You recently bought a piece of equipment for your kitchen but it did not work. You phoned the shop but no action was taken. Write a letter to the shop manager. In your letter: - describe the problem with the equipment - explain what happened - when you phoned the shop - say what you would like the manager to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a blender machine that I purchased from your store and the poor customer service I received afterwards. I hope you willI am hoping you would replace the faulty product, and that you will improve your customer service as welland improve your customer service as well. On 12 May, I purchasedLast week, I purchased a ‘White Line’ blender from your Madison Avenue storefrom your store from your Madison Avenue store. WhenAfter I brought it home and tried to make a smoothie in it, the blades jammedthe blades got clogged and have not been functioning properly since then even after I cleaned themit properly. Feeling shockedIn shock and awe, I called customer servicethe customer service, but I was told by the salesperson that the shop could do nothing about itshe could do nothing about it as she wasis not responsible for any problems that arose after I took the product homemay arise after taking the product home. Since this purchase was expensivehad cost me a small fortune, I have been veryinordinately stressed about the situation. My intention in writing this letter is to request you to replace this faulty blenderthis broken blender of mine with a new one as I have a three-year warranty on this blender. FurthermoreFurther, I expect you to issue a formal warningshow-cause notice to your salesperson about her rude behaviourcoarse demeanour towards me. I anticipate prompt remedial action from youfrom your side. Yours faithfully,
Sam Adams
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter presents a clear complaint, explains the blender fault and poor service, and makes a specific request for replacement using a generally appropriate formal tone. Its main limitation is incomplete task coverage because the timing of the phone call is never stated, while dense paragraphing and some overdramatic phrasing reduce polish. The highest-priority improvement is to add the exact call timing and organize the complaint into focused paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The complaint explains the faulty blender, poor service, and requested replacement. However, it does not clearly say when the shop was phoned.
Add the exact phone-call timing, such as “I called your shop the same afternoon”.
Coherence and Cohesion
The complaint structure is logical, but paragraphing and repeated wording reduce polish.
Use paragraphs for purchase/problem, phone call, and requested action.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is fairly strong, but some phrases are overdramatic or unnatural for a consumer complaint.
Prefer precise formal wording over phrases such as “in shock and awe”.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is generally clear, with errors in repetition, pronoun agreement, and punctuation.
Check repeated phrases and agreement with plural nouns like “blades”.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently bought a piece of equipment for your kitchen but it did not work. You phoned the shop but no action was taken. Write a letter to the shop manager. In your letter:
- describe the problem with the equipment
- explain what happened
- when you phoned the shop
- say what you would like the manager to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.