When people need to complain about a product or poor service, some prefer to complain in writing and others prefer to complain in person. Which method do you think is more effective? Why?
Sample Response
In today's society, there are many ways for consumers to complain about poor service or products. While some people choose to complain in writing, others prefer to voice their complaints in person. In my opinion, complaining in person is a more effective method than writing a complaint.
Firstly, when a customer complains in person, they have the opportunity to explain their situation and describe the problem in detail. They can also provide visual evidence or examples to support their complaint. This can be helpful for the person or business receiving the complaint to fully understand the issue and make the necessary changes to prevent it from happening in the future.
Secondly, complaining in person allows for immediate resolution of the issue. If a customer writes a complaint, it may take some time before the company responds, and the process of back-and-forth communication can be time-consuming. When a customer complains in person, the issue can be resolved on the spot, which can lead to a faster and more satisfactory resolution for both the customer and the company.
There could be some potential drawbacks to complaining in person. For example, a customer may not feel comfortable or confident enough to complain face-to-face. Additionally, if the person receiving the complaint is not trained to handle complaints, the situation could escalate and become confrontational.
In conclusion, while there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, I believe that complaining in person is a more effective way to voice a complaint. It allows for clear communication and immediate resolution, which can lead to a more satisfactory outcome for both parties involved.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise opening Original: In today's society Suggested revision: Today Why it matters: This concise time reference avoids an unnecessary stock phrase.
- 2. Improve lexical parallelism Original: poor service or products Suggested revision: poor service or faulty products Why it matters: Adding a precise adjective makes the two objects of the complaint parallel.
- 3. Avoid repetitive wording Original: voice their complaints in person Suggested revision: complain in person Why it matters: The concise verb phrase avoids repeating “complaints” in the same sentence.
- 4. Use parallel comparison Original: more effective method than writing a complaint Suggested revision: more effective method than complaining in writing Why it matters: The comparison should use parallel gerund phrases for the two methods.
- 5. Broaden evidence wording Original: provide visual evidence or examples Suggested revision: provide evidence or examples Why it matters: “Evidence” already covers relevant visual material, so the adjective is unnecessarily restrictive.
- 6. Avoid absolute claim Original: allows for immediate resolution of the issue Suggested revision: may allow the issue to be resolved immediately Why it matters: The modal accurately presents immediate resolution as a possibility rather than a certainty.
- 7. Avoid repeated noun Original: faster and more satisfactory resolution Suggested revision: quicker and more satisfactory outcome Why it matters: “Outcome” avoids repeating “resolution” within the paragraph.
- 8. Remove double hedging Original: There could be some potential drawbacks Suggested revision: There are potential drawbacks Why it matters: Using both “could be” and “potential” weakens the statement unnecessarily.
- 9. Remove adverb hyphens Original: complain face-to-face Suggested revision: complain face to face Why it matters: The adverbial expression “face to face” is normally unhyphenated.
- 10. Remove redundancy Original: both parties involved Suggested revision: both parties Why it matters: “Both parties” already identifies everyone involved.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: This can be helpful for the person or business receiving the complaint to fully understand the issue and make the necessary changes to prevent it from happening in the future. Suggested revision: This can help the person or business receiving the complaint fully understand the issue and make the necessary changes to prevent the problem from recurring. Why it matters: The rewrite fixes the awkward “helpful for” construction and clarifies the pronoun reference.
Suggested Rewrites
- In today's society Today
- poor service or products poor service or faulty products
- voice their complaints in person complain in person
- more effective method than writing a complaint more effective method than complaining in writing
- provide visual evidence or examples provide evidence or examples
- allows for immediate resolution of the issue may allow the issue to be resolved immediately
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay’s strongest feature is its clear, consistent preference for in-person complaints, supported by well-organised reasons about fuller explanation and faster resolution. Its main limitation is that the support remains fairly general and repeatedly uses the same words for complaints, issues, and resolutions. Prioritise adding one specific consumer scenario that directly contrasts the two methods, while varying key vocabulary and tightening the brief counterargument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response directly answers both questions, maintains a clear preference, and develops two relevant reasons while acknowledging credible drawbacks.
Strengthen the comparison with one concrete example showing why an in-person complaint succeeds where a written one would be slower or less clear.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are logically sequenced in focused paragraphs, and cohesive links guide the reader clearly from position through reasons, qualification, and conclusion.
Integrate the ‘Firstly’ and ‘Secondly’ points with slightly less formulaic transitions for an even smoother argument.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is clear, appropriate, and sufficiently varied, though ‘complaint’, ‘issue’, and ‘resolution’ are repeated frequently.
Vary recurring terms with precise alternatives such as ‘grievance’, ‘problem’, ‘remedy’, and ‘settlement’ where context permits.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of simple and complex structures is used accurately, with strong control and virtually no meaning-affecting errors.
Refine a few long sentences by reducing repeated subordinate clauses while preserving the existing accuracy.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
When people need to complain about a product or poor service, some prefer to complain in writing and others prefer to complain in person. Which method do you think is more effective? Why?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.