You have purchased some goods from a company and the goods were supposed to be delivered within three days of purchase. Seven days have already gone and you have not received the products yet. Write a letter to a company manager with whom you arranged the delivery of goods. In your letter: - inform him/her what items you have purchased - ask the reason for the delay in delivery - suggest what can be done about the matter
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, Eight days ago I ordered a smart TV, a mobile phone and some accessories from your outlet. I was excited when I ordered these items and got your assurance that I would receive them in three days, but I am very disappointed not to receive them yet. I am hoping that you will complete the shipment by tomorrow. In relation to the specifics of the order, I purchased a Sony smart TV, a Samsung mobile phone, a screen protector, a memory card and a pocket router from your outlet 'Gadget and Goods' on July 18th. I paid using my Visa Credit card. The order number is 8683201 and I am attaching a copy of my receipt. Since you did not have the specific model of the TV and silver colour mobile phone at your outlet, you agreed to send the items to my home address before 21st July. Unfortunately, eight days have already elapsed, and I did not hear from you. Please explain the reason for this delay. As a solution, and because I am a regular customer of your store, I am hoping that you will send my products by tomorrow. Otherwise, I would like to cancel my order. I will contact my bank to reverse the credit card payment if I do not hear back from you in regard to this within a day. Thank you for giving the matter your attention and I hope to hear your reply soon. Yours faithfully, Michael Keaton
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use formal wording Original: got Suggested revision: received Why it matters: “Received” is a more natural formal collocation for an assurance.
- 2. Use the perfect infinitive Original: not to receive them yet Suggested revision: not to have received them yet Why it matters: The perfect infinitive correctly refers to a delivery that should already have occurred.
- 3. Choose a precise verb Original: complete the shipment Suggested revision: deliver the items Why it matters: The request concerns delivery to the customer rather than completion of a shipment process.
- 4. Make the transition concise Original: In relation to the specifics of the order Suggested revision: Regarding the order details Why it matters: This concise transition is clearer and more natural in a formal complaint letter.
- 5. Correct capitalization Original: Credit Suggested revision: credit Why it matters: “Credit card” is a common noun and should not be capitalized here.
- 6. Fix the noun phrase Original: the specific model of the TV and silver colour mobile phone Suggested revision: the specific TV model and a silver-coloured mobile phone Why it matters: The second coordinated item needs an article, and the compound modifier should be hyphenated.
- 7. Use the delivery deadline Original: before 21st July Suggested revision: by 21 July Why it matters: “By” expresses a deadline more precisely, and the date form is suitably formal.
- 8. Keep the tense consistent Original: eight days have already elapsed, and I did not hear from you Suggested revision: eight days have already elapsed, and I have not heard from you Why it matters: The present perfect is required for an absence of contact continuing to the present.
- 9. Use the right collocation Original: hear Suggested revision: receive Why it matters: A written reply is normally “received” rather than “heard.”
- 10. Separate the letter sections Suggested revision: Divide the letter into short paragraphs for the complaint purpose, order details, delivery problem, requested remedy, and closing. Why it matters: Clear paragraphing would make the sequence of information and requested action easier for the manager to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- got received
- not to receive them yet not to have received them yet
- complete the shipment deliver the items
- In relation to the specifics of the order Regarding the order details
- Credit credit
- the specific model of the TV and silver colour mobile phone the specific TV model and a silver-coloured mobile phone
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully achieves its purpose with specific order details, a direct request for an explanation, and clear proposed remedies in an appropriately firm formal tone. Its main limitation is presentation: the entire response is one block, and a few expressions are slightly awkward or repetitive. Prioritize dividing the letter into purposeful paragraphs while refining tense and collocation choices such as “have not yet received” and “silver-coloured phone.”
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed with specific, relevant details, and the firm formal tone effectively serves the complaint and request.
For an even more polished response, state the preferred remedy once and present cancellation as a concise alternative rather than repeating the next-day deadline.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter progresses logically from the delayed order to identifying details, explanation request, and remedies, but the lack of paragraph breaks reduces readability.
Divide the response into short functional paragraphs for the opening purpose, order details, delay, requested remedy, and closing.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and precise for a formal complaint, although a few combinations such as complete the shipment and silver colour mobile phone are not fully natural.
Refine collocations by using expressions such as deliver the order and silver-coloured mobile phone while avoiding repeated references to the outlet.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is used with strong control, with only occasional tense and phrasing errors.
Use the present perfect consistently for the continuing delay, such as I have not yet received the items and I have not heard from you.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have purchased some goods from a company and the goods were supposed to be delivered within three days of purchase. Seven days have already gone and you have not received the products yet. Write a letter to a company manager with whom you arranged the delivery of goods. In your letter:
- inform him/her what items you have purchased
- ask the reason for the delay in delivery
- suggest what can be done about the matter
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.