You live in a flat and you have a tenancy agreement which states that you must give three months' notice when you wish to leave. You have paid a deposit of two months' rent. Now a member of your family has a problem and you need to give up your flat and return home as soon as possible. Write a letter to your landlord /landlady. In your letter: - explain your circumstances - tell him/her what you intend to do - ask him/her for special consideration
Sample Response
Dear Mr Lucas, I hope that you are in good health and good spiritshealth and spirit. I am writingI am writing this letter because I am in a difficult family situationa precarious situation, and I need to ask you a favourI would need your favour. RecentlyVery recently, I learned from my fathercame to know from my father that my younger brother, who suffers from mental health problemssome mental problems from time to time, has suddenly disappeared from home. In fact, he has been missing for almost a weekhe has disappeared for almost a week, but my family and the police have found no trace of him yetanywhere yet. Not to mention, this incident has made my whole family, including me, very worried, and so I need to stay by their side in these tough times and leave my flat immediately. Now, I understand that I signed a tenancy agreement that says that I would need to give threethere months’ notice before vacating the flatbefore leaving your flat, but I am unable to wait that longI don’t think that I can actually wait that long. So, please feel free to keep the deposit of one month and return another month's deposit to me. And please also consider my situation and do me the favour of waiving the full notice periodnot maintaining the proper notice period. However, if you find a new tenantif you get a tenant in the meantime, I would appreciate it if you could inform meI would expect that you would inform me and return my deposit amount. Yours sincerely, Henry Lionel
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter presents a compelling circumstance, clearly explains the need to leave immediately, and proposes a practical concession about the deposit in a suitably respectful tone. Its main weakness is presentation as one dense paragraph, compounded by a few awkward expressions and slight ambiguity about when the remaining deposit should be returned. Clear paragraphing and a more precise final proposal should be prioritised.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response covers all three bullet points thoroughly and sustains a clear, respectful request supported by relevant circumstances.
Make the deposit proposal fully consistent by specifying exactly what may be retained and what should be returned if a replacement tenant is found.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a logical sequence and linking is generally effective, but the single dense paragraph weakens readability and organisation.
Divide the letter into clear paragraphs for the circumstances, intended departure, and requested consideration.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of vocabulary to convey urgency and negotiate the request, though several collocations sound awkward.
Replace strained expressions such as do me the favour of not maintaining the proper notice period with more natural formal wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are used with generally good control, although a few slips and overextended sentences remain.
Proofread for small errors such as there months and simplify long sentences where several clauses compete for attention.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You live in a flat and you have a tenancy agreement which states that you must give three months' notice when you wish to leave. You have paid a deposit of two months' rent. Now a member of your family has a problem and you need to give up your flat and return home as soon as possible. Write a letter to your landlord /landlady. In your letter:
- explain your circumstances
- tell him/her what you intend to do
- ask him/her for special consideration
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.