Understanding the GT Writing Task 1
For General Training Writing Task 1, you will be asked to write a letter. The letter must be written in the correct style:
- informal (if you are writing to family or friends)
- semi-formal (if you are writing to a work colleague you know well)
- formal (if you are writing to a business or a local newspaper)
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
There is a public park near where you live. You have heard that the local council wants to sell this park.
Write a letter to a local newspaper. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- describe the importance of the park
- say what action you will take if the council continues with its plan
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer
To the Editor,
My name is John Smith – a resident of Coquitlam for five years. My family moved here due to its affordability, and proximity to the city. We also enjoy several small parks in which our sons and their friends play. One of these parks is Lafarge Park, on Guilford Street. It is not large, but it is well-used, clean, and safe.
Recently, I learnt that Coquitlam Council has decided to sell this public amenity for development. The land has already been reasoned residential, so I assume as many dwellings as possible – perhaps even twenty apartments – could be built here.
While I am not a lawyer, and do not know by which legal process this land could be sold, as a resident, I was neither informed nor consulted about it. All my neighbors say the same thing. We have petitioned the council, and I hope this letter reaches a wider public.
Our website, SaveLafargePark.com lists a number of protest activities in which we hope your readers may join us. Too few green and tranquil public spaces remain in this overdeveloped city. Save Lafarge Park before it is be too late.
John Smith
(187 words)