There have been several complaints about the reception area where visitors to your company arrive. Your manager has asked you to suggest how the reception area could be improved. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter: - describe the complaints that have been made - say why the reception area is important - suggest how the reception area could be improved
Sample Response
Dear Mr Michael, I am writing with regard to the complaints we have received about our reception area over the past few weeks from our visitors. I have reviewedpersonally looked at the complaint logs and would like to share my suggestions to address the problem. Visitors who used our reception areaPeople who had to deal with our reception area mostly expressed their dissatisfaction withabout congestionthe congestion and delays in receiving servicedelay in getting service. They also complained stronglyvehemently complained about the lack of proper seatingsitting arrangements. Finally, many of them were dissatisfied becauseas we do not have a desk or suitable areaa desk and arrangement for filling in forms in the reception room. Needless to say, the reception area and the service provided there represent our company's image. This is the first place thatwhere a potential client visits and if we fail to make a good impression, we will likely failif we fail to give a good impression, we would surely fail to increase our client base. As a solution, I would suggest that we need to extend our reception area and hire a second receptionist. Perhaps, we can incorporate the adjacent room intoannex the adjacent room to the existing reception area and provide a desk with papers, pens and other amenities so that visitors can easily fill inup the forms. Thank you for giving the matter a top priority and I hope you would consider my suggestions to keep our visitors' complaints to a minimumto the minimum level. Yours sincerely, Christie Barlow
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses all three requirements, with particularly effective detail about congestion, seating, paperwork, and practical remedies. Its main weakness is that several collocations and conditional forms are awkward, while the unbroken paragraph reduces the visibility of the task stages. The highest priority is to separate complaints, importance, and solutions into clear paragraphs and refine formal phrasing so the otherwise professional message sounds consistently natural.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the respectful managerial tone is sustained effectively.
Refine the salutation and closing request so every element of the letter follows conventional professional usage.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from complaints to importance and solutions, although presenting the entire letter as one paragraph weakens structural clarity.
Use separate paragraphs for the opening purpose, complaints, business importance, proposed improvements, and closing request.
Lexical Resource
A flexible range of formal vocabulary conveys specific concerns and remedies, with occasional awkward collocations such as sitting arrangements and minimum level.
Use more natural combinations such as seating arrangements, a form-filling desk, prioritise this matter, and minimise complaints.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied complex structures are generally accurate and easy to follow, but a few conditional and verb-pattern choices are imperfect.
Keep conditional forms consistent, for example if we fail, we will fail, and use I hope you will consider for the closing request.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
There have been several complaints about the reception area where visitors to your company arrive. Your manager has asked you to suggest how the reception area could be improved. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:
- describe the complaints that have been made
- say why the reception area is important
- suggest how the reception area could be improved
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.