You have recently moved to a different house. Write a letter to an English speaking friend to tell them about it. In your letter: - Explain why you have moved - Describe the new apartment - Invite him to pay a visit
Sample Response
Dear Dav, You are aware that I have moved out of my formal house. I decided to move out of the house because of the poor attitude of my landlord in maintaining the house. He does not respond when the house need general repairs. For instance, I took him four weeks to fix a broken boiler in the house during last winter. My new house is a spacious three bedrooms flat and located near major bus routes with many shops within three to four minutes walking distance. It also has a park within seven minutes’ walk away from my house which my kids are very excited about. The landlord is also very friendly and understanding. I will like to invite you for a visit. My wife and kids are looking forward to having you. We are preparing to cook one of your favourite food. If you don’t mind, you can come along with a friend. Kind regards, Abdullahi
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Wrong word choice Original: formal Suggested revision: former Why it matters: Use 'former' to refer to the house you previously lived in.
- 2. Subject-verb agreement Original: need Suggested revision: needs Why it matters: The singular subject 'house' requires the verb 'needs'.
- 3. Incorrect subject Original: I Suggested revision: It Why it matters: The impersonal construction 'It took him' correctly expresses the time required.
- 4. Compound adjective form Original: three bedrooms flat Suggested revision: three-bedroom flat Why it matters: Use a singular hyphenated compound adjective before the noun.
- 5. Missing auxiliary verb Original: and located Suggested revision: and is located Why it matters: The passive construction requires 'is' before 'located'.
- 6. Distance phrase form Original: three to four minutes walking distance Suggested revision: a three-to-four-minute walk Why it matters: Use a hyphenated measurement phrase with the singular noun 'minute'.
- 7. Invitation verb form Original: will Suggested revision: would Why it matters: Use 'would like' to express a polite present invitation.
- 8. Plural after one of Original: food Suggested revision: foods Why it matters: The noun after 'one of' must be plural.
- 9. Natural informal opening Original: You are aware that Suggested revision: As you know, Why it matters: This sounds more natural when writing to a friend who already knows about the move.
- 10. Improve awkward collocation Original: poor attitude of my landlord in maintaining the house Suggested revision: poor attitude of my landlord towards maintaining the property Why it matters: Use 'attitude towards' with a gerund to express the landlord's approach to maintenance.
- 11. Clarify delayed response Original: does not respond Suggested revision: is slow to respond Why it matters: This matches the later example in which the landlord eventually completed the repair.
- 12. Remove unnecessary preposition Original: during last winter Suggested revision: last winter Why it matters: A time expression beginning with 'last' does not need 'during'.
Suggested Rewrites
- formal former
- need needs
- I It
- three bedrooms flat three-bedroom flat
- and located and is located
- three to four minutes walking distance a three-to-four-minute walk
Why this response received Band 6.0
The letter’s strongest feature is its complete, relevant coverage of the reason for moving, the new apartment, and the invitation, with enough personal detail for a friend. Its main limitation is the recurring grammatical and collocational inaccuracy, which sometimes makes otherwise clear sentences awkward. The highest priority is to edit noun phrases, verb forms, and pronoun choices so the friendly message reads naturally throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly explains the landlord problem, describes the new flat and its surroundings, and extends a friendly invitation with relevant detail.
Make the informal purpose even more engaging by adding a specific suggested date or activity for the visit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a sensible sequence from the reason for moving to the new home and then the invitation, although it is presented as one dense block.
Separate the three main stages into short paragraphs and use referencing more carefully to improve readability.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate for housing and an informal invitation, but several choices such as former house, three-bedroom flat, and favourite foods are expressed inaccurately.
Check common collocations and compound modifiers so familiar ideas are conveyed in more natural combinations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and longer sentences communicates the message, but agreement, article, pronoun, and verb-form errors recur across the letter.
Proofread each clause for subject-verb agreement and complete verb structures, especially in sentences describing the landlord and the flat.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently moved to a different house. Write a letter to an English speaking friend to tell them about it. In your letter:
- Explain why you have moved
- Describe the new apartment
- Invite him to pay a visit
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.