Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your houseflat. 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 Mr Albert, I hope you are doing well.Hope you are doing great. I am writing in response to the complaintcomplaint letter I received from you yesterday regarding the noise from my flat. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to you. With regardregards to the noise, I am a final-yearfinal year art studentart major student and my term exams begin next weekare due next week. To passclear the exam, Iwe need to play different pieces on several musical instrumentsmultiple musical instruments with different songs. I am practising the guitarpractising with a guitar and a flute to makecreate a good impression on the examiners. I am remorseful that I was practising at night due to which you suffered. I did not realiserealize I was so loud. I had words with my professor and he has allowed me to take a classroomone of the classrooms for practising in the evening. In the daytime, I will practise at my friend’s place so that the noise does not irritate anyone in the neighbourhood. Once again, I am extremely sorry for any annoyance caused by my actions. Yours sincerelySincerely, Akshay Saf
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter responds directly and courteously, explaining the musical practice, apologising several times, and proposing credible arrangements that should prevent further disturbance. The main limitation is that all ideas appear in one block and some expressions are not idiomatic, which slightly reduces polish. Organise the response into purpose, explanation, and action paragraphs while choosing more precise collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are clearly and sufficiently developed, and the apologetic, respectful tone suits a letter to a neighbour.
Make the timing of the new practice arrangements completely explicit so the promised solution leaves no possible ambiguity.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear sequence from acknowledgement and explanation to apology and remedial action, with effective linking.
Divide the content into short paragraphs so each communicative function is easier to identify.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and appropriate overall, but phrases such as 'clear the exam' and 'had words with my professor' are imprecise in context.
Use natural collocations such as 'pass the exam' and 'spoke to my professor' to improve precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses varied sentence forms with good overall control, despite a few awkward constructions and minor punctuation issues.
Revise compressed expressions such as 'at night due to which you suffered' into more natural subordinate clauses.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your houseflat. 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.