You have bought a new camera but when you got it home you found it had some problems. You returned the camera and spoke to the company representative a week ago but the camera has still not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain the situation - say what action you would like the company to take
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I have recently bought a Samsung digital camera from your showroom. I was excited to bring it home but disappointed to find that it did not work as expected. To make matters worseTo add more misery, even after I returned it to your store to make a warranty claimclaim the warranty, I am yet to receivehear an update. I would like my cameraI am hoping to get my camera replaced withby a new one. I bought a Samsung NX410 40MP cameraI have bought a Samsung NX410 40MP camera from your showroom at 125 Oxford St, Sohofrom 125 Oxford St, Soho showroom on 10th December. Unfortunately, it malfunctioned as soon as I took it homejust after I took it home. I cannot take pictures and it turns off automatically. The very next day, I visited your showroom and spoketalked to Cynthia, one of your representatives, who assured me that the camera would be replaced within 24 hours. When I called her again, she told me that it would take a few more days and would be repaired instead of being replaced. When I asked for an explanationdemanded the reason, she failed to answer. It has been almost a week since I purchased the camera from your store. The faulty product should be your responsibility, not mine. One of my relatives has advised me to contact the Consumer Rights Authoritytalk to the Consumer Rights Authority and file a complaint against your company, butagainst your company but I will wait until 24 Decemberwait till 24th (the day before Christmas). I am attaching the purchase receiptreceipt of the purchase. I still believe in your brand reputation. I would like you to take immediate action against the misconduct I experienced. Yours faithfully, Ginna Maria
Why this response received Band 7.0
The complaint is detailed, chronological, and appropriately firm, explaining the camera faults, the representative's changing promises, the delay, and the desired replacement. Its main limitation is that the requested remedy becomes less precise near the end, while several unnatural collocations weaken the otherwise capable language. The highest priority is to state one specific action and deadline clearly, then refine complaint vocabulary for a professional, measured tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter introduces the purchase, explains the unresolved problem in detail, and requests a replacement, though the final action sought becomes somewhat vague.
End with an explicit request to replace the camera by 24 December or provide a full refund, rather than asking generally for immediate action.
Coherence and Cohesion
Events unfold in a clear chronological order with effective referencing, but the lack of paragraph breaks makes the dense complaint harder to scan.
Divide the letter into purchase and fault, return and delay, and requested resolution paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
There is a good range of complaint and consumer vocabulary, but recurring awkward collocations reduce naturalness and professional precision.
Use phrases such as make a warranty claim, receive an update, asked for an explanation, and protect your brand's reputation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex sentences with generally strong control, and the remaining tense and construction errors are non-impeding.
Keep completed purchase events in the simple past and reserve the present perfect for the unresolved period continuing to the present.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have bought a new camera but when you got it home you found it had some problems. You returned the camera and spoke to the company representative a week ago but the camera has still not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain the situation
- say what action you would like the company to take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.