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 disappointment with a kitchen appliance that I recently purchased from your store. Unfortunately, the applianceequipment stopped working on the very first occasionthe very first time I tried to use it.
The applianceitem is a blender that I bought last week. Having followedAfter following the instructions carefully, I plugged it in and pressed the power button, but it failed to startwould not start. I also checked the power supply and tried another socket, however,yet the problem remained. As a result, I have been unable to use the product at all.
On the day followingThe day after I discovered the problem, I called your customer service department to ask for assistance. The staff member who answered the phone told me that someone would contact me within two days to arrange a replacement or repair. However, it has now been over a week, and I have received neither a phone call nor any further informationneither received a phone call nor any further information.
I would appreciate it if you could arrange either a full refund or a replacement as soon as possible. I also hope you will improve your customer service so that similar situations can be handled more efficiently in the future.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours faithfully,
John Smith
Why this response received Band 8.0
This is an exceptionally well-written letter that fully addresses all parts of the prompt with an appropriate formal tone and clear structure. The narrative flows logically from describing the faulty blender to explaining the failed phone call and requesting a resolution. To further elevate the writing, the candidate could incorporate slightly more sophisticated vocabulary and complex grammatical structures.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fully addresses all bullet points with relevant, realistic details and maintains a consistently polite, formal tone appropriate for a complaint to a manager.
To improve further, you could include specific details like a transaction date or model number to make the scenario even more realistic.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically organized into clear paragraphs, and cohesive devices are used naturally to transition between the problem, the phone call, and the requested action.
Maintain this high standard of paragraphing and logical progression in all your letter-writing tasks.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is precise, natural, and highly appropriate for the context, featuring terms like 'kitchen appliance', 'customer service department', and 'prompt reply'.
Try to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items or idiomatic collocations related to consumer rights and product issues.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response demonstrates a wide range of grammatical structures, including complex sentences and conditional forms, with excellent control over punctuation and grammar.
Continue practicing complex structures, such as inversion or advanced passive forms, to add further variety to your writing.
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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.