You are going to study at a college in the UK next year. You would like to stay in the college Hall of Residence. Write a letter to the college. In your letter: - outline what your room needs are - outline what your food needs are - ask what alternatives are available if the college cannot provide what you want
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I have recently been granted admission to your college and would be joining my classes in the next academic year. At this juncture, I would like to put forward my accommodation requirements during my period of study at your college as I am willing to stay at the college Hall of Residence. I would prefer to stay in the college hostel to avoid the daily commute. I can accommodate myself in a room on sharing basis as it would be more budget-friendly. I would be pleased to have a roommate from the Asian continent, if possible. Regarding the food, I request you to let me know the available cuisines. As an Indian, I would prefer to have a rice dish daily. If such accommodation is not available in the college hostel, I am ready to opt-in for available accommodation near the college. I can stay with a small family who would be ready to host me and provide me with meals. Thank you in advance. I will be waiting for your reply in this regard. Yours faithfully, Prasada Rao
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the planned future Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: Will is appropriate for this definite future course start.
- 2. Express preference accurately Original: as I am willing to stay Suggested revision: as I would like to stay Why it matters: Would like expresses the requested preference more accurately than willingness.
- 3. Use consistent terminology Original: college hostel to avoid Suggested revision: college hall of residence to avoid Why it matters: Hall of residence matches the accommodation named in the task and earlier in the letter.
- 4. Fix the noun phrase Original: on sharing basis Suggested revision: on a shared basis Why it matters: The phrase requires an article and the adjective shared.
- 5. Use natural phrasing Original: from the Asian continent Suggested revision: from Asia Why it matters: From Asia is the natural and concise geographical expression.
- 6. Ask about meal options Original: available cuisines Suggested revision: available meal options Why it matters: Meal options is more precise when asking a residence about its food provision.
- 7. Correct the phrasal verb Original: opt-in for available accommodation Suggested revision: opt for accommodation Why it matters: Opt for is the correct expression for choosing an alternative.
- 8. Name the arrangement Original: small Suggested revision: host Why it matters: Host family clearly identifies the intended accommodation arrangement.
- 9. Use a formal closing Original: I will be waiting for your reply Suggested revision: I look forward to your reply Why it matters: This is the conventional polite closing for a formal request letter.
- 10. Ask about alternatives Suggested revision: Directly ask the college which alternative accommodation options it can arrange or recommend if these requirements cannot be met. Why it matters: The letter states willingness to live elsewhere but does not explicitly request the alternatives required by the prompt.
Suggested Rewrites
- would will
- as I am willing to stay as I would like to stay
- college hostel to avoid college hall of residence to avoid
- on sharing basis on a shared basis
- from the Asian continent from Asia
- available cuisines available meal options
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response’s strongest feature is clear coverage of room and food preferences, including a shared room, an Asian roommate, daily rice and willingness to consider a host family. Its main limitation is that it states possible alternatives rather than directly asking the college what options are available, and several expressions are unnecessarily formal or awkward. Prioritise a specific alternatives enquiry and more natural accommodation vocabulary.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter explains room and food needs and indicates acceptable off-campus arrangements, but the required request for information about alternatives is only indirectly addressed.
Ask the college explicitly to list available host-family or nearby accommodation options, including costs and meal arrangements.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the reason for writing to room needs, food needs and alternatives, but the single-paragraph format makes the sections less distinct.
Use separate paragraphs for room preferences, dietary needs and the request for alternative arrangements.
Lexical Resource
The response has sufficient vocabulary for accommodation and food, but phrases such as “at this juncture,” “accommodate myself,” “on sharing basis” and “opt-in for” are unnatural.
Use concise phrases such as “I would like,” “share a room,” “on a shared basis” and “consider alternative accommodation.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most sentences are clear and a range of structures is used, though future tense, articles, prepositions and some conditional forms are inconsistently controlled.
Use “I will begin classes,” “share a room,” and “If the college cannot meet these requirements, could you advise me...” for accurate formal requests.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are going to study at a college in the UK next year. You would like to stay in the college Hall of Residence. Write a letter to the college. In your letter:
- outline what your room needs are
- outline what your food needs are
- ask what alternatives are available if the college cannot provide what you want
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.