General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Letter to furniture company regarding damaged order

You recently ordered some wooden furniture online for your new apartment. However, when it arrived, several pieces were badly damaged.

Write a letter to the relevant person. In your letter:

say what you bought and when
describe the damage to the furniture
explain what you would like the company to do about this problem

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

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Customer Service Manager,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction regarding an order I placed on 12 October for a set of oak bedroom furniture, specifically the 'Nordic' bed frame and two matching bedside tables, under order reference #88492.

Upon delivery yesterday, I discovered that several components were severely damaged. The headboard of the bed frame has a deep, jagged scratch running across its length, and one of the bedside tables arrived with a completely shattered drawer front. Furthermore, several of the wooden panels appear warped, suggesting that the items were either stored in damp conditions or handled with extreme negligence during transit.

Given the high cost of these items and the state in which they arrived, they are currently unusable. I would appreciate it if you could arrange for a courier to collect the damaged goods at your earliest convenience. Additionally, I request a full refund of the purchase price, as I no longer have confidence in the quality of this specific product line.

I look forward to your prompt response regarding this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Thorne

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

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all three bullet points with a formal, professional tone and sophisticated vocabulary. A common Band 6 error is failing to provide specific details about the items or the damage, resulting in a vague response that does not fully satisfy the prompt's requirements.

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 about a service or product
reference: a unique number used to identify a specific order
negligence: failure to take proper care in doing something
unusable: not in a condition that allows for normal use
convenience: a time that is suitable or easy for someone
prompt: done without delay or happening very quickly

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.