You live in rented accommodation which was recently damaged due to the bad weather. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter: - explain what caused the damage - why you need him/her to fix the problem right away - what needs to be done to fix it
Sample Response
Dear Mr Albert, I am Rebecca Paula, a tenant at Park View Residenceat your Park View Residence, writing to let you know that last night's storm broke two windows in my apartmenta couple of windows at my apartment and theythose need to be fixed immediately. I have livedI reside in flat 4B2 on the eighth floor with my family for the past year and a halffor the last one and a half years. The relentless storm and a heavy downpour last night damaged many dwellings in our area and it is unfortunate that a couple of windows in my apartment have been shattered. The electricity supply has been disrupted since thenThe electricity line is disrupting since then and the continuous coldchill wind is blowing freelyis freely flowing in my apartment. This has become unbearable, especially for my mother-in-law and six-year-old daughtersix years old daughter. I want you to send someone to inspect how bad the broken windows are and how challenging it is to stay inside the flat. Please replace the windows as soonquickly as possible. You can contact a local contractorvendor who carries out this type of repair workprovides such repair work. I will assist you in whichever way possible. Yours sincerely, Rebecca Paula
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter communicates the damage, urgency, and requested repair clearly, and the practical details about the broken windows and vulnerable family members make the request persuasive. Its main limitation is linguistic control: the response is presented as one block and contains recurring tense, agreement, and collocation errors, although meaning remains clear. Prioritise dividing the letter into logical paragraphs and correcting phrases such as 'has been disrupted' and 'six-year-old daughter'.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, the storm damage is explained, and both the urgency and required repair are developed with relevant detail.
Add a specific requested deadline for inspection and replacement to make the desired action even more precise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from cause to consequences and repair, but the entire letter is presented as a single block.
Separate the opening, urgency, requested repairs, and closing into distinct paragraphs to clarify the structure.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of relevant vocabulary, but several combinations, including 'continuous chill wind' and 'provides such repair work', sound unnatural.
Use more idiomatic combinations such as 'cold air is entering the flat' and 'offers window-repair services'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Simple and complex structures communicate the message, but recurring tense, aspect, and modifier errors limit accuracy.
Correct forms such as 'have lived', 'has been disrupted', and 'six-year-old daughter', then proofread for similar patterns.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You live in rented accommodation which was recently damaged due to the bad weather. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter:
- explain what caused the damage
- why you need him/her to fix the problem right away
- what needs to be done to fix it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.