There is a problem with the changing rooms in the sports centre that you visit. You have complained several times but with no success. Write a letter to the manager of the sports centre. In your letter: - Describe what the problem with the changing room is - Say what happened the last times you complained - Explain what you want the manager to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you, to lodge a complaint, about the state of the changing rooms in your sport facility. I have been registered to you center for six months now. My first two months, using your facilities were excellent. However, in the past four months, I have been very dissatisfied, about the fact that, most of, if not all of the changing rooms, have faulty doors. their locks no longer work properly. I had initially laid complains, on two separate occasions at the customer service desk. However, this issue has still not be resolved. At the first instance, I was just told, that the locks were going to be fixed at the end of the month, but that was over two months ago. Notwithstanding, a week ago, I went to lodge the same complain, and also explain, that they had promised and failed to fix the locks over two months ago; and I was told that, I did not follow the proper procedure. I therefore filled out a form with details of the fault, and returned it to be handled appropriately. I am disappointed to say, this problem, has still not be resolved. I will kindly request that you, personally handle this issue. I will like for the locks to be repaired, or preferably replaced, as the old ones, seem to be of low quality. If this is not done, by the end of this month, I am afraid, I will have to cancel my membership with your sports center. I look forward to hearing from you, with an explanation of why the locks, have not been fixed, and a resolution to this problem. Yours faithfully, Susan Wright
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use correct compound Original: sport Suggested revision: sports Why it matters: The standard compound noun uses the plural modifier ‘sports’.
- 2. Remove faulty construction Original: very dissatisfied, about the fact that, Suggested revision: very dissatisfied that Why it matters: The preposition and commas make this complement ungrammatical.
- 3. Punctuate interruption Original: most of, if not all of the changing rooms, Suggested revision: most, if not all, of the changing rooms Why it matters: The parenthetical phrase needs commas around it, not after ‘of’.
- 4. Capitalize sentence start Original: their Suggested revision: Their Why it matters: A new sentence must begin with a capital letter.
- 5. Correct complaint phrase Original: laid complains Suggested revision: made complaints Why it matters: ‘Make complaints’ is the appropriate verb-noun combination here.
- 6. Fix passive form Original: be Suggested revision: been Why it matters: The present perfect passive requires ‘been’ before the past participle.
- 7. Use correct phrase Original: At Suggested revision: In Why it matters: ‘In the first instance’ is the conventional expression for the initial occasion.
- 8. Remove internal comma Original: told, that Suggested revision: told that Why it matters: A comma should not separate ‘told’ from its that-clause.
- 9. Use noun form Original: complain Suggested revision: complaint Why it matters: ‘Complaint’ is the required noun, while ‘complain’ is a verb.
- 10. Match past tense Original: explain Suggested revision: explained Why it matters: The verb should match the past-tense action ‘went’.
- 11. Remove clause comma Original: told that, I Suggested revision: told that I Why it matters: A comma should not separate ‘that’ from the subject of its clause.
- 12. Repair passive clause Original: this problem, has still not be resolved Suggested revision: this problem has still not been resolved Why it matters: Remove the subject-verb comma and form the present perfect passive with ‘been’.
Suggested Rewrites
- sport sports
- very dissatisfied, about the fact that, very dissatisfied that
- most of, if not all of the changing rooms, most, if not all, of the changing rooms
- their Their
- laid complains made complaints
- be been
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter fully explains the faulty locks, recounts both unsuccessful complaints, and makes a clear, appropriately firm request for action. Its main weakness is persistent grammatical and punctuation inaccuracy, compounded by the absence of clear paragraph divisions; prioritising accurate sentence boundaries, verb forms, and a concise paragraph structure would make this otherwise detailed complaint substantially more professional and readable.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are developed with relevant detail, and the formal, firm tone suits a complaint to a manager.
Remove minor repetition and present the requested remedy and deadline more concisely for greater impact.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account progresses logically from the problem through earlier complaints to the requested solution, although it is presented as one dense block and some linking is mechanical.
Organise the letter into clear purpose, complaint-history, and requested-action paragraphs, using fewer heavy transitions.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a useful range of complaint-related vocabulary, but recurring word-form and collocation errors reduce precision.
Correct combinations such as registered at the centre, made complaints, and on the first occasion, while checking complaint against complain.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mixture of simple and complex structures conveys the message clearly, but frequent comma misuse, agreement errors, and faulty verb forms weaken control.
Prioritise complete sentence boundaries and accurate forms such as has still not been resolved and I would like.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
There is a problem with the changing rooms in the sports centre that you visit. You have complained several times but with no success. Write a letter to the manager of the sports centre. In your letter:
- Describe what the problem with the changing room is
- Say what happened the last times you complained
- Explain what you want the manager to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.