You are moving home. Write a letter to your neighbours to say goodbye to them and to thank them for their help during your stay. In your letter: - explain how they helped you - say what you will miss the most about the area - where you lived - invite them to visit you at your new home.
Sample Response
Dear Ava Morgan,
As I prepare for a new chapter in my life, I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the warmth and assistance you and your family have extended to me during my stay in the neighborhood. Your kindness and neighborly support have been invaluable, and I am sincerely thankful for the sense of community you have helped foster.
Your support has been invaluable, from the warm welcome on my arrival to the numerous occasions where you generously shared your time and expertise. Whether it was helping with household tasks, providing advice on local services, or simply being a friendly face during the ups and downs of daily life, your kindness has made a significant impact on my experience here.
As I bid farewell to this area, what I will miss the most is the sense of belonging that your kindness and that of our other neighbors have cultivated. The familiar faces, the shared conversations over the fence, and the collective spirit during community events have all contributed to a sense of unity that has been a defining aspect of my residency here.
Despite the physical distance that our respective moves may entail, I would like to extend an invitation for you and your family to visit me at my new home. I believe that the bonds we have formed can endure beyond geographical boundaries, and I would be delighted to continue fostering our connection in the new environment.
Once again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your kindness and support. It has been a privilege to have you as neighbors, and I hope our paths cross again in the future.
Wishing you all the best,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use time relative Original: where Suggested revision: when Why it matters: Use 'when' rather than 'where' to refer to occasions.
- 2. Improve the collocation Original: shared your time and expertise Suggested revision: gave your time and shared your expertise Why it matters: The revised phrasing uses more natural collocations for time and expertise.
- 3. Use natural wording Original: my residency here Suggested revision: my time living here Why it matters: This sounds warmer and more natural in a personal letter.
- 4. Keep the move accurate Original: our respective moves Suggested revision: my move Why it matters: The task says that the writer is moving, while this phrase implies that both households are moving.
- 5. Make the reference specific Original: the new environment Suggested revision: my new neighbourhood Why it matters: A specific reference is clearer and more personal than 'environment' here.
- 6. Use personal phrasing Original: continue fostering our connection Suggested revision: stay in touch Why it matters: This concise expression suits the friendly tone of the letter.
- 7. Complete the sign-off Original: Wishing you all the best, Suggested revision: Wishing you all the best, [Your name] Why it matters: Add the sender's name to complete the letter.
- 8. State where you lived Suggested revision: Add the name of the street, building, or neighbourhood where you lived. Why it matters: The response discusses the area generally but does not cover the prompt's specific request to say where you lived.
Suggested Rewrites
- where when
- shared your time and expertise gave your time and shared your expertise
- my residency here my time living here
- our respective moves my move
- the new environment my new neighbourhood
- continue fostering our connection stay in touch
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter is fluent, warmly appreciative, and especially strong in explaining the neighbours' help and the community atmosphere that will be missed. Its main limitation is incomplete precision: it never clearly states where the writer lived, and the highly formal, repetitive wording sometimes feels distant for familiar neighbours. The priority is to cover that missing detail explicitly while using a more natural personal tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and most points are well developed, but the letter does not explicitly state where the writer lived.
Add a specific reference to the former home or area and make the invitation more concrete by mentioning the new location.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically through thanks, examples of help, what will be missed, and the invitation, with effective paragraphing.
Reduce repeated references to kindness, support, and community so each paragraph advances the message more distinctly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad and precise overall, although some expressions such as 'respective moves' and 'residency' sound unnecessarily formal or contextually awkward.
Choose more natural language for a neighbour, especially when describing the move and the personal relationship.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with strong control of sentence formation and punctuation.
Refine a few densely layered sentences to make the personal message sound lighter and more direct.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are moving home. Write a letter to your neighbours to say goodbye to them and to thank them for their help during your stay. In your letter:
- explain how they helped you
- say what you will miss the most about the area
- where you lived
- invite them to visit you at your new home.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.