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 this letter to express my disappointment with the induction stove that I purchased from your shop a couple of days ago. It worked initiallyI found it in working condition initially, but then, after a few hours of use,but then after a few hours of use, it malfunctioned. I contacted your shop the next morningI contacted your shop and was assured that there would be a quick solutionwas assured a quick solution but nothing has been done since then. I am hoping you would replace it with a newfresh one immediately. I was very excited to purchase it but disappointed to find that it had a manufacturing faultmanufacturing flaws. While using the stove, I tried to increase the operating temperature. But I could not do so and it takes much longer than it shouldit takes a much longer time than needed to cook anything. I am distressed that the product failed to serve its main purposethe sole purpose for its purchase failed and I ended up purchasing a faulty product. The invoice number is 254107 and I am attaching the receipt with this letter. I called the customer service representativecustomer care officer of your store but he failed to propose any solution despite his assurance. It would be great if you could replace my faulty induction stove with a new one since it has a valid warranty for two years. I think this matter deserves your attention and I hope you will address this problem immediatelyand so address this problem immediately. I look forward to hearing from you soonLooking forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Nivetha Kumar
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter communicates the complaint clearly, gives specific evidence about the stove's malfunction, and makes a firm, appropriate request for replacement under warranty. Its main weakness is incomplete coverage of when the phone call occurred, while the single-paragraph presentation and a few awkward expressions reduce polish. State the exact day or date of the call first, then organise the complaint into distinct paragraphs and refine the request language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The complaint identifies the induction stove, describes the fault, says the shop gave no solution, and requests a replacement under warranty. It responds well overall, but the prompt asks when the phone call happened and the answer only says it happened after purchase.
Add the exact day or date when you called the shop so every bullet point is clearly covered.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter has a logical complaint sequence, but it is one paragraph and some sentence links are abrupt.
Use separate paragraphs for purchase details, fault and phone call, and requested remedy.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is generally strong for a complaint, including 'malfunctioned', 'invoice', and 'valid warranty'. Some phrases are unnatural or overgeneralised.
Use precise complaint collocations such as 'faulty appliance', 'customer service representative', and 'resolve the issue'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most grammar is clear, though some sentences need smoother clause connection and modal control.
Check sentence endings and avoid joining requests with incomplete structures.
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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.