Write at least 150 words · 20 minutes · semi-formal
The heating in the flat you rent has stopped working, and the weather is getting colder.
Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:
- describe the problem with the heating
- explain how it is affecting you
- say when you would like it to be repaired
How to write this letter
- Match the tone: this one is semi-formal, so choose your greeting, sign-off and phrasing to suit.
- Write one clear paragraph for each bullet point, in order.
- Say why you are writing in the first sentence.
- Close with what you would like to happen next.
A plan for this letter
- Greeting: "Dear Mrs Clarke," as in the task. The tone is semi-formal: polite and clear, but not stiff. First sentence: the heating has stopped and you need a repair.
- Paragraph 1 (bullet 1): the problem: when it started, what happens, what you have checked.
- Paragraph 2 (bullet 2): the effect on you, with concrete details: the temperature, the cost of an electric heater, working from home.
- Paragraph 3 (bullet 3): when you want the repair, and when you are at home to let an engineer in.
- Close: thank her, then "Kind regards," and your name.
Model letter
192 words
Dear Mrs Clarke,
I am writing to let you know that the heating in the flat at 14 Elm Road has stopped working, and to ask you to arrange a repair as soon as possible.
The problem started last Thursday evening. The boiler switches on, but the radiators stay cold in every room, and a red warning light keeps flashing on the boiler. I have checked the pressure and tried restarting it as the manual explains, but nothing has changed. We still have hot water, so I think the fault is in the heating itself.
Now that the nights are getting colder, the flat has become very uncomfortable. The temperature in the living room was only 13 degrees this morning, and I have had to buy an electric heater, which is expensive to run. I also work from home three days a week, so I am finding it hard to concentrate.
Would it be possible for an engineer to come this week? I am at home all day on Wednesday and Friday, and I am happy to let them in at any time.
Thank you for your help.
Kind regards,
Daniel Okafor
Written by Acedmi to show what a high-band letter looks like. It is not an official IELTS sample, and your own ideas can be different.
Useful vocabulary
- let you know
- Tell you; a friendly, polite way to give information.
- “I am writing to let you know about a problem with the heating.”
- arrange a repair
- Organise for something to be fixed.
- “Could you arrange a repair this week?”
- boiler / radiator
- The machine that heats the water / the metal panel that heats a room.
- “The boiler is on, but the radiators are cold.”
- fault
- Something wrong with a machine or system.
- “I think the fault is in the heating itself.”
- uncomfortable
- Not pleasant to be in.
- “The flat has become very uncomfortable.”
- expensive to run
- Costly to use every day.
- “An electric heater is expensive to run.”
- Would it be possible
- A polite way to make a request.
- “Would it be possible for an engineer to come on Friday?”
- Kind regards
- A polite sign-off for semi-formal letters to someone you know by name.
- “Kind regards, Daniel”
Common mistakes
- The wrong tone: "Dear Sir or Madam" is too formal for a landlord you know, and "Hi!" is too casual. Use her name and a polite, friendly style.
- Not explaining the effect. Bullet 2 asks how it is affecting you, so give concrete details such as the cold, the cost and your work.
- Not answering "when". Bullet 3 asks when you want the repair, so give days or times.