General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Formal complaint letter to school director regarding course

You are attending a course at an evening school.

Write a letter to the director of the school with a complaint about the course. In your letter:

describe the course you are taking
explain what you don't like about the course
give your opinion about what should be done about it

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the 'Advanced Digital Marketing' evening course I am currently attending at your institution.

When I enrolled in this programme, I expected a curriculum focused on contemporary analytics and strategic SEO implementation. However, the current syllabus relies heavily on outdated textbooks from 2015, which fail to address the complexities of modern social media algorithms or current industry software. I feel the content is significantly behind the times.

Furthermore, the instructional quality has been disappointing. The lecturer frequently cancels sessions with little notice, and when classes do proceed, the material is delivered via read-aloud slides rather than through interactive workshops. This lack of practical engagement makes it nearly impossible to develop the hands-on skills necessary for my professional development.

To rectify this, I believe the school should provide access to updated digital resources and compensate students for the missed sessions by extending the course duration at no additional cost. Alternatively, I would appreciate a partial refund for the tuition fees paid.

I look forward to your prompt response regarding this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Miller

184 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

This response reaches Band 8 by addressing all bullet points with specific examples, maintaining a consistently professional tone, and using precise vocabulary. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a clear, actionable solution, or becoming overly emotional rather than maintaining a formal, objective stance.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

dissatisfaction: a feeling of unhappiness because expectations were not met
contemporary: belonging to or occurring in the present time
outdated: old-fashioned and no longer useful or correct
instructional quality: the standard of how well something is taught
rectify: to put something right or correct a mistake
tuition fees: the money paid for instruction at a school

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.