You recently stayed in a hotel in a large city. The weather was very unusual for the time of year and the heating / cooling system in the hotel was quite inadequate. Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter: - give details of what went wrong - explain what you had to do to overcome the problem at the time - say what action you would like the manager to take
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,Dear Sir / Madam
I am writing in connection with my recent stay at the Four Seasons in London, England. Unfortunately, due to a malfunctioning heater in my room, I spent three miserable nights at your hotel from 26–29 April 2010April 26 – 29, 2010.
When I arrived in London, there was an unexpected snowstorm. I understand it does not usually snow inApril; however, when I got to my room, there was no heat. After complaining, a technician was sent up, who informed me they had to install a new heating unit. When I asked to be moved to another room, I was told the hotel was completely booked. Unfortunately, each night after work I returned to discover the problem had not been rectified. Eventually, I spent three extremelyhorribly uncomfortable nights, wearing my coat to bed, wearing socks around the room and ending up with a bad cold from the unheated room. I had no time to complain as I had to catch a flight home right after my conference.
I am shocked by this terrible service. This is not what anyone expects for $400 a night! To compensate me for this tremendous inconvenience, I ask that you refund my money promptlyright away and offer me a free, more comfortable stay in one of your betterfiner suites in the future. If this matter is not resolvedIf not, I am prepared to take my complaint to a higher authority.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenienceat the earliest,
Yours faithfully,
Mr John McFee
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter is persuasive and professionally organised, with specific details that fully explain the failed heating, the practical steps taken, and the compensation requested. Its main limitation is a small number of awkward grammatical and collocational choices within an otherwise fluent response. The best improvement would be to refine these local expressions and streamline the closing request while retaining the clear, appropriately firm tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the firm formal tone suits a complaint to a hotel manager.
Make the compensation request slightly more measured so that the closing remains persuasive as well as appropriately assertive.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the stay and fault through the attempted remedies to the requested resolution, with effective paragraphing and cohesive control.
Tighten the long sequence describing the three nights so that each consequence is presented with maximum economy.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary, including terms such as malfunctioning, rectified, and inconvenience, conveys the complaint forcefully with only minor awkwardness.
Replace less natural expressions such as at the earliest with fully idiomatic formal phrasing such as at your earliest convenience.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses a broad range of complex structures accurately, and the few awkward constructions do not impede communication.
Refine relative-clause attachment and parallel structure, particularly around the technician and the list of consequences.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently stayed in a hotel in a large city. The weather was very unusual for the time of year and the heating / cooling system in the hotel was quite inadequate. Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter:
- give details of what went wrong
- explain what you had to do to overcome the problem at the time
- say what action you would like the manager to take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.