You are studying a short course in another country. Your accommodation was arranged by the course provider. There is a major problem with the accommodation. Write a letter to the course provider. In your letter: - Say what the problem is. - Describe the accommodation you thought you were getting. - Ask the provider to solve the problem.
Sample Response
Dear Mr. Schellhammer,
I am writing this letter to you to complain about the flat that you have arranged for me. I only moved into this flat three weeks ago but the situation is already getting out of hand.
The flat is completely infested with insects, especially cockroaches. I can hear them crawling around when I am in bed, which is too terrifying for me to have a good sleep. This also raises concerns about the hygiene of the whole place since I can't even leave my food around the house without the fear of cockroaches being all over them.
When I asked for accommodation, I thought I was going to have a decent and clean place but this is definitely not what I have signed up for. I hope you can look into this problem now and call a pest control company to sort this situation out.
I am looking forward to hearing back from you. Best regards,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove wordiness Original: writing this letter to you to complain Suggested revision: writing to complain Why it matters: The shorter phrase states the purpose directly without redundant words.
- 2. Add comma before but Original: ago but Suggested revision: ago, but Why it matters: A comma is needed before 'but' because it joins two independent clauses.
- 3. Fix result structure Original: too terrifying for me to have a good sleep Suggested revision: so frightening that I cannot sleep well Why it matters: The 'so ... that' structure expresses the result naturally and avoids the awkward phrase 'have a good sleep.'
- 4. Use natural wording Original: leave my food around the house Suggested revision: leave food out in the flat Why it matters: 'Leave food out' is the natural expression for food that is left uncovered or unrefrigerated.
- 5. Fix the food reference Original: without the fear of cockroaches being all over them Suggested revision: without fearing that cockroaches will crawl all over it Why it matters: The revision uses the singular pronoun 'it' to refer clearly to the uncountable noun 'food.'
- 6. State expectation directly Original: I thought I was going to have Suggested revision: I expected to have Why it matters: 'Expected' expresses the promised accommodation more directly and formally.
- 7. Add comma before but Original: place but Suggested revision: place, but Why it matters: A comma is needed before 'but' because it separates two independent clauses.
- 8. Make request more formal Original: look into this problem now Suggested revision: address this problem promptly Why it matters: The revision gives the provider a clear, appropriately formal request for urgent action.
- 9. Add the sender name Original: Best regards, Suggested revision: Best regards, [Your name] Why it matters: The letter should include the writer's name after the closing phrase.
- 10. Develop expected accommodation Suggested revision: Add any concrete features or standards stated when the accommodation was arranged. Why it matters: The description of the expected accommodation is limited to 'decent and clean,' so a specific promised detail would develop this bullet point.
Suggested Rewrites
- writing this letter to you to complain writing to complain
- ago but ago, but
- too terrifying for me to have a good sleep so frightening that I cannot sleep well
- leave my food around the house leave food out in the flat
- without the fear of cockroaches being all over them without fearing that cockroaches will crawl all over it
- I thought I was going to have I expected to have
Why this response received Band 7.5
The complaint is clear, well organized, and supported by vivid, relevant details about the infestation, while the requested remedy is specific and practical. Its main limitation is that the expected accommodation is described only vaguely, and a few expressions are more conversational or awkward than ideal for a course provider. Specify the promised facilities or standards and adopt a consistently firm, professional register.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and all three bullet points are covered, although the expected accommodation is described only as decent and clean.
Specify what the provider had promised, such as hygiene standards, facilities, or room condition, to develop the second bullet fully.
Coherence and Cohesion
The complaint progresses logically from the purpose to detailed effects and then the expected standard and requested solution.
Give the request for action its own paragraph so the desired remedy and response deadline receive stronger emphasis.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied and often vivid, but phrases such as have a good sleep and sort this situation out are less precise or formal.
Choose more professional collocations, such as sleep properly and resolve the infestation, when addressing the course provider.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good variety of complex sentences with generally reliable control, despite a few awkward constructions and minor punctuation lapses.
Review long sentences for clause boundaries and rewrite awkward patterns such as too terrifying for me to have a good sleep.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are studying a short course in another country. Your accommodation was arranged by the course provider. There is a major problem with the accommodation. Write a letter to the course provider. In your letter:
- Say what the problem is.
- Describe the accommodation you thought you were getting.
- Ask the provider to solve the problem.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.