Some construction work is being done on the street where you live for the last couple of days. The noise from the work is loud and it disturbs you. Write a letter to your local council complaining about the noise. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain how the noise is causing problems to you - suggest solutions to the problem
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to formally lodge a complaint about the uncomfortable, and sometimes unbearable, noise which keeps coming from the ongoing road construction works in the adjacent areas to my house.
To introduce myself a little, my name is Nicholas Fauci, and I live on Lindsay Street, next to Fairmont Shopping Centre in the Hampshire area. The road repair works, I am talking about, has been going on for almost one week with the use of heavy vehicles and construction tools, from morning to late night, sometimes. Naturally, the continuous sounds, generated by heavy machinery and tools, are causing a lot of trouble for many residents in our neighbourhood. Some people in our area are already complaining about a bad headache. The school-going children are also struggling to concentrate on their studies. Not to mention, of course, the trouble with sleeping has also become a major concern for many residents in our locality because of the noises. As a solution to this ongoing problem, I would like to request you to employ additional manpower to finish the construction works as soon as possible and save us from the trouble of these unbearable noises.
Yours faithfully, Nicholas Fauci
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct the location phrase Original: in the adjacent areas to my house Suggested revision: in the area adjacent to my house Why it matters: Adjacent takes to after the location noun, not after areas in this construction.
- 2. Fix subject agreement Original: The road repair works Suggested revision: The road repair work Why it matters: Work is uncountable here and agrees with the singular verb has.
- 3. Place frequency naturally Original: from morning to late night, sometimes Suggested revision: sometimes from morning until late at night Why it matters: The adverb sometimes should precede the time span it qualifies.
- 4. Choose a precise adjective Original: uncomfortable Suggested revision: disruptive Why it matters: Noise is more naturally described as disruptive than uncomfortable.
- 5. Tighten the description Original: which keeps coming from Suggested revision: coming from Why it matters: The shorter participial phrase conveys the same meaning more directly.
- 6. Use concise wording Original: ongoing road construction works Suggested revision: ongoing roadworks Why it matters: Roadworks is a concise and natural term for this activity.
- 7. Use formal phrasing Original: To introduce myself a little Suggested revision: By way of introduction Why it matters: This phrase suits the formal register of a council complaint.
- 8. Avoid an exact-location claim Original: next to Fairmont Shopping Centre Suggested revision: near Fairmont Shopping Centre Why it matters: Near is a safer locational description when identifying the surrounding area.
- 9. Separate the salutation Suggested revision: Place the salutation on its own line and begin the purpose statement in a new paragraph. Why it matters: Standard letter formatting would make the opening easier to scan.
- 10. Explain your own impact Suggested revision: Add one specific sentence explaining how the noise personally affects your sleep, work, or daily routine. Why it matters: The prompt asks how the noise causes problems for you, but the paragraph focuses mainly on other residents.
Suggested Rewrites
- in the adjacent areas to my house in the area adjacent to my house
- The road repair works The road repair work
- from morning to late night, sometimes sometimes from morning until late at night
- uncomfortable disruptive
- which keeps coming from coming from
- ongoing road construction works ongoing roadworks
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter establishes a clear formal complaint and gives relevant detail about the neighbourhood disruption, with generally effective vocabulary. Its main weakness is that the personal impact and proposed remedy are less fully developed than the broader effects on other residents, while the single long body paragraph and several awkward structures reduce control. Prioritise explaining your own circumstances directly and separating each bullet point into a focused paragraph.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The purpose and register are clear, and all three bullet points are addressed with relevant supporting detail.
Explain how the noise affects you personally and develop the proposed solution beyond simply finishing the work sooner.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a sensible sequence, but most of the letter is compressed into one long body paragraph.
Use separate body paragraphs for your circumstances, the effects of the noise, and the requested action.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently varied range conveys the complaint effectively, though some combinations such as 'uncomfortable noise' and 'continuous sounds' are awkward.
Choose more natural collocations, such as 'disruptive noise' and 'constant noise', while retaining the formal vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex structures, but agreement errors and intrusive commas reduce grammatical accuracy.
Check subject-verb agreement and avoid separating subjects, relative clauses, or adverbials with unnecessary commas.
Use this task for your next draft
Feedback is more useful when you actively apply it in a draft, rather than only recognising improvements on the page.
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.
The question will be loaded automatically.