General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Formal Letter to HR Regarding Employee Conduct Issues

You Have a Problem with A Recently Hired Employee in Your Workplace.

Write a Letter to The Hr Manager. In your letter:

describe the Issue the New Employee Has Caused
explain how Other Employees React to The New Employee's Conduct
say how You Expect the HR manager to Address the Situation

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Ms. Sterling,

I am writing to formally express my concerns regarding the professional conduct of our recently hired junior analyst, Mark Thompson, who joined the team two weeks ago.

Since his arrival, Mark has consistently struggled to adhere to workplace protocols. Specifically, he frequently interrupts ongoing client meetings with irrelevant personal anecdotes and has failed to meet three consecutive deadlines. His lack of preparation during briefings has caused confusion among our clients and has necessitated additional hours from the rest of the team to rectify his errors.

His behaviour has fostered a palpable sense of frustration within the department. Several colleagues have approached me to voice their concerns, noting that his dismissive attitude during collaborative tasks is undermining team morale. The general consensus is that his presence is currently disruptive to our collective productivity and professional standards.

I request that you initiate a formal review of his performance and consider implementing a structured mentorship programme to address these deficiencies. If his conduct does not improve significantly within the coming fortnight, I believe it would be prudent to reconsider his suitability for this role.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Miller

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

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all three bullet points with specific, sophisticated examples that maintain a professional, consistent tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to link the employee's specific behaviour to the wider impact on the team, often resulting in a vague complaint rather than a structured professional grievance.

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

palpable: so intense that it seems to be felt
rectify: to put something right or correct a mistake
dismissive: showing that something is unworthy of serious consideration
deficiencies: a lack or shortage of a required quality
prudent: acting with or showing care for the future
necessitated: made something necessary as a result

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.