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IELTS Writing (3) for the General Training test GT

Answering Task 1 in the General Training Writing test

Task achievement

Overview

In Task 1 in the General Training Writing test, candidates are given a situation or problem and have
to write a letter to ask for information or to explain something. The style you need to write in (e.g.
formal or informal).
The first thing for candidates to do when looking at a Task 1 is to read the question carefully and to
check the purpose of the letter and who they are writing to. If in your answer the purpose is at
times unclear, you will not get higher than a band 5 for Task achievement. It is also very important
that you addresses all the main points. A candidate who inadequately covers points in the
question will not achieve more than a band 5 for Task achievement.

Task
Look at the question below. First decide what the key words in the question are.

You and your family have recently moved to an English-speaking country. The person who
lives in the apartment above you plays a musical instrument, and the noise causes you and
your family some problems.

Write a letter to this person. In your letter:

 introduce yourself and give details of the noise

 describe the problems it is causing you and your family
 suggest what action the person could take

Key words in bold:

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You and your family have recently moved to an English-speaking country. The person who lives in
the apartment above you plays a musical instrument, and the noise causes you and your
family some problems.
Write a letter to this person. In your letter,
 introduce yourself and give details of the noise
 describe the problems it is causing you and your family
 suggest what action the person could take

1. introduce yourself and give details of the noise

piano played loudly at night
we live in flat 22
2. describe the problems it is causing you and your family
children can't sleep at night
noise gives wife headaches
3. suggest what action the person could take
play piano during the day
be more considerate of others

Coherence and cohesion

The way candidates organise their letter will also affect their marks for Coherence and cohesion. For
an answer to get a band 6 for Coherence and cohesion, the candidate must 'arrange information and
ideas coherently' and there must be 'a clear overall progression'.
You should make notes on the bullet points before starting the letter and to think which paragraphs
you will put them in.

Task
Write a letter to a hotel manager complaining about the services you received during your
stay.

Paragraph 1: explain the reason for writing

I am writing to complain about the service I received during my stay at your hotel last week.

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Paragraph 2: give details of the problem

The bedrooms had not been properly cleaned, the towels had not been changed and the heating
was not working.

Paragraph 3: say what I want

I would suggest you give me a 50 per cent refund of the total cost of the stay.

Paragraph 4: say what I am going to do

If you do not respond to this letter, I will have to contact the Board of Tourism.

Functions

In the letter about the noisy neighbour, the candidate had to state the problem, the consequences
and make suggestions. In the letter to the hotel, the candidate had to make a complaint and a
suggestion.

There are a number of things candidates may be asked to do in the bullet points for the task and
candidates will need to know the appropriate phrases for these functions. For example, I would
suggest you give me was used to make a suggestion in the letter to the hotel.

Function Phrase
making a complaint I was not happy about …

making a request I would be grateful if you could …

making an apology I am sorry that …

making a suggestion I would suggest …

making a recommendation It would be a good idea to …

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giving an explanation The reason for this is …

reminding someone Don’t forget to …

inviting someone Would you like to …?

Formality
It is also important to consider the level of formality. If we look again at the phrases above, you will
notice that Don’t forget to … is informal whereasI would be grateful if you could … is quite formal.
It is important to know whether a phrase is formal or informal so that you can use it appropriately.

Formal way to make a request:

I would be grateful if you could ...

Can you think of any more formal and informal ways to make a request in English? Write
them below.

Suggestions:

It would be very thoughtful of you if you could...I would like to request that you … (formal)
I would be grateful if you could … (formal)
It would be helpful if you could … (formal)
Do you mind …? (informal)
Could you …? (informal)
It would be great/helpful if you could … (informal)
Can you …? (informal)

Sample answer for the letter from page 1.

Dear Mr Smith,

My family and I have been renting flat 22, which is directly below yours, since January this
year. I am writing to you because your piano playing at night is very loud.

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Unfortunately, the noise is causing my family many problems. My children have not been
able to focus on their homework and cannot sleep properly. As a consequence, their
performance at school has been getting worse. In addition, my wife has been getting very bad
headaches which means that she cannot work.

I understand that your piano playing is important to you. However, as my family are out
during the day, could I ask you that you practice playing at this time. If this is not an option, I
would be grateful if you did not play the piano after 9 pm.

If you want to discuss this further, please come and have a chat over cup of tea one evening.
Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

John Brown

Task
Write what you think are the answer's strengths and weaknesses and decide which band it
would be awarded. Then look at the comments and compare your ideas.
Rewrite the letter and make the necessary amendments.

Dear Mr Smith,

I am staying in the apartment 1A just below your apartment. I am writing in regard to the problems
we are facing from the noise caused by your musical instrument.

My 6 months old younger son is disturbed by this loud noise and could not sleep well. Moreover, he
has become very much annoyed. Furthermore, my daughter could not concentrate on her studies.

Also my Father in law is a cardiac patient. He had recently underwent a bypass surgery and had
been advised complete bed rest. Because of this noise he gets irritated and annoyed which is not
goode for his health. In other words, this noise from your instrument is creating disturbance in hour
daily chores.

Finally, I would request you to play the instrument at a low volume and would realise the problems
its creating among my family members.

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Your faithfully,
Sara Rossi

Comment:

The purpose of the letter is very clear and the writer covers the main points in the task. However,
he/she spends a lot of time on the problems and could have expanded bullets 1 and 3 more. The
tone is generally appropriate to this letter of complaint, but rather unfriendly when addressed to a
neighbour.
The information is clearly organised across the letter. However, too many connectors are used in the
middle section, and this is unhelpful for the reader. Nevertheless, there are also some examples of
good use of referencing and linking in the response.
A range of vocabulary is used effectively with some good examples of quite specialised words and
some precise expressions. Some words are not well-chosen, and there are some spelling mistakes,
but these problems are only occasional and do not affect the reader’s understanding of the letter.
A mix of sentence types is used and there are examples of accurate complex sentences. There are
also a lot of short, simple sentences, so the range is not wide. The choice of tense is quite often
faulty and this makes the letter unclear at times.
This piece of writing was awarded a Band 6.5.

Having read the comments reflecting the Band awarded, how do you think you could improve
the letter?

√ Now move on to Part 4 of this Unit.