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
Many times people need to complain about a product or poor service which is quite common nowadays. It is, therefore, important for one to identify the best medium for your complaints to have the desired effect. Rising complaints both in person or in writing have their pros and cons but I personally prefer to lodge my complaints in writing.
Firstly, putting down your complaints in writing has the advantage of getting to the person intended. That person is usually at the top of the hierarchy. For example, if someone complains to the driver of a bus about over-speeding or reckless driving, the information might not get to the manager of the transport company but may only end up with the driver which might not stop the driver from over speeding in the future and therefore the complaint would not make any impact. Secondly, writing to the manager about a poor service gives the manager time to understand and assimilate the gravity of the situation and understand how important it was to you the consumer for you to take your time to write about a certain problem. In addition, if one decides to complain in person, emotions may come into play and may lead to the exchange of words and the desired effect is therefore not achieved. Written complaints also have the advantage of being referred to in the future. In summary, written complaints have the advantage of getting to the individual in charge, being able to be referred to in the future and giving the receiver ample time to understand the situation and to address it appropriately. As a result, I would prefer to forward my complaints in writing.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use a natural adverb Original: Many times Suggested revision: Often Why it matters: Often expresses frequency more naturally in this context.
- 2. Clarify the relative clause Original: poor service which is quite common Suggested revision: poor service, both of which are quite common Why it matters: The revised clause clearly refers to both faulty products and poor service.
- 3. Use a consistent subject Original: one Suggested revision: people Why it matters: People provides a natural plural subject for the general statement.
- 4. Keep pronouns consistent Original: your Suggested revision: their Why it matters: Their must agree with the general plural subject people.
- 5. Correct the verb Original: Rising Suggested revision: Raising Why it matters: Raise means to present an issue, whereas rise is intransitive.
- 6. Fix the correlative pair Original: both Suggested revision: either Why it matters: Either correctly pairs with or when presenting two alternatives.
- 7. Add a comma Original: pros and cons but Suggested revision: pros and cons, but Why it matters: A comma is needed before but when it joins two independent clauses.
- 8. Use precise wording Original: putting down your complaints Suggested revision: submitting complaints Why it matters: Submitting is a more precise verb for formally communicating a complaint.
- 9. Use the standard phrase Original: person intended Suggested revision: intended recipient Why it matters: Intended recipient is the natural expression for the person meant to receive the complaint.
- 10. Correct the collocation Original: assimilate the gravity Suggested revision: appreciate the seriousness Why it matters: Appreciate the seriousness is the natural collocation for understanding how severe a problem is.
- 11. Set off the apposition Original: you the consumer Suggested revision: you, the consumer, Why it matters: The explanatory noun phrase the consumer requires commas on both sides.
- 12. Use the standard form Original: over-speeding Suggested revision: speeding Why it matters: Speeding is the standard word for driving above the legal limit.
Suggested Rewrites
- Many times Often
- poor service which is quite common poor service, both of which are quite common
- one people
- your their
- Rising Raising
- both either
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response’s strongest feature is a clear, consistent preference for written complaints supported by several relevant reasons and a concrete transport example. Its main limitation is presentation and precision: nearly all development sits in one long paragraph, some points repeat, and several collocations and sentence structures are awkward. Prioritise grouping the reasons into distinct paragraphs and tightening each explanation around how writing produces a more effective outcome.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The essay directly answers both questions, maintains a clear preference for writing, and develops relevant benefits involving authority, reflection, emotional control and a permanent record.
Deepen the comparison by briefly explaining when an in-person complaint might work quickly and why the written method remains more reliable overall.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a logical sequence and uses clear enumeration, but the single extended body paragraph and repeated conclusion weaken paragraph-level progression.
Separate access to decision-makers, careful consideration and written records into focused paragraphs, then keep the conclusion concise.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but phrases such as “rising complaints,” “putting down your complaints,” “assimilate the gravity” and “forward my complaints” are unnatural.
Use precise collocations such as “making a complaint,” “submit in writing,” “assess the seriousness” and “retain a record.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures conveys the argument, though pronoun shifts, article errors and several overloaded relative and coordinate clauses reduce accuracy.
Maintain one pronoun perspective and divide the longest example and manager sentences into shorter clauses with clear subjects.
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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.