General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Formal complaint letter to internet service provider: IELTS formal letter sample

An IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 formal letter with a Band 8 sample answer, why it scores well and the phrases worth borrowing for your own letter writing.
  • 189 words
  • Formal letters
  • Complaint
  • 20 minutes
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The task

Your internet connection has been slow and intermittent for the last couple of days, and it affects your work.

Write a letter to your internet service provider to complain about it. In your letter:

  • →describe the problem
  • →say how it affects your work
  • →arrange for a service engineer to visit your home and fix the problem

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

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8189 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Customer Support Team,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction regarding the consistently poor quality of my broadband service over the past 72 hours. My account number is 8849201.

Since Tuesday morning, the connection has been extremely sluggish, with speeds dropping well below the minimum guarantee stated in my contract. Furthermore, the signal is highly intermittent; the router frequently disconnects, requiring a manual reboot every few hours. This instability makes it impossible to maintain a stable browsing experience.

This disruption is severely affecting my professional responsibilities. As I work remotely as a freelance data analyst, I am required to upload large datasets to a secure cloud server. The current outages have resulted in significant delays in my project submissions, and I have already missed two critical video conferences with international clients due to the connection dropping during calls.

I request that you schedule a service engineer to visit my residence at your earliest convenience to conduct a diagnostic check and resolve these connectivity issues. Please contact me via telephone to confirm an appointment time. I look forward to a prompt resolution to this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur Pendelton

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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.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response covers all three bullet points with a clear, professional tone and specific, relevant details that justify the complaint. The most common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a concrete example of how the work is impacted, resulting in a generic letter that lacks development.

  • →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.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

  • intermittent

    occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady

  • sluggish

    lacking speed or efficiency; slow in movement

  • instability

    the state of being unreliable or liable to change

  • remote

    situated far from the main centre of work

  • diagnostic

    concerned with the identification of the nature of problems

  • prompt

    done without delay; immediate or quick in action

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 many words 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.

What does the examiner look for?+

A Band 8 response covers all three bullet points with a clear, professional tone and specific, relevant details that justify the complaint. The most common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide a concrete example of how the work is impacted, resulting in a generic letter that lacks development.

Keep practising

More complaint letters

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