General Training Writing Task 1 · semi-formal · complaint

Letter to a landlord regarding damaged rental furniture

You and your family are living in rented accommodation in an English- speaking country. You are not satisfied with the condition of some of the furniture.

Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter:

introduce yourself
explain what is wrong with the furniture
say what action you would like the landlord to take

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to you as the current tenant of the apartment at 12 Oakwood Terrace, where I have been residing with my family for the past three months.

While we are enjoying the location, I must bring to your attention the poor condition of several furniture items provided in the lease agreement. The sofa in the living room has a significantly sagging frame, making it quite uncomfortable, and the dining chairs are noticeably wobbly, posing a potential safety risk to my young children. Furthermore, the wooden dresser in the master bedroom has a broken runner, which renders the drawers almost impossible to open or close smoothly.

Given these issues, I would appreciate it if you could arrange for a professional repair service to address these defects at your earliest convenience. Alternatively, if these items are beyond cost-effective restoration, I kindly request that they be replaced with functional alternatives. Please let me know when you might be able to schedule a visit to inspect these pieces yourself.

I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Thorne

185 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all three bullet points with a coherent, professional tone and specific, relevant details. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide enough detail about the specific furniture problems or using an overly aggressive tone that lacks the expected semi-formal politeness.

Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.
Polite and friendly at once: a few contractions are fine, slang is not. Close with Yours sincerely or Kind regards.
State the purpose in the first two sentences; small talk costs words you need for the bullets.

Useful phrases from the letter

residing: living in a particular place for some time
sagging: sinking or bending down due to weight
wobbly: unsteady and tending to move from side to side
renders: causes something to be in a certain state
restoration: the process of returning something to good condition
at your earliest convenience: as soon as it is easy for you

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Semi-formal. Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.