You have bought a new mobile phone and in a few days of purchase, it has stopped working. You spoke to the company representative a week ago but it 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 am writing this letter to claim my warranty for the mobile phone that I purchased two weeks ago from your store. The phone does not turn on just after a week of purchase and I have a valid replacement warranty for the phone. I am hoping that you will replace it immediately. Two weeks ago I purchased a new iPhone 14 Pro mobile phone from your authorised shop in Park Lane. I have visited your shop several other times to purchase different electronic gadgets. However, this time my experience was terribly unpleasant as just after a week, the new phone malfunctioned. I immediately went to your sales centre, explained the issue to the staff and returned my phone for a replacement. The representative promised a new phone in the next two to three days. Unfortunately, eight days have already elapsed and I am yet to receive the new phone. My order number is 257380 and I am attaching a copy of my receipt. I expect that you will immediately look into this matter and try to resolve this. Either your company should replace the phone or refund me the money. Thank you for giving the matter your attention and I hope to hear your reply soon. Yours faithfully, Mubashir Noorani
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use warranty collocation Original: claim my warranty Suggested revision: make a claim under my warranty Why it matters: A customer makes a claim under a warranty rather than claims the warranty itself.
- 2. Clarify failure timing Original: does not turn on just after a week of purchase Suggested revision: stopped turning on after just one week Why it matters: The past-tense form correctly describes when the phone stopped working.
- 3. Clarify warranty coverage Original: valid replacement warranty Suggested revision: valid warranty covering replacement Why it matters: The revision states the relevant warranty entitlement more naturally.
- 4. Make request direct Original: I am hoping Suggested revision: I hope Why it matters: The simple present is more direct and natural in this formal request.
- 5. Use formal time phrase Original: several other times Suggested revision: on several other occasions Why it matters: On several other occasions is more formal and idiomatic.
- 6. Use professional tone Original: terribly unpleasant Suggested revision: highly disappointing Why it matters: Highly disappointing conveys dissatisfaction in a controlled formal register.
- 7. Use present perfect Original: am Suggested revision: have Why it matters: Have yet to receive is the standard form for an outstanding expected action.
- 8. Use closing collocation Original: hear your reply Suggested revision: hear from you Why it matters: Hear from you is the natural expression for awaiting a response.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: Either your company should replace the phone or refund me the money. Suggested revision: Please either replace the phone immediately or issue me a full refund. Why it matters: The rewrite states the requested remedy clearly while maintaining an appropriately formal tone.
- 10. Separate complaint stages Suggested revision: Use distinct paragraphs for the purchase and fault, the failed follow-up, and the remedy requested. Why it matters: The current single block repeats purchase details and obscures the chronology of the complaint.
Suggested Rewrites
- claim my warranty make a claim under my warranty
- does not turn on just after a week of purchase stopped turning on after just one week
- valid replacement warranty valid warranty covering replacement
- I am hoping I hope
- several other times on several other occasions
- terribly unpleasant highly disappointing
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter communicates the complaint and desired remedy very effectively, giving a clear timeline, purchase details, order number, receipt, and firm but suitable request for replacement or refund. Its main limitation is a handful of awkward expressions and some repetition around the warranty and replacement. Refine those collocations and separate the background, unresolved delay, and requested action into distinct paragraphs to make an already strong letter more polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The writer establishes their customer relationship, explains the malfunction and unresolved delay in detail, and clearly requests replacement or refund in an appropriate formal tone.
State a specific deadline for the replacement or refund to make the requested action even more precise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The complaint develops logically from purchase and failure to the representative's promise and current request, though the single body block and some repetition reduce polish.
Use separate paragraphs for the purchase history, the delayed response, and the remedy requested.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a strong range of complaint vocabulary, including "authorised," "malfunctioned," and "elapsed," but a few collocations are unnatural.
Prefer "make a warranty claim," "covered by a replacement warranty," and "refund the purchase price."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is handled accurately, with only minor awkwardness in time expressions and occasional phrasing.
Make the timing fully natural by writing "the phone stopped working after only one week" and maintain that past-tense narrative consistently.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have bought a new mobile phone and in a few days of purchase, it has stopped working. You spoke to the company representative a week ago but it 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.