There is a problem with the changing rooms in the sports centre that you visit. You have complained several times but with no success. Write a letter to the manager of the sports centre. In your letter: - Describe what the problem with the changing room is - Say what happened the last times you complained - Explain what you want the manager to do
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you, to lodge a complaint, about the state of the changing rooms in your sportssport facility. I have been registered to you center for six months now. My first two months, using your facilities were excellent. However, in the past four months, I have been very dissatisfied thatvery dissatisfied, about the fact that, most, if not all, of the changing roomsmost of, if not all of the changing rooms, have faulty doors. Theirtheir locks no longer work properly. I had initially made complaintslaid complains, on two separate occasions at the customer service desk. However, this issue has still not beenbe resolved. InAt the first instance, I was just told thattold, that the locks were going to be fixed at the end of the month, but that was over two months ago. Notwithstanding, a week ago, I went to lodge the same complaintcomplain, and also explainedexplain, that they had promised and failed to fix the locks over two months ago; and I was told that Itold that, I did not follow the proper procedure. I therefore filled out a form with details of the fault, and returned it to be handled appropriately. I am disappointed to say, this problem has still not been resolvedthis problem, has still not be resolved. I would like to requestwill kindly request that you personally handleyou, personally handle this issue. I wouldwill like for the locks to be repaired, or preferably replaced, as the old ones, seem to be of low quality. If this is not done by the endIf this is not done, by the end of this month, I am afraid I willI am afraid, I will have to cancel my membership with your sports center. I look forward to hearing from you, with an explanation of why the locks, have not been fixed, and a resolution to this problem. Yours faithfully, Susan Wright
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter fully explains the faulty locks, recounts both unsuccessful complaints, and makes a clear, appropriately firm request for action. Its main weakness is persistent grammatical and punctuation inaccuracy, compounded by the absence of clear paragraph divisions; prioritising accurate sentence boundaries, verb forms, and a concise paragraph structure would make this otherwise detailed complaint substantially more professional and readable.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are developed with relevant detail, and the formal, firm tone suits a complaint to a manager.
Remove minor repetition and present the requested remedy and deadline more concisely for greater impact.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account progresses logically from the problem through earlier complaints to the requested solution, although it is presented as one dense block and some linking is mechanical.
Organise the letter into clear purpose, complaint-history, and requested-action paragraphs, using fewer heavy transitions.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a useful range of complaint-related vocabulary, but recurring word-form and collocation errors reduce precision.
Correct combinations such as registered at the centre, made complaints, and on the first occasion, while checking complaint against complain.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mixture of simple and complex structures conveys the message clearly, but frequent comma misuse, agreement errors, and faulty verb forms weaken control.
Prioritise complete sentence boundaries and accurate forms such as has still not been resolved and I would like.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
There is a problem with the changing rooms in the sports centre that you visit. You have complained several times but with no success. Write a letter to the manager of the sports centre. In your letter:
- Describe what the problem with the changing room is
- Say what happened the last times you complained
- Explain what you want the manager to do
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.