You live in an apartment building but are having trouble with the behavior of your neighbors. Write a letter to inform the building manager of the situation. In your letter: - explain who you are - describe the situation concerning your neighbors’ behavior - suggest how the situation could be dealt with
Sample Response
Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to you to complain about a recurring situation I have been encountering as a resident of Congress Condominiums. To begin, my name is David Stallworth and I am a resident of apartment 5A. I have been living in my condominium for the last 3 years, and the first two were very enjoyable. For the most part, I am still quite content with my overall living situation. However, in the last year, the condominiums on both sides of mine were sold to my new neighbors. They are very nice, but the trouble is that they are quite young and have a penchant for coming home very late and playing music incredibly loudly, which disturbs my sleep. I would appreciate it if you would speak to my neighbors about this. I do not want to cause them any trouble, but I would like them to be reminded of the building regulations regarding noise and clearly understand that playing loud music at night is negatively affecting their neighbors. I look forward to your response. Yours faithfully, David Stallworth
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise wording Original: a recurring situation I have been encountering Suggested revision: a recurring problem I have been experiencing Why it matters: ‘Problem’ states the complaint more directly, while ‘experiencing’ is more natural here.
- 2. Spell out the number Original: 3 Suggested revision: three Why it matters: Spelling out a small number suits the formal style of the letter.
- 3. Clarify the reference Original: the first two were very enjoyable Suggested revision: my first two years here were very enjoyable Why it matters: Naming the years explicitly makes the reference easier to follow.
- 4. Use concise wording Original: overall living situation Suggested revision: home here Why it matters: This shorter phrase conveys the same meaning more naturally.
- 5. Name the units accurately Original: condominiums Suggested revision: units Why it matters: ‘Units’ refers to the individual neighbouring homes more accurately than ‘condominiums’.
- 6. Focus on the behavior Original: are quite young and have a penchant for coming home very late and playing music incredibly loudly Suggested revision: often come home very late and play music extremely loudly Why it matters: This revision removes the irrelevant reference to age and states the disruptive behavior directly.
- 7. Make the request specific Original: speak to my neighbors about this Suggested revision: speak to both neighbors about the late-night noise Why it matters: The revised request identifies both the people involved and the exact problem.
- 8. Identify those affected Original: negatively affecting their neighbors Suggested revision: disturbing other residents, including me Why it matters: This wording makes the effect of the noise and the writer’s personal concern more concrete.
- 9. Separate the letter sections Suggested revision: Divide the letter into short paragraphs for the purpose, the noise problem, and the requested action. Why it matters: The single continuous block obscures the progression from complaint to proposed solution.
- 10. Add concrete noise details Suggested revision: State how often the music occurs and approximately what time it usually continues until. Why it matters: Specific timing and frequency would give the manager stronger grounds to act.
Suggested Rewrites
- a recurring situation I have been encountering a recurring problem I have been experiencing
- 3 three
- the first two were very enjoyable my first two years here were very enjoyable
- overall living situation home here
- condominiums units
- are quite young and have a penchant for coming home very late and playing music incredibly loudly often come home very late and play music extremely loudly
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter communicates its complaint clearly, covers every requested point, and uses precise, appropriately formal language with excellent grammatical control. Its main limitation is that the entire message is presented as one continuous block, which weakens the visual organisation despite the logical flow. Divide the introduction, description of the disturbance, and requested action into distinct paragraphs to make the progression immediately clear.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully addressed, and the formal, measured tone suits a complaint to a building manager.
Add a little more specific information about the frequency or timing of the disturbance to make the complaint even more actionable.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the writer's identity and background to the noise problem and a reasonable requested solution, but the response lacks paragraph breaks.
Separate the letter into clear paragraphs for the opening purpose, details of the problem, and requested action.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary, including terms such as recurring situation, penchant, and building regulations, conveys the complaint effectively.
Prefer slightly more natural phrasing in places, such as saying that the neighbouring apartments were sold rather than the condominiums on both sides.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex sentence structures is handled accurately, with punctuation and agreement consistently controlled.
Maintain this high level of control while occasionally shortening long sentences to sharpen emphasis and readability.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You live in an apartment building but are having trouble with the behavior of your neighbors. Write a letter to inform the building manager of the situation. In your letter:
- explain who you are
- describe the situation concerning your neighbors’ behavior
- suggest how the situation could be dealt with
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.