You have recently ordered an item through the Internet, but you are not happy with the product. Write to the company. In your letter: - describe what you purchased - explain why you are not happy with the product - tell them what you would like them to do about it
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to let you know that I am not exactly very happy with the product of your company which I purchased from your eCommerce store about a week ago. I hope you will either replace it or refund the money. The product, I am talking about, is a travel bag. I paid $270 for this product but unfortunately, this bag does not look like the one I saw on your website as far as its colour and design is concerned. In fact, the bag, I ordered online, was light yellow while the bag I have received is dark yellow. Besides, the fabric, which has been used inside the bag as an inner layer, looks to be of very poor quality. Finally, the design is not exactly the same and I wonder how could this happen! Anyway, I do not like to sound like a complaining person, trying to find faults in the bag I have purchased. So, I would highly appreciate it if you please replace this bag with a bag of better quality as well as with the colour and design that I had initially ordered for. But, if you do not have what I have been looking for, please make a full refund to me as soon as you can. Thank you in advance. Yours faithfully, Kelly Megan
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. State the complaint directly Original: writing this letter to let you know that I am not exactly very happy Suggested revision: writing to express my dissatisfaction Why it matters: The revision gives the company a clear and appropriately formal statement of purpose.
- 2. Correct the preposition Original: of Suggested revision: from Why it matters: “From” correctly indicates the company that supplied the product.
- 3. Use clear wording Original: eCommerce Suggested revision: online Why it matters: “Online store” is simple, standard wording for this formal complaint.
- 4. Use the standard phrase Original: refund the money Suggested revision: issue a refund Why it matters: Companies normally “issue a refund” when returning a customer's payment.
- 5. Use a concise comparison Original: does not look like Suggested revision: differs from Why it matters: The replacement compares the received bag with the advertised one more directly.
- 6. Punctuate the contrast Original: product but unfortunately, Suggested revision: product, but unfortunately, Why it matters: A comma is needed before “but” to join the two independent clauses.
- 7. Use concise wording Original: as far as its colour and design is concerned Suggested revision: in terms of its colour and design Why it matters: The replacement expresses the comparison more directly and avoids an agreement problem.
- 8. Remove unnecessary commas Original: the bag, I ordered online, Suggested revision: the bag I ordered online Why it matters: The identifying clause is essential to the meaning and should not be enclosed by commas.
- 9. Name the lining concisely Original: which has been used inside the bag as an inner layer Suggested revision: used as the bag's lining Why it matters: “Lining” already means the inner fabric layer, so the original wording is unnecessarily long.
- 10. Use formal phrasing Original: looks Suggested revision: appears Why it matters: “Appears to be” is more natural in a formal product complaint.
- 11. Correct indirect question order Original: I wonder how could this happen! Suggested revision: I wonder how this could have happened. Why it matters: An indirect question uses statement word order rather than inversion.
- 12. Use the conditional form Original: please Suggested revision: would Why it matters: “Would” completes the polite conditional request after “I would appreciate it”.
Suggested Rewrites
- writing this letter to let you know that I am not exactly very happy writing to express my dissatisfaction
- of from
- eCommerce online
- refund the money issue a refund
- does not look like differs from
- product but unfortunately, product, but unfortunately,
Why this response received Band 7.0
The complaint fully covers the purchase, the product defects, and the requested replacement or refund, with a consistently appropriate formal tone. The main limitation is the dense one-paragraph presentation, compounded by a few awkward grammatical patterns and repeated wording. The highest priority is to organise the complaint into clear sections and make the requested remedy more concise and grammatically controlled.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter clearly explains the purchase, specifies several discrepancies, and gives an appropriately conditional request for replacement or refund.
Make the desired replacement specifications slightly more concise so the company can identify the exact remedy immediately.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information follows a logical sequence and cohesive links are generally effective, but the lack of paragraph breaks makes the letter unnecessarily dense.
Separate the opening purpose, product problems, and requested resolution into distinct paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied and precise for a formal complaint, although product and bag are repeated and a few phrases sound cumbersome.
Use more economical wording and natural complaint vocabulary, such as item, lining, mismatch, and full refund.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a wide range of mostly accurate sentence structures, with occasional errors in punctuation, indirect-question order, and request phrasing.
Revise forms such as how this could happen and I would appreciate it if you could replace the bag.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently ordered an item through the Internet, but you are not happy with the product. Write to the company. In your letter:
- describe what you purchased
- explain why you are not happy with the product
- tell them what you would like them to do about it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.