Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your houseflat. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter: - explain the reasons for the noise - apologise - describe what action you will take
Sample Response
Dear Mr and Mrs Williams, I hope you are doing great. It is a shame that we do not know each other very well and I would like to apologise for that. I am writing this letter in response to your complaint letter that you sent me yesterday about the noise from my flat. I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and humbly ask for your forgiveness. With concern about home safety, my wife and I decided to install a few smoke detectors in our flat, especially after we saw a devastating fire in our neighbourhood lately. We bought the devices from an online store and started to install and test the gadgets last Sunday. To ensure that the sound of the fire alarm is loud enough and everyone in the house would notice it, we tested the devices for about 15 minutes. Although the testing took place at midday last Sunday, my wife and I are terribly sorry that your child’s nap was interrupted. I really regret the event and request your forgiveness. Please accept this box of chocolate as a token of my deepest regret for the inconvenience. We will be more careful next time. Yours sincerely, Paul Lesner
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Natural greeting Original: doing great Suggested revision: doing well Why it matters: "Doing well" is more standard in a polite letter.
- 2. Irrelevant opening Original: It is a shame Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: This does not address the noise complaint and distracts from the purpose.
- 3. Focus apology Original: apologise for that Suggested revision: apologise for the noise Why it matters: The apology should focus on the complaint.
- 4. Avoid repetition Original: complaint letter that you sent me Suggested revision: letter you sent me Why it matters: This is less repetitive.
- 5. Natural apology Original: humbly ask for your forgiveness Suggested revision: ask for your understanding Why it matters: This sounds less excessive and more neighbourly.
- 6. Awkward opener Original: With concern about home safety Suggested revision: Because we were concerned about home safety Why it matters: This expresses the reason clearly.
- 7. Natural timing Original: lately Suggested revision: recently Why it matters: "Recently" is more natural in this formal explanation.
- 8. Concise verbs Original: started to install and test Suggested revision: installed and tested Why it matters: This is more direct.
- 9. Consistent noun Original: gadgets Suggested revision: devices Why it matters: Use the same precise noun for the smoke detectors.
- 10. Plural reference Original: the sound of the fire alarm Suggested revision: the sound of the fire alarms Why it matters: The letter refers to several smoke detectors.
- 11. Natural apology Original: I really regret the event Suggested revision: I really regret the disturbance Why it matters: "Disturbance" names the problem more accurately.
- 12. Specific action Original: We will be more careful next time Suggested revision: We will inform you before any future testing and keep it as brief as possible Why it matters: The promised action needs to be specific.
Suggested Rewrites
- doing great doing well
- It is a shame Delete
- apologise for that apologise for the noise
- complaint letter that you sent me letter you sent me
- humbly ask for your forgiveness ask for your understanding
- With concern about home safety Because we were concerned about home safety
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The letter responds to the complaint, explains the smoke-detector testing, apologises, and says the writer will be more careful. However, the promised future action is too vague and part of the opening apologises for not knowing the neighbours rather than the noise.
State exactly what you will do next time, such as warning neighbours before testing alarms and keeping noisy work to agreed hours.
Coherence and Cohesion
The message is understandable and mostly logical, but it includes some irrelevant opening material and repeats apology language. The single-block format also makes the letter less clear.
Use three paragraphs: response and apology, reason for the noise, and specific future action.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is generally suitable, but some phrases are awkward or too strong, such as "humbly ask for your forgiveness" and "I really regret the event". Word choice sometimes sounds unnatural.
Use direct neighbourly language: "I am sorry for the disturbance" and "I will let you know before any future testing".
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is mostly controlled and meaning is clear. There are minor issues with article choice, punctuation, and awkward prepositional phrases.
Simplify the long explanation sentence and check phrases beginning with "with concern about" or "as a token of".