You have bought a new mobile phone and in a few days of purchase, it has stopped working. You spoke to the company representative a week ago but it has still not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain the situation - say what action you would like the company to take
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to notify you that I recently purchasedhave recently purchased a brand-new mobile phone from your store and it stopped working after only a few daysstopped working after a week. I would like you to replaceI want you to replace this mobile phone with a new one under the terms of the warrantyas per the warranty clauses. Three weeks ago I purchased a brand-new Nokia X100 mobile phonebrand new Nokia X100 mobile phone from your Broadway Avenue store. I was excited to have it but soon became disheartenedsoon disheartened to find that it was a faulty product that stopped working just after a week's use. The problem with the mobile phone first appearedstarted to appear on 25th May and it is completely unusable now. I am very surprised to discover this issuesuch issues in an expensive model. ThereforeNaturally, I returned the phone to your store to request a replacementto be replaced with a new one. One of your staff told me that they would send a replacementwill send it to my home address within a week. However, a week has already passedtwo weeks have already passed and I have not received it yet. I am very disappointed with your poor after-sales service. The order number is 54875412 and I am attaching a copy of my receipt for you to look into it. Given this delayIn this regard, I insist on getting a full refund of the purchase amount if the I do not receive the replacementreplacement does not happen within seven dayswithin the next week. Thank you for your attention to this mattergiving the matter your attention and I hope to receivehear your reply soon. Yours faithfully, Joseph Mark
Why this response received Band 7.5
The complaint is detailed, appropriately firm, and supported with purchase, fault, and follow-up information, making the requested remedy clear. The main weakness is that the response presents slightly inconsistent timings and is delivered as one dense block despite its length. Organise it into purpose, history, and requested-action paragraphs, and align every date and delay precisely with the task situation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter establishes the complaint, explains the fault and unsuccessful follow-up in detail, and clearly requests replacement or refund in a suitable formal tone.
Align the purchase, failure, and contact timings exactly with the situation given in the task prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence from purchase to malfunction, promised replacement, delay, and remedy is easy to follow, but the entire letter forms one dense paragraph.
Separate the opening purpose, chronological account, and final demand into distinct functional paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is broad and appropriately formal, including precise complaint language, though repeated references to the mobile phone and a few stiff collocations limit flexibility.
Use concise referencing and more natural phrases in place of repeated nouns and expressions such as "giving the matter your attention."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is used accurately, and the few minor tense or reference lapses do not impede meaning.
Maintain consistent reported-time choices, for example using "would send" when recounting the staff member's promise.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have bought a new mobile phone and in a few days of purchase, it has stopped working. You spoke to the company representative a week ago but it has still not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain the situation
- say what action you would like the company to take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.