You are moving home. Write a letter to your neighbours to say goodbye to them and to thank them for their help during your stay. In your letter: - explain how they helped you - say what you will miss the most about the area - where you lived - invite them to visit you at your new home.
Sample Response
Dear Ava Morgan,
As I prepare for a new chapter in my life, I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the warmth and assistance you and your family have extended to me during my stay in the neighborhood. Your kindness and neighborly support have been invaluable, and I am sincerely thankful for the sense of community you have helped foster.
Your support has been invaluable, from the warm welcome on my arrival to the numerous occasions whenwhere you generously gave your time and shared your expertiseshared your time and expertise. Whether it was helping with household tasks, providing advice on local services, or simply being a friendly face during the ups and downs of daily life, your kindness has made a significant impact on my experience here.
As I bid farewell to this area, what I will miss the most is the sense of belonging that your kindness and that of our other neighbors have cultivated. The familiar faces, the shared conversations over the fence, and the collective spirit during community events have all contributed to a sense of unity that has been a defining aspect of my time living heremy residency here.
Despite the physical distance that my moveour respective moves may entail, I would like to extend an invitation for you and your family to visit me at my new home. I believe that the bonds we have formed can endure beyond geographical boundaries, and I would be delighted to stay in touchcontinue fostering our connection in my new neighbourhoodthe new environment.
Once again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your kindness and support. It has been a privilege to have you as neighbors, and I hope our paths cross again in the future.
Wishing you all the best, [Your name]Wishing you all the best,
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter is fluent, warmly appreciative, and especially strong in explaining the neighbours' help and the community atmosphere that will be missed. Its main limitation is incomplete precision: it never clearly states where the writer lived, and the highly formal, repetitive wording sometimes feels distant for familiar neighbours. The priority is to cover that missing detail explicitly while using a more natural personal tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and most points are well developed, but the letter does not explicitly state where the writer lived.
Add a specific reference to the former home or area and make the invitation more concrete by mentioning the new location.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically through thanks, examples of help, what will be missed, and the invitation, with effective paragraphing.
Reduce repeated references to kindness, support, and community so each paragraph advances the message more distinctly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad and precise overall, although some expressions such as 'respective moves' and 'residency' sound unnecessarily formal or contextually awkward.
Choose more natural language for a neighbour, especially when describing the move and the personal relationship.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with strong control of sentence formation and punctuation.
Refine a few densely layered sentences to make the personal message sound lighter and more direct.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are moving home. Write a letter to your neighbours to say goodbye to them and to thank them for their help during your stay. In your letter:
- explain how they helped you
- say what you will miss the most about the area
- where you lived
- invite them to visit you at your new home.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.