IELTS General Writing Task 1 – You want to thank your landlord for quickly resolving a maintenance issue. | LangorAi.com
IELTS General Writing Task 1 –Semiformal You want to thank your landlord for quickly resolving a maintenance issue. | © LangorAi.com
IELTS General Writing Task 1 – Thanking Your Landlord

IELTS General Writing Task 1 – Thanking Your Landlord

You want to thank your landlord for quickly resolving a maintenance issue.

Model Answer (Band 8–8.5)

Dear Mr Harris,

I am writing to thank you for dealing so promptly with the heating problem in my apartment last week. I really appreciated how quickly you responded after I reported that the radiators had stopped working.

As you know, the issue occurred during several particularly cold evenings, so I was concerned that it might take a few days to arrange a repair. However, you contacted a technician immediately, and the heating was fully restored the following morning. The engineer was also polite and efficient, and he explained what had caused the fault before checking that everything was working properly.

Your quick response made a significant difference, especially as I work from home and spend most of the day in the apartment. It was reassuring to know that the problem was taken seriously and resolved without unnecessary delay. I was also grateful that you followed up later to make sure the repair had solved the problem completely.

Thank you again for your help and for keeping me informed throughout the process. I greatly appreciate your reliability and the care you take in maintaining the property.

Kind regards,
Thomas Reed

Analytical Review – Strengths, Weaknesses & Improvements

1. Strengths
  • Appropriate semi-formal tone for communicating with a landlord whom the tenant already knows.
  • The purpose of the letter is stated clearly in the opening sentence.
  • The maintenance problem and the landlord’s response are described with enough detail to make the letter realistic.
  • Strong collocations such as “dealing so promptly,” “fully restored,” “resolved without unnecessary delay,” and “keeping me informed.”
  • The writer expresses gratitude for both the repair itself and the landlord’s communication.
2. Weaknesses
  • The letter could become repetitive if too many different expressions of thanks were added.
  • An excessively formal tone would sound unnatural because there is already an established landlord-tenant relationship.
3. Recommended Improvements
  • Explain briefly why the maintenance issue was particularly inconvenient or urgent.
  • Mention a specific action taken by the landlord rather than giving only a general thank-you.
  • Keep the appreciation sincere and specific instead of relying on exaggerated praise.
4. Stronger Synonyms & Useful Collocations
  • quickly → promptly
  • fix the problem → resolve the issue
  • repair the heating → restore the heating
  • contact a repair person → arrange for a technician
  • tell me what was happening → keep me informed
  • take care of the property → maintain the property
5. How to Reach a Higher Band
  • Use a consistent semi-formal register from the greeting to the closing.
  • Show grammatical range through complex sentences and subordinate clauses without making them unnecessarily long.
  • Use natural expressions of gratitude rather than excessively sophisticated vocabulary.
  • Maintain clear progression: reason for writing → description of the issue → positive response → appreciation.
  • Use specific details to make the letter convincing while remaining concise.