You have recently visited a sports centre and discovered some problems and the poor condition of a changing room there. You made a complaint earlier, but still, no action was taken. Write a letter to the facility manager about it. In your letter: - Describe the problems - Include details of your complaint - Say what activities you would like them to take.
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I’ve been a member of your sports centre for the last three months, and I’m writing this letter to express my disappointment and get your immediate attention towards the Poor condition of the changing rooms. This matter was brought to your notice last month; however, the issue persists, and corrective measures have not been taken yet.
The washrooms in the changing room are not clean and have a pungent odour. Due to the unhygienic condition of washrooms, there is a serious threat of spreading dangerous infectious diseases. Also, there is an issue of frequent non-functioning of Air conditioners which makes the room very uncomfortable and some of the doorknobs of the changing rooms are broken, and it becomes risky to change the clothes and have a quick shower.
Last time, I suggested sanitizing the changing rooms regularly and having two permanent janitors keep the changing room clean and hygienic. I’m re-iterating the same suggestion to have the Air conditioners in the working state and the broken doorknobs replaced as soon as possible. I hope my suggestions are not ignored and considered this time. Otherwise, I will have no option but to change my sports centre.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural phrasing Original: get your immediate attention towards the Poor condition Suggested revision: draw your immediate attention to the poor condition Why it matters: The revised collocation is natural and removes the incorrect capitalization.
- 2. State the action directly Original: brought to your notice Suggested revision: reported to you Why it matters: This direct wording makes the earlier complaint clearer.
- 3. Add the article Original: condition of washrooms Suggested revision: condition of the washrooms Why it matters: The specific washrooms already identified require the definite article.
- 4. Correct the spelling Original: re-iterating Suggested revision: reiterating Why it matters: The standard spelling is written without a hyphen.
- 5. Use the fixed expression Original: the Air conditioners in the working state Suggested revision: the air conditioners in working order Why it matters: In working order is the natural expression for functioning equipment.
- 6. Clarify the contrast Original: not ignored and considered Suggested revision: considered rather than ignored Why it matters: The original coordination illogically asks for the suggestions to be both ignored and considered.
- 7. Use a natural action Original: change my sports centre Suggested revision: leave your sports centre Why it matters: Leave the sports centre clearly expresses the intended consequence.
- 8. Complete the sign-off Original: Yours faithfully, Suggested revision: Yours faithfully, [Your name] Why it matters: A formal complaint letter should include the writer's name after the closing.
- 9. Use formal wording Original: I’ve been a member Suggested revision: I have been a member Why it matters: Avoiding the contraction gives the complaint letter a slightly more formal tone.
- 10. Make the opening concise Original: I’m writing this letter Suggested revision: I am writing Why it matters: The word letter is unnecessary because the format is already clear.
- 11. Use a precise adjective Original: are not clean Suggested revision: are dirty Why it matters: The direct adjective states the hygiene problem more concisely.
- 12. Reference the complaint clearly Original: Last time Suggested revision: In my previous complaint Why it matters: This wording links the requested action directly to the earlier complaint in the task.
Suggested Rewrites
- get your immediate attention towards the Poor condition draw your immediate attention to the poor condition
- brought to your notice reported to you
- condition of washrooms condition of the washrooms
- re-iterating reiterating
- the Air conditioners in the working state the air conditioners in working order
- not ignored and considered considered rather than ignored
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter clearly establishes the complaint, describes several concrete changing-room problems, and requests practical remedies in an appropriately firm formal tone. Its main weakness is uneven language control, especially awkward collocations, capitalization, and a long overloaded sentence that reduces precision. Prioritize revising sentence boundaries and natural formal phrasing while adding a little more specific detail about the earlier complaint.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are addressed, and the requested action is suitably firm and relevant.
Give more concrete details about when and how the earlier complaint was made to make that bullet point fully developed.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the complaint to the problems and proposed remedies, with effective paragraphing and generally clear linking.
Split the long sentence describing the air conditioners and doorknobs so each problem and consequence is easier to follow.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a good range of relevant formal vocabulary, although several collocations and word forms are awkward or imprecise.
Use more natural phrases such as draw your attention to, air conditioners frequently fail, and keep the changing rooms clean.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates the message clearly, but agreement, article, capitalization, and sentence-control errors recur.
Proofread complex sentences for agreement and articles, and avoid unnecessary capitals in common nouns such as poor and air conditioners.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently visited a sports centre and discovered some problems and the poor condition of a changing room there. You made a complaint earlier, but still, no action was taken. Write a letter to the facility manager about it. In your letter:
- Describe the problems
- Include details of your complaint
- Say what activities you would like them to take.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.