Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your houseflat. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter: - explain the reasons for the noise - apologise - describe what action you will take
Sample Response
Dear Mr & Mrs Johnson, I am writing in response to your complaint letter about the noise from my apartment. I feel that I have to explain myself and humbly ask for your forgiveness. I am a student of the North Carolina Arts College, and as a part of my term final, I have to perform in 4 plays and play the flute and guitar. Therefore, I have to rehearse every day because I am eager to make a good impression on my teachers. To achieve my goal, I have been practising for about 3 hours a day for the last week. I must apologise for playing at inappropriate hours. It was all my fault since I did not clearly know the rules of our apartment that prohibit playing any musical instrument loudly. However, I have consulted with my class teacher and he suggested that I should use one of the college rooms to rehearse for a small fee. I assure you that you will not be disturbed again by any means by the noise from my flat. I request your forgiveness. Please, accept this box of homemade cookies as a token of my appreciation. Yours sincerely, Mark Arthur
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Formal salutation Original: Mr & Mrs Johnson Suggested revision: Mr and Mrs Johnson Why it matters: And is more conventional in a formal letter.
- 2. Natural apology Original: humbly ask for your forgiveness Suggested revision: sincerely apologise Why it matters: The original is excessively solemn.
- 3. Article phrase Original: as a part of my term final Suggested revision: as part of my final assessment Why it matters: As part of is the standard phrase.
- 4. Formal number Original: perform in 4 plays Suggested revision: perform in four plays Why it matters: Spell out a small number in formal prose.
- 5. Sharper purpose Original: make a good impression on Suggested revision: perform well for Why it matters: This is more directly relevant to assessment.
- 6. Specify activity Original: playing at inappropriate hours Suggested revision: rehearsing at inappropriate hours Why it matters: Rehearsing names the source of noise.
- 7. Better possessive Original: rules of our apartment Suggested revision: apartment building's rules Why it matters: The rules belong to the building, not one apartment.
- 8. Remove redundancy Original: by any means by the noise Suggested revision: again by noise Why it matters: The repeated by phrase is awkward.
- 9. Concise verb Original: consulted with my class teacher Suggested revision: consulted my class teacher Why it matters: Consult can take a direct object here.
- 10. Natural closing Original: I request your forgiveness Suggested revision: I hope you can forgive me Why it matters: This sounds warmer and less formulaic.
- 11. Remove comma Original: Please, accept Suggested revision: Please accept Why it matters: No comma follows please in this construction.
- 12. Closing layout Original: Yours sincerely, Mark Arthur Suggested revision: Yours sincerely, Mark Arthur Why it matters: Put the name on a new line.
Suggested Rewrites
- Mr & Mrs Johnson Mr and Mrs Johnson
- humbly ask for your forgiveness sincerely apologise
- as a part of my term final as part of my final assessment
- perform in 4 plays perform in four plays
- make a good impression on perform well for
- playing at inappropriate hours rehearsing at inappropriate hours
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses the complaint, gives a convincing explanation and apology, and proposes a practical solution in a consistently courteous tone. Its main limitation is that the entire letter is presented as one block and a few phrases sound overly formal or unnatural for neighbours. Improve the layout with clear paragraphs and choose simpler, more direct wording while retaining the warm personal register.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All three bullets are fully developed with an appropriate apologetic tone.
Keep the action plan prominent and concise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence is logical, but the absence of visible paragraphing reduces readability.
Use separate paragraphs for reason, apology and solution.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and suitable overall, with a few unnecessarily formal collocations.
Prefer natural neighbour-to-neighbour phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Structures are varied and well controlled, with only minor article and phrasing issues.
Polish articles and fixed expressions.