You booked a two-week holiday to Sydney with a tour agency. You were unhappy because the flight was delayed, the hotel was noisy, and there were other problems. Write to the tour agency. In your letter: - give details of the problems with the holiday - complain about the holiday - request compensation or a refund
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, Two months ago I booked a tour package from your agency and travelled to Sydney on 23rd July I was excited when I booked the tour but very disappointed to find that your agency did not keep its promises. I am hoping you will probe the issue and refund me the $780 that I had to spent personally due to the mismanagement by your employees. In relation to the specifics of the package I opted in, I booked the exclusive two-week-long tour package to Sydney on May 12th and paid $2800 in cash. I am attaching a copy of my receipt and confirmation slip with this letter. The package includes a fortnight tour to Sydney inclusive of roundtrip flights, four-star hotel accommodation, tour guides, breakfasts, sightseeing tours and a few other recreational activities. The issue with the tour is that we did not get the services we were promised. The departure flight your agency booked were delayed for almost 3 hours and landed at a different airport than assured. On top of that, we were taken to a two-star hotel and the quality of its service was below standard. I did not pay for a two-star hotel and want an explanation of this mismanagement and false claim. As a solution, and because I do not want to start a legal fight if you are willing to take action, I am hoping that you will agree to refund me the $780 that I was forced to spend. If I do not hear back from you in regards to this within a week, I will be forced to take legal actions, which by all means I would like to avoid with your cooperation. Thank you for giving the matter your attention and I hope to hear your reply soon. Yours faithfully, Wesley Phillip
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Separate the two sentences Original: 23rd July I Suggested revision: 23rd July. I Why it matters: A full stop is required between these two independent clauses.
- 2. Use formal complaint wording Original: probe the issue Suggested revision: investigate the matter Why it matters: This collocation is more natural in a formal complaint to an agency.
- 3. Use the base verb Original: had to spent Suggested revision: had to spend Why it matters: A modal construction with “had to” requires the base form of the verb.
- 4. Fix the package phrasing Original: In relation to the specifics of the package I opted in, Suggested revision: Regarding the package I chose, Why it matters: “Opted in” does not correctly express choosing this particular package.
- 5. Keep the past tense Original: includes Suggested revision: included Why it matters: The package is being described as part of a completed holiday, so the past tense is needed.
- 6. Form the compound adjective Original: a fortnight tour Suggested revision: a fortnight-long tour Why it matters: The duration needs a compound adjective before “tour.”
- 7. Use concise wording Original: inclusive of Suggested revision: including Why it matters: “Including” introduces the list more directly and naturally.
- 8. Hyphenate the compound Original: roundtrip Suggested revision: round-trip Why it matters: The compound modifier is conventionally hyphenated before “flights.”
- 9. Match subject and verb Original: were delayed Suggested revision: was delayed Why it matters: The singular subject “flight” requires the singular verb “was.”
- 10. Use the delay preposition Original: for almost 3 hours Suggested revision: by almost three hours Why it matters: Use “by” to state the amount of a delay.
- 11. Complete the comparison Original: than assured Suggested revision: from the one promised Why it matters: This wording clearly identifies the promised airport as the point of comparison.
- 12. Specify the expected standard Original: below standard Suggested revision: below the expected standard Why it matters: Adding the reference point makes the complaint more precise.
Suggested Rewrites
- 23rd July I 23rd July. I
- probe the issue investigate the matter
- had to spent had to spend
- In relation to the specifics of the package I opted in, Regarding the package I chose,
- includes included
- a fortnight tour a fortnight-long tour
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter’s strongest aspect is its detailed, forceful account of the booking, service failures, and requested refund, supported by dates, costs, and promised inclusions. Its main limitation is incomplete alignment with the prompt: the noisy hotel is not mentioned, and the basis of the $780 expense remains unclear. The highest priority is to cover every stated problem explicitly and connect each requested amount to a specific loss before tightening language accuracy.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The complaint, service problems, and refund request are clearly developed, but the specified hotel noise is omitted and the unexplained $780 weakens the compensation case.
Mention the noisy hotel directly and itemise what the additional $780 paid for so the requested remedy is fully justified.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses logically from booking details to failures and resolution, although the single-block format and some repetition make the long letter less efficient.
Group the booking background, problems, and requested remedy into separate paragraphs and remove duplicated statements about the desired refund.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a good range of complaint and travel vocabulary, but awkward collocations such as ‘package I opted in’, ‘false claim’, and ‘legal actions’ reduce precision.
Use natural formal collocations such as ‘package I selected’, ‘misrepresentation’, and ‘legal action’, while avoiding repetitive wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex forms is attempted and meaning remains clear, but recurring errors include a run-on sentence, ‘had to spent’, and subject-verb disagreement in ‘flight ... were delayed’.
Proofread verb forms, agreement, and sentence boundaries, especially in the opening and in clauses with singular subjects.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You booked a two-week holiday to Sydney with a tour agency. You were unhappy because the flight was delayed, the hotel was noisy, and there were other problems. Write to the tour agency. In your letter:
- give details of the problems with the holiday
- complain about the holiday
- request compensation or a refund
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.