You live in a university residence and have a problem with noise from a new campus restaurant that stays open until midnight. Write to the governor of the university. In your letter: - complain about the situation - explain why the noise is a problem - propose ways to reduce the noise
Sample Response
Dear Mr Oliver, I am writing this letter regarding the incessant noise that comes from the new canteen that has recently opened near my University residence. Although I am delighted that we have this facility that offers tremendous benefits to students, the restaurant remains open up to midnight, and as a result, there is considerable talking, shouting, music, and the loud sound of motorbikes continuing until about 12:30 each night. This causes me and my neighbours in the residence a serious quandary because at that time we are either trying to sleep, study or complete an assignment. The noise is so deafening that it is quite impossible to sleep. The sound and the commotion disturb us and hamper our sleep at night, making us tired in the mornings or affecting the progress of our studies or assignment. I am sure you will comprehend that this is a very worrying situation for us all. To prevent further complications, I would like to suggest that the campus authorities restrict the canteen’s opening hours from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. I propose that we also put up some signs reminding users to be considerate and keep their noise to an absolute minimum. I hope you would take the initiative to implement them to save us from the nuisance. Thank you in advance for your attention to this important matter. Yours sincerely, Robert Blake
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix capitalization Original: University residence Suggested revision: university residence Why it matters: University is a common noun here and should not be capitalized.
- 2. Fix problem collocation Original: causes me and my neighbours in the residence a serious quandary Suggested revision: causes serious problems for me and my neighbours in the residence Why it matters: Cause someone a quandary is unnatural and a quandary means a difficult choice rather than a disturbance.
- 3. Avoid repetition Original: The sound and the commotion Suggested revision: The noise Why it matters: Noise states the idea concisely without repeating two near-synonymous descriptions.
- 4. Fix number and phrasing Original: affecting the progress of our studies or assignment Suggested revision: slowing our progress on our studies or assignments Why it matters: The plural assignments agrees with the plural residents and the revised collocation is more natural.
- 5. Use natural register Original: comprehend Suggested revision: understand Why it matters: Understand is more natural in a formal complaint without sounding unnecessarily elaborate.
- 6. State purpose precisely Original: To prevent further complications Suggested revision: To address this problem Why it matters: The revision refers directly to the documented noise problem rather than vague complications.
- 7. Clarify responsible actor Original: we also put up Suggested revision: the university also put up Why it matters: The writer is asking the governor to act, so we leaves responsibility unclear.
- 8. Clarify reference Original: implement them to save us from the nuisance Suggested revision: implement these measures to protect residents from this disturbance Why it matters: These measures clearly refers to both proposals and the revised ending is more formal.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: Although I am delighted that we have this facility that offers tremendous benefits to students, the restaurant remains open up to midnight, and as a result, there is considerable talking, shouting, music, and the loud sound of motorbikes continuing until about 12:30 each night. Suggested revision: Although I appreciate the benefits of the new facility, the restaurant stays open until midnight, and talking, shouting, music and motorbike noise continue until about 12:30 each night. Why it matters: The rewrite preserves the contrast while reducing clause overload and awkward noun phrasing.
- 10. Separate complaint stages Suggested revision: Organize the letter into paragraphs for the complaint, its effects, the proposed remedies, and the closing request. Why it matters: The single block makes the otherwise logical movement from problem to impact and solutions harder to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- University residence university residence
- causes me and my neighbours in the residence a serious quandary causes serious problems for me and my neighbours in the residence
- The sound and the commotion The noise
- affecting the progress of our studies or assignment slowing our progress on our studies or assignments
- comprehend understand
- To prevent further complications To address this problem
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter clearly communicates the complaint, develops the effects of late-night noise, and offers two practical remedies in an appropriately formal tone. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision and repetition, particularly around the effects on sleep and study and a few overstrong or awkward word choices; prioritise tightening these passages and using more exact, natural collocations while preserving the detailed task coverage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The complaint is clear and all three bullet points are fully developed with relevant effects and two feasible noise-reduction proposals.
Strengthen the proposed action by requesting a specific response or implementation timeframe from the university governor.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically from the source and impact of the noise to proposed solutions, although repetition and single-block paragraphing reduce clarity.
Divide the response into paragraphs for the complaint, its consequences, and the proposed remedies, while removing repeated points about sleep.
Lexical Resource
The response demonstrates a broad formal vocabulary, but a few choices such as quandary and deafening are imprecise or overstated in context.
Prefer exact collocations such as serious disruption, loud late-night noise, and academic progress rather than unnecessarily forceful wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence forms are used with generally good control, though occasional parallelism, number, and modal errors remain noticeable.
Revise structures such as our studies or assignments and I hope you will take action to improve grammatical precision.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You live in a university residence and have a problem with noise from a new campus restaurant that stays open until midnight. Write to the governor of the university. In your letter:
- complain about the situation
- explain why the noise is a problem
- propose ways to reduce the noise
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.