IELTS General Task 1: Letter Asking a Neighbour to Watch Your Home

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Writing Prompt

You are going away on holiday for two weeks and would like a neighbour to keep an eye on your home while you are gone.

Write a letter to your neighbour. In your letter:

tell your neighbour when you will be away
explain what you would like them to do while you are gone
say how they can contact you if there is a problem

Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Mrs Kelly,

Show Band 8–9 model answer

Dear Mrs Kelly,

I hope you are well. I am writing to let you know that my family and I will be away on holiday from 2nd to 16th August, and to ask if you would mind keeping an eye on our house during that time.

It would be a great help if you could collect any post that builds up in the letterbox and keep it inside the front porch, as I do not want it to attract unwanted attention. I would also appreciate it if you could put our wheelie bin out on Tuesday mornings and bring it back in the evening. In addition, could you glance at the back garden every few days, just to make sure the gate is properly closed and everything looks in order?

If there is any problem at all, please phone or send a text to me on 07900 123456, or email me at james.hudson@example.com. We will have internet access throughout the trip, so I should be able to respond quickly.

Thank you very much in advance for your help. We would be happy to return the favour whenever you go away.

Yours sincerely,
James Hudson

Why this response works

This response fully addresses all three bullet points with clear, specific details, supporting a high band for Task Achievement. The letter is well organised, with a logical progression from dates, to instructions, to contact details and closing, and uses cohesive devices naturally, demonstrating strong Coherence and Cohesion. Lexical Resource is shown through varied, precise phrases such as “attract unwanted attention” and “keep an eye on our house” with an appropriately polite, semi-formal tone. Grammatical Range and Accuracy are strong, with accurate complex sentences and punctuation, and only natural, minor features of style rather than genuine errors.