You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently a new neighbour moved in and has been making a lot of noise, which disturbs you. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter: - explain the situation - describe why it bothers you - suggest a solution
Sample Response
Dear Mr William, Hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit. I am writing this letter to you in order to bring your attention to an unpleasant issue that I have been facing lately. I just wanted to let you know that one of your tenants, who has recently moved into apartment 5-D, has been making a lot of noise. Not to mention, the noise becomes louder during the nighttime, especially, when I try to sleep. By the way, it is not only me but other tenants on the same floor who are also complaining about it. And we tried to talk to him politely about the noise issue but the loud music and loud arguments over the phone only keep growing. Anyway, I am sorry to sound like complaining too much, but the noise is bothering me severely since I can not sleep at night. Therefore, I would highly appreciate it if you could please ask our new neighbour not to make any noise after 8.00 at night. But, if that does not work, please allow me to move to another apartment which is on a different floor. Yours sincerely, Rick Tyson
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the fixed expression Original: spirit Suggested revision: spirits Why it matters: The conventional expression uses the plural noun “spirits.”
- 2. Make the purpose direct Original: I am writing this letter to you in order to Suggested revision: I am writing to Why it matters: The shorter phrase is clearer and more professional.
- 3. Correct the collocation Original: bring your attention to Suggested revision: bring to your attention Why it matters: The standard expression is “bring something to someone’s attention.”
- 4. Keep the formal present Original: I just wanted to let you know Suggested revision: I would like to inform you Why it matters: The revised present-time request is more appropriate for a formal complaint.
- 5. Use a formal connector Original: Not to mention Suggested revision: In addition Why it matters: This transition adds the nighttime detail without sounding conversational.
- 6. Use the natural phrase Original: during the nighttime Suggested revision: at night Why it matters: “At night” is the standard concise time expression.
- 7. Maintain formal tone Original: By the way Suggested revision: Moreover Why it matters: The letter to a landlord requires a more formal transition.
- 8. Show continuing relevance Original: And we tried to talk Suggested revision: We have tried to talk Why it matters: The present perfect links the earlier attempt to the unresolved current problem.
- 9. Remove casual transition Original: Anyway Suggested revision: I apologise Why it matters: The casual discourse marker weakens the formal register of the complaint.
- 10. Use professional wording Original: sound like complaining too much Suggested revision: seem overly critical Why it matters: This phrase expresses the same concern more concisely and formally.
- 11. Use a natural collocation Original: the noise is bothering me severely Suggested revision: the noise is severely disrupting my sleep Why it matters: “Severely disrupting” describes the practical impact more precisely.
- 12. Express the cause clearly Original: since I can not sleep Suggested revision: because I cannot sleep Why it matters: “Because” states the cause directly, and “cannot” is conventionally one word.
Suggested Rewrites
- spirit spirits
- I am writing this letter to you in order to I am writing to
- bring your attention to bring to your attention
- I just wanted to let you know I would like to inform you
- Not to mention In addition
- during the nighttime at night
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter clearly explains the neighbour’s noise, its impact on sleep, and two practical remedies, so the landlord can readily understand and act on the complaint. Its main weakness is an uneven register, with conversational transitions and several awkward expressions reducing the professional tone. The highest-priority improvement is to organise the content into focused paragraphs and replace informal or imprecise phrasing with concise, courteous requests.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are developed with relevant detail, and the proposed solutions are practical, though the tone is occasionally too conversational for a landlord.
Maintain a consistently polite formal register while stating the disturbance, its effect, and the requested action directly.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a sensible sequence from situation to impact and solution, but the single block of text and frequent discourse markers make progression less polished.
Use separate paragraphs for the complaint, its effects, and the two requested solutions, with fewer transitions such as “By the way” and “Anyway.”
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the complaint, but collocations such as “bring your attention,” “noise keeps growing,” and “bothering me severely” are awkward.
Use natural combinations such as bring this issue to your attention, the noise is getting louder, and seriously disrupting my sleep.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentences is generally controlled, although punctuation, clause balance, and a few constructions contain noticeable errors.
Check comma placement and parallel structures, particularly in sentences using “not only ... but also” and relative clauses.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently a new neighbour moved in and has been making a lot of noise, which disturbs you. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter:
- explain the situation
- describe why it bothers you
- suggest a solution
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.