You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently a new neighbour moved in and has been making a lot of noise, which disturbs you. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter: - explain the situation - describe why it bothers you - suggest a solution
Sample Response
Dear Mr Hudson, I am Elizabeth Beth, your tenant in apartment C1-5. I am writing to notify you of the unbearable noise the new tenant of C1-3 is making which I have endured for the last couple of days with patience. I am hoping that you would talk to this neighbour and settle the issue. I consider myself lucky to have some great neighbours and never complained to you about any disturbance. However, the new resident on C1-3 is making life tougher for me. They moved in two weeks ago and I am already forced to write you this complaint letter. They have parties almost every day and play music at a higher volume. I go to bed at around 10.30 pm only to wake up again by the loud noise from their flat. I am not sure if this is something I should mention but the family members have nasty quarrels and they do not keep it inside their house. I live with a teenage daughter and a husband who are equally agitated. I think it would be inappropriate for me to personally intervene, and that is why I am relying on you for a solution. You should talk to other tenants on the same floor and get to know what really is happening. You have the authority to talk to the tenant of C1-3 and try to solve the problem. Otherwise, I would be forced to shift to a new residence. Expecting your cooperation in this regard. Yours sincerely, Elizabeth Beth
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct the request form Original: I am hoping that you would Suggested revision: I hope that you will Why it matters: Use the present form with 'will' for a current request about future action.
- 2. Use the present perfect Original: and never complained Suggested revision: and have never complained Why it matters: The present perfect connects the writer's past record with the present complaint.
- 3. Correct the apartment preposition Original: on Suggested revision: in Why it matters: A person lives 'in' an apartment, not 'on' it.
- 4. Use formal complaint language Original: making life tougher Suggested revision: disrupting my daily life Why it matters: This is more specific and suitable for a formal letter to a landlord.
- 5. Express compulsion naturally Original: am already forced Suggested revision: already feel compelled Why it matters: This structure describes the writer's decision more naturally.
- 6. Correct the verb pattern Original: write you this complaint letter Suggested revision: write this complaint letter to you Why it matters: 'Write' needs 'to' before the recipient in this structure.
- 7. Use the standard phrase Original: at a higher volume Suggested revision: at high volume Why it matters: 'At high volume' describes music that is consistently too loud.
- 8. Use the passive form Original: wake up again by Suggested revision: be woken by Why it matters: The noise causes the waking, so a passive construction is required.
- 9. Use neutral formal wording Original: nasty quarrels Suggested revision: loud arguments Why it matters: This describes the disturbance objectively without an emotive adjective.
- 10. Clarify the reference Original: they do not keep it inside their house Suggested revision: their arguments can be heard outside their apartment Why it matters: The singular pronoun 'it' has no clear antecedent, and the revision states the noise problem directly.
- 11. Describe the effect precisely Original: agitated Suggested revision: disturbed Why it matters: 'Disturbed' directly relates the family's reaction to the noise.
- 12. Clarify the intended action Original: personally intervene Suggested revision: approach them directly Why it matters: This specifies what the writer considers inappropriate doing personally.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am hoping that you would I hope that you will
- and never complained and have never complained
- on in
- making life tougher disrupting my daily life
- am already forced already feel compelled
- write you this complaint letter write this complaint letter to you
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully explains the noise problem, its effect on sleep and family life, and several actions the landlord could take, while maintaining a generally suitable complaint tone. Its main weakness is an overlong single-block presentation with recurring grammatical and collocational lapses; prioritise grouping the situation, impact, and solution into separate paragraphs and correcting relative clauses, agreement, and phrases such as "wake up by the loud noise."
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the proposed landlord actions are specific and relevant.
Keep the detailed evidence but make the final consequence less abrupt by framing relocation as the likely outcome if the disturbance continues.
Coherence and Cohesion
The content follows a sensible situation-impact-solution sequence, but the lack of paragraph breaks and some repetition make the long letter less easy to navigate.
Create separate paragraphs for the complaint details, personal effects, and requested action, removing repeated statements about contacting the neighbour.
Lexical Resource
A flexible range of complaint vocabulary communicates the situation effectively, despite occasional awkward collocations such as "at a higher volume" and "shift to a new residence."
Use more natural phrases such as "play loud music," "woken by the noise," and "move to another property."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied sentence structures are used with generally clear meaning, although relative clauses, agreement, tense choice, and the final sentence fragment need firmer control.
Repair the opening relative clause, match "daughter and husband" with "are," and turn "Expecting your cooperation" into a complete closing sentence.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently a new neighbour moved in and has been making a lot of noise, which disturbs you. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter:
- explain the situation
- describe why it bothers you
- suggest a solution
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.