The road in front of your house was damaged a long time ago and nothing has been done about it. Write a letter to the municipal authority. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain the condition of the road - suggest what the authority should do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am a resident of one of the major suburbs of Johor Bahru city, and I am writing this letter to express my disappointment and frustration over the inaction and negligence of our municipal authority regarding a damaged road. I requested our municipal office to repair the road, which got damaged because of excessive rains and transportation of heavily-loaded vehicles, in front of my house almost a year ago. But, surprisingly, no visible action has been taken yet to show that the damaged road is going to be rebuilt anytime soon. As a result, this road has become really dangerous for even riding a motorbike on it, let alone large vehicles. It even becomes more terrible for travelling, especially when it rains and the water accumulates in the potholes of the damaged road surface because people can not really see the road properly when driving on it. So, I would like to request you to take the necessary steps on an urgent basis in order to fix the damaged road in front of my house as soon as possible before some major accidents happen. Yours sincerely, Yan Lee
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the city name Original: Johor Bahru city Suggested revision: Johor Bahru Why it matters: The proper place name already identifies the city, so the extra common noun is unnecessary.
- 2. Make the purpose concise Original: writing this letter Suggested revision: writing Why it matters: The medium is already obvious, so “this letter” adds no useful meaning.
- 3. Improve the collocation Original: over Suggested revision: with Why it matters: “Frustration with” is the natural collocation for dissatisfaction with the authority's inaction.
- 4. Address the authority directly Original: our Suggested revision: the Why it matters: The neutral article is more appropriate when formally addressing the institution responsible.
- 5. Identify the road Original: a Suggested revision: the Why it matters: The definite article makes clear that the complaint concerns the specific road in front of the writer's house.
- 6. Use a formal transition Original: But Suggested revision: However Why it matters: “However” introduces the contrast more smoothly in a formal complaint.
- 7. Clarify the lack of action Original: no visible action has been taken yet to show that Suggested revision: no action has yet been taken, and there is no indication that Why it matters: The revision separates the absence of repairs from the absence of any repair plan.
- 8. Use the requested remedy Original: rebuilt Suggested revision: repaired Why it matters: The complaint asks for the damaged road to be fixed rather than completely reconstructed.
- 9. Use formal wording Original: anytime soon Suggested revision: in the near future Why it matters: “In the near future” is more appropriate in a letter to a municipal authority.
- 10. Correct the structure Original: really dangerous for even riding a motorbike on it Suggested revision: unsafe even for motorcyclists Why it matters: The replacement removes the awkward gerund structure and identifies the affected road users directly.
- 11. Correct the comparison Original: let alone large vehicles Suggested revision: and also poses a risk to larger vehicles Why it matters: “Let alone” creates an illogical scale here, so the revision states the additional risk directly.
- 12. Use a formal conclusion Original: So Suggested revision: Therefore Why it matters: “Therefore” formally links the repair request to the hazards already described.
Suggested Rewrites
- Johor Bahru city Johor Bahru
- writing this letter writing
- over with
- our the
- a the
- But However
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear formal purpose, explains the road's hazards in useful detail, and makes an appropriately urgent request for action. Its main limitation is presentation in a single dense paragraph, compounded by several awkward or repetitive expressions that reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to organise the introduction, problem description, and requested remedy into separate paragraphs while tightening the wording of the road conditions and safety risks.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response addresses all bullet points, sustains a suitably formal tone, and explains both the long delay and the resulting danger with relevant detail.
Identify the neighbourhood or address more specifically and state the practical action expected from the authority beyond a general request to fix the road.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from complaint to cause, consequences, and requested action, but the single-paragraph format makes the letter unnecessarily dense.
Separate the self-introduction, description of the road, and requested solution into distinct paragraphs with clearer internal focus.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range for a formal complaint and road-safety description, although several collocations are awkward or repetitive.
Use more precise phrases such as 'heavy rainfall,' 'heavy vehicles,' and 'unsafe for motorcyclists,' and reduce repeated references to the damaged road.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are frequent and generally controlled, but some long constructions, punctuation choices, and comparative forms are less natural.
Shorten overloaded sentences and revise structures such as 'dangerous for even riding' and 'more terrible for travelling' for accurate, natural syntax.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
The road in front of your house was damaged a long time ago and nothing has been done about it. Write a letter to the municipal authority. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain the condition of the road
- suggest what the authority should do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.