House and Neighbourhood: A Polite Complaint to a Neighbour
Your neighbours' late-night noise is keeping you awake before your exams. Write a polite note to ask them to change something.
- Time
- 25 min
- Length
- 100-130 words
Writadia · B1 · Formal letters
NameClassDate
The situation
You live in a flat. For the last two weeks, the neighbours upstairs have been moving furniture and playing music after midnight. Your exams start next week and you can't sleep. You don't know them well.
Your task
Write a note to put under your neighbours' door. In your note:
- introduce yourself
- explain the problem politely
- say why it is important for you right now
- suggest a solution
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Start politely and introduce yourself: name, flat number.
- Describe the problem without blaming.
- Explain your situation (exams).
- Suggest a clear solution and thank them.
Useful phrases
Opening
The problem
Asking
Ending
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- neighbour
- a person who lives next to youOur neighbours are friendly.
- realise
- understand or noticeYou may not realise it.
- grateful
- thankfulI'd be very grateful.
- keep someone awake
- stop someone from sleepingThe music keeps me awake.
Model answer (111 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
Hello,
I'm Kerem from flat 4, just below yours. I hope you don't mind me writing this note.1
For the last two weeks, there has been quite a lot of noise late at night, mostly music and furniture moving after midnight. I'm sure you don't realise it, but the sound travels very easily in this building.2
My university entrance exams start next week, and I really need to sleep well before them.
Would it be possible to keep the music lower after 11 pm, at least until the end of the month? I'd be very grateful.3
Thank you for understanding. Please knock on my door if you'd like to talk.
Kerem
- A polite introduction.
- The problem, described without blaming.
- A clear, reasonable request.
Teacher notes
Theme link: Life in the House & Neighbourhood (Theme 5).
Focus: softening language: I'm sure you don't realise, Would it be possible...?, I'd be grateful if.... Compare with direct versions.
Note: in the model the exams are university entrance exams; students can change this to school exams.
Extra challenge
Write the neighbours' reply: they apologise and explain why they were noisy.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: neighbour, realise, grateful, keep someone awake.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Hello, I'm ... from flat ... downstairs.”, “I hope you don't mind me writing this note.”, “I've noticed that recently there has been ... late at night.”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (100-130 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I introduced myself.
- I described the problem politely, without blaming.
- I explained why it matters now.
- I suggested a clear solution.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I introduced myself.
- I described the problem politely, without blaming.
- I explained why it matters now.
- I suggested a clear solution.
Writadia · B1 · Formal letters
Assessment rubric: House and Neighbourhood: A Polite Complaint to a Neighbour
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I introduced myself.
- I described the problem politely, without blaming.
- I explained why it matters now.
- I suggested a clear solution.
Teacher comment
Writadia · B1 · Formal letters
Peer-review sheet: House and Neighbourhood: A Polite Complaint to a Neighbour
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I introduced myself. | |||
| I described the problem politely, without blaming. | |||
| I explained why it matters now. | |||
| I suggested a clear solution. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
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Writadia · B1 · Formal letters
Lesson plan: House and Neighbourhood: A Polite Complaint to a Neighbour
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: neighbour, realise, grateful, keep someone awake.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Hello, I'm ... from flat ... downstairs.”, “I hope you don't mind me writing this note.”, “I've noticed that recently there has been ... late at night.”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (100-130 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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