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 and Mrs Martin, Hope you are doing great. I am extremely surprised to get a letter from you indicating that you are immensely annoyed by the loud sound created in my house. Admittedly, I had no idea that the noise would reach your house at all. I am writing to apologise. Last Monday one of my windows in the kitchen was broken as a cricket ball hit it directly while some children were playing in front of my flat. I tried to refit the window in the evening after I got back from the office. It took me a long since I have no prior experience in this type of work and I regret that I did not hire a professional. Unfortunately, I thought that the sound would not reach your home but it eventually did. Since you have suffered due to the noise, I sincerely apologise for this. Moreover, I promise I will be more careful regarding this in the future. Once again, I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience that might have happened due to my negligence. Yours sincerely, Nayan Moore
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate greeting and body Original: Dear Mr and Mrs Martin, Hope Suggested revision: Dear Mr and Mrs Martin, I hope Why it matters: The salutation should be followed by a paragraph break and a complete sentence.
- 2. Use suitable register Original: doing great Suggested revision: doing well Why it matters: Doing well is more appropriate in a polite letter to neighbours.
- 3. Soften defensive tone Original: extremely surprised to get Suggested revision: sorry to receive Why it matters: A less defensive opening better supports the letter's apologetic purpose.
- 4. Use measured wording Original: immensely annoyed Suggested revision: disturbed Why it matters: Disturbed describes the effect of the noise without overstating the neighbours' reaction.
- 5. Use natural phrase Original: the loud sound created in my house Suggested revision: the noise coming from my flat Why it matters: This replacement is more natural and matches the complaint directly.
- 6. Use concise noun phrase Original: one of my windows in the kitchen Suggested revision: my kitchen window Why it matters: The compound noun phrase conveys the location more concisely.
- 7. Clarify timing Original: was broken as Suggested revision: was broken when Why it matters: When clearly introduces the event that caused the window to break.
- 8. Choose accurate verb Original: refit the window Suggested revision: repair the window Why it matters: Repair accurately describes fixing a window broken by a cricket ball.
- 9. Complete time phrase Original: It took me a long Suggested revision: It took me a long time Why it matters: The expression requires the noun time after a long.
- 10. Fix reason and tense Original: since I have no prior experience Suggested revision: because I had no prior experience Why it matters: Because introduces the reason, and the past tense matches the completed repair attempt.
- 11. Specify the activity Original: this type of work Suggested revision: this kind of repair Why it matters: Repair identifies the relevant activity more precisely.
- 12. Use direct noise reference Original: the sound would not reach your home Suggested revision: the noise would not reach your home Why it matters: Noise is the more accurate noun for the disturbance described.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Mr and Mrs Martin, Hope Dear Mr and Mrs Martin, I hope
- doing great doing well
- extremely surprised to get sorry to receive
- immensely annoyed disturbed
- the loud sound created in my house the noise coming from my flat
- one of my windows in the kitchen my kitchen window
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter clearly explains the source of the noise and offers a sincere apology in an appropriately courteous tone. However, the promised action is vague, and the single-block presentation weakens the organisation despite an otherwise logical sequence; several phrases also sound unnatural. The writer should specify a concrete preventive step, such as hiring a professional or restricting repairs to daytime hours, and organise the response into clear paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The reason for the noise and the apology are clear, but the action to prevent another disturbance is only stated in general terms.
Describe one or two concrete actions, such as employing a professional and scheduling noisy work during agreed daytime hours.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account follows a logical sequence and uses cohesive links effectively, but presenting the whole letter as one block limits paragraphing.
Use separate paragraphs for the explanation, apology, and proposed action to make the progression more immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range to communicate precisely, though several combinations are unnatural or imprecise, including “loud sound created” and “suffered due to the noise.”
Choose more idiomatic phrases such as “noise from the repairs” and “disturbance caused” while avoiding unnecessary intensifiers.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex structures with generally strong control, despite a few local errors such as “It took me a long.”
Proofread for omitted words and revise incomplete time expressions, for example changing this to “It took me a long time.”