Complaint About Invalid Train Tickets and Unhelpful Staff

You recently bought some train tickets for a journey a week in advance. When you went to the station to catch the train, you were told you could not use the tickets and the staff were very unhelpful to you. Write a letter to the train company. In your letter: Describe the problem you had with the tickets Say why you were unhappy with the staff Suggest what action the train company should take

Annotated response

10 correction notes

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a I had with your train service recently.

Last week, I purchased train tickets for a journey a week in advance. However, upon arriving at the station on the day of travel, I was informed by your staff that .

deeply disappointed by the lack of assistance and when I . Despite explaining my situation, they were unhelpful and provided no to resolve the issue. I would like to suggest that the train company to address this matter. Firstly, there needs to be better communication between the ticket booking system and the station staff to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

I trust that you will take this matter seriously and implement the necessary measures to prevent such inconveniences

Yours faithfully,

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The letter's strongest aspect is its consistently formal register and accurate, flexible language that conveys the complaint clearly throughout. The main limitation is uneven development of the task content, particularly the action the company should take, where only one measure is proposed and the extended closing paragraph adds little substance.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points in an appropriate formal tone with relevant detail about the unusable tickets and unhelpful staff, but the suggested action is limited to a single measure, leaving the third point only partially developed.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas progress logically from purpose to problem to staff behaviour to recommendation, with cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'However', though 'Firstly' signals a list that is never continued.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and natural, including phrases like 'lack of assistance and professionalism', 'viable solutions', and 'implement the necessary measures', with only mildly formulaic wording such as 'I hope this letter finds you well'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A good range of structures is used accurately, including complex sentences with participial and adverbial clauses, with only a minor slip in 'lack of assistance and professionalism by your staff'.