November 2012

Your neighbours have a dog that is noisy at night. You can’t sleep. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter:
– describe the problem with the dog
– explain why it is important for you to sleep
– outline what your neighbours could do about the situation.

Dear ,

I am writing to you to bring to your attention a problem that have been having with your dog at night.

As you may already be aware of, your dog started making small detours at night around the neighborhood, digging holes in the gardens and often making loud noises. I was awoken by your dog’s barks several times lately, and I had even a doctor and had been prescribed some sleeping pills.

This wouldn’t have been as big of a problem for me if I wasn’t in the middle of my exams, but since I am, it is crucial for me to good rest and sleep during the right hours; I have morning exams to wake up to.

I therefore be grateful if you could have your dog looked after by another member of your family away from this neighborhood, even if only until my exams are over, which will be in about three weeks time.

Thank you for taking time to read this letter, I hope .

Yours sincerely,
Jeongsup Byun

This is a good letter on all accounts, except perhaps some inaccurate word choice and verb forms (bring the mouse over the words in blue to see suggested corrections). Such letter could be awarded Band 8 in a real IELTS exam.

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You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will be looking after your house while you are away. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
– say where you are going
– describe your house
– explain some of the things your friend must do to look after your house.

Dear Sam,

Thank you in advance for looking after my house and my lovely puppies I am on vacation. You know how excited I am to go to Bali! It is indeed a dream coming true now.

I just want to let you know that my house has been renovated and since you haven’t been to my place for a couple of months, you have to use the stairs next to the car park using the main entrance door. The ground floor will not be accessible and will be locked for maintenance reasons.

I need to mention a couple of things which you need to look after during my absence. My dogs will be staying on the top floor and I be very grateful if you feed them thrice a week.

Last , could you please clean as well. Please feel free to contact me in case of any emergencies on my cell phone 04245681112 or via email as well xxyyzz@gmail.com. Yes I know, I have not forgotten your treat as I owe you this one mate

Thank you once again for your help.

See you soon,
Jane

The candidate has fairly addressed all the parts of the task statement. The information is organized well and conveyed coherently. The level of formality is suitable for a personal letter. In terms of sentence formation the writer has done well. The range of vocabulary is adequate for the requirements of the task response, although there are minor problems with word choice and grammar (bring the mouse over the words in blue to see suggested corrections). Overall, this letter is a good one, and seems worthy of Band 8.

Click here to see more IELTS letters of band 8