equitable solution for us all.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this urgent issue.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur Pendelton

192 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response maintains a consistently formal tone and fully addresses all three bullet points with specific, well-developed arguments. The most common mistake for Band 6 candidates is failing to provide a clear, constructive suggestion for how the council should resolve the issue, often resulting in a vague or overly emotional complaint.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

profound concern: a feeling of great worry or deep unease
viable: capable of working successfully or being feasible
deterred: discouraged from doing something through fear or doubt
vitality: the state of being strong and active
blanket ban: a policy that applies to everyone and everything
equitable: fair and impartial in treatment of others

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.