Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your house/flat. 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 John,
I am writing this letter regarding the problem you are facing due to sound for the last several days from my apartment that, there is little interior work in our kitchen. To date, we were used old-fashioned and poor in quality cupboards. After lockdown, our interior shops were reopened last week, and as an existing customer, the company officials are ready to replace the entire range without fail.
John, I apologized for the turmoil that happened over the last few days. In addition, please forgive me for the issue because the work will be last one more day. I reprimand the workers to curtail the noise surging while using the machines. They are professionals, and they will manage the work as per our instructions.
Furthermore, as a remedy, I request a noise jammer that helps our fellow flat members with the same problem. I strongly believe that for a lucrative and tranquil neighborhood, these instigations will help.
Once again, sorry for the inconvenience caused.
I hope you can understand the situation and expecting a positive response from you regarding this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the business Original: our interior shops Suggested revision: local renovation suppliers Why it matters: “Interior shops” does not clearly identify the businesses that supply the cupboards.
- 2. Use active form Original: were reopened Suggested revision: reopened Why it matters: “Shops reopened” is the correct intransitive construction here.
- 3. Use natural wording Original: officials Suggested revision: staff Why it matters: “Company staff” is more natural for the people arranging this replacement.
- 4. Use present tense Original: apologized Suggested revision: apologise Why it matters: The apology is being made in the present letter, so present tense is appropriate.
- 5. Choose precise noun Original: turmoil Suggested revision: disturbance Why it matters: “Disturbance” accurately describes the effect of household noise on neighbours.
- 6. Show responsibility Original: that happened Suggested revision: that I caused Why it matters: The revision clearly identifies the writer as responsible for the disturbance.
- 7. Use correct tense Original: I reprimand Suggested revision: I have instructed Why it matters: The present perfect shows an action already taken that remains relevant now.
- 8. Use natural verb Original: curtail Suggested revision: reduce Why it matters: “Reduce” is the natural verb for controlling noise in this context.
- 9. Correct the phrase Original: surging Suggested revision: produced Why it matters: “Noise produced” clearly describes the sound made by the machines.
- 10. Use standard phrase Original: as per Suggested revision: according to Why it matters: “According to” is clearer and more natural in this sentence.
- 11. Keep pronouns consistent Original: our Suggested revision: my Why it matters: The letter has one writer, so the possessive pronoun should be singular.
- 12. Clarify the action Original: request a noise jammer Suggested revision: will request noise-reducing equipment Why it matters: This states a plausible future action and clearly identifies its purpose.
Suggested Rewrites
- our interior shops local renovation suppliers
- were reopened reopened
- officials staff
- apologized apologise
- turmoil disturbance
- that happened that I caused
Why this response received Band 6.0
The letter has a recognizable purpose, covers the cause of the noise, apologises, and attempts to outline remedial action. Its main limitation is that frequent grammatical and vocabulary problems make several explanations and proposed actions unclear or unnatural, especially the references to reprimanding workers and obtaining a noise jammer. The priority is to express a simple, realistic action plan in accurate, direct sentences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All bullet points are addressed and the apology is clear, but the action plan is partly implausible and insufficiently clear.
State realistic measures explicitly, such as limiting work hours, warning neighbours in advance, and asking workers to reduce noise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter follows a broadly logical sequence, though some linking is mechanical and several sentences obscure the progression of ideas.
Organise one paragraph around the reason, one around the apology, and one around a concise set of practical actions.
Lexical Resource
There is an evident attempt to use varied vocabulary, but frequent inappropriate choices such as ‘lucrative’, ‘instigations’, and ‘noise surging’ reduce precision.
Prefer common, accurate wording and check that each formal word conveys the intended meaning in context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally recoverable, but frequent errors in verb forms, clause construction, and sentence completion limit control.
Use shorter sentence patterns and check each sentence for a complete subject-verb structure and consistent tense.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your house/flat. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter:
- Explain the reasons for the noise
- Apologise
- Describe what action you will take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.