IELTS Formal Letter: Accommodation Request Letter to UK College Admissions Office

The task

You are going to study at a college in the UK next year. You would like to stay in a college Hall of Residence.

Write a letter to the college giving your accommodation requirements. In your letter:

→you should outline what your room and food needs are
→also, ask what alternatives are available if they cannot provide what you want

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

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8179 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Admissions Team,

I am writing to formally request a room in the college Halls of Residence for the upcoming academic year, starting in September. As an international student, I would appreciate your assistance in securing suitable on-campus accommodation.

Regarding my specific requirements, I would prefer a single en-suite room, ideally situated in a quiet area of the hall to facilitate focused study. Furthermore, as I follow a strictly vegan diet, I would like to confirm that the college catering services can accommodate these nutritional needs. If a self-catered room with access to a communal kitchen is available, that would also be a highly suitable option for me.

Should there be no availability for an en-suite room or specific dietary catering, could you please outline what alternatives exist? I am interested in knowing if there are partnerships with local private landlords or if there are other halls nearby that might offer more flexibility regarding meal plans or room configurations.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding the application process and any further documentation required.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Thorne

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.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific, relevant details while maintaining a consistently professional tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to ask for alternatives or using overly casual language that does not fit the formal context of a college application.

→Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
→If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
→No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

en-suite
a room with a private bathroom attached
facilitate
to make an action or process easier
catering
the business of providing food and drink
self-catered
where you provide and prepare your own food
configurations
the arrangement or layout of something
documentation
material that provides official information or evidence

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How many words 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.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

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