When people need to complain about a product or poor service, some prefer to complain in writing and others prefer to complain in person. Which method do you think is more effective? Why?
Sample Response
TodayIn today's society, there are many ways for consumers to complain about poor service or faulty productspoor service or products. While some people choose to complain in writing, others prefer to complain in personvoice their complaints in person. In my opinion, complaining in person is a more effective method than complaining in writingmore effective method than writing a complaint.
Firstly, when a customer complains in person, they have the opportunity to explain their situation and describe the problem in detail. They can also provide evidence or examplesprovide visual evidence or examples to support their complaint. This can be helpful for the person or business receiving the complaint to fully understand the issue and make the necessary changes to prevent it from happening in the future.
Secondly, complaining in person may allow the issue to be resolved immediatelyallows for immediate resolution of the issue. If a customer writes a complaint, it may take some time before the company responds, and the process of back-and-forth communication can be time-consuming. When a customer complains in person, the issue can be resolved on the spot, which can lead to a quicker and more satisfactory outcomefaster and more satisfactory resolution for both the customer and the company.
There are potential drawbacksThere could be some potential drawbacks to complaining in person. For example, a customer may not feel comfortable or confident enough to complain face to facecomplain face-to-face. Additionally, if the person receiving the complaint is not trained to handle complaints, the situation could escalate and become confrontational.
In conclusion, while there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, I believe that complaining in person is a more effective way to voice a complaint. It allows for clear communication and immediate resolution, which can lead to a more satisfactory outcome for both partiesboth parties involved.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay’s strongest feature is its clear, consistent preference for in-person complaints, supported by well-organised reasons about fuller explanation and faster resolution. Its main limitation is that the support remains fairly general and repeatedly uses the same words for complaints, issues, and resolutions. Prioritise adding one specific consumer scenario that directly contrasts the two methods, while varying key vocabulary and tightening the brief counterargument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers both questions, maintains a clear preference, and develops two relevant reasons while acknowledging credible drawbacks.
Strengthen the comparison with one concrete example showing why an in-person complaint succeeds where a written one would be slower or less clear.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are logically sequenced in focused paragraphs, and cohesive links guide the reader clearly from position through reasons, qualification, and conclusion.
Integrate the ‘Firstly’ and ‘Secondly’ points with slightly less formulaic transitions for an even smoother argument.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is clear, appropriate, and sufficiently varied, though ‘complaint’, ‘issue’, and ‘resolution’ are repeated frequently.
Vary recurring terms with precise alternatives such as ‘grievance’, ‘problem’, ‘remedy’, and ‘settlement’ where context permits.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of simple and complex structures is used accurately, with strong control and virtually no meaning-affecting errors.
Refine a few long sentences by reducing repeated subordinate clauses while preserving the existing accuracy.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
When people need to complain about a product or poor service, some prefer to complain in writing and others prefer to complain in person. Which method do you think is more effective? Why?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.