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Letter

Band 8+: 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 were unhappy with the staff - suggest what action the train company should take

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Note: Both the topic and the answer were created by one of our users.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to complain about the worst customer service that I received yesterday at a Malibou train station. Despite the validity of my tickets, I was denied boarding by one of your staff members.

When I booked my tickets through your website, after making a huge sum of $1000, I only received a confirmation email saying my tickets are confirmed but not the QR code which I expected to be printed on the ticket itself.

Upon arriving at the station, I had a conversation with one of your staff members regarding the validity and authenticity of the email I received from your website. But they told me that the email is not sufficient as they need QR code to proceed with scanning and boarding. This was really frustrating situation for me, as I had an important business meeting scheduled that day.

I propose several actions be taken to address this issue. Firstly, a comprehensive evaluation of all the procedures and operations need to take place to identify the root cause behind issuing tickets. Secondly, I recommend a technician be appointed to investigate system issues with the website, so that the ticket is displayed in appropriate format.

I hope you will take immediate action to rectify this situation. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Lakshay

Word Count: 222

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Overall Band Score

8
(+/- 0.5)
Vocabulary Complexity:
C1 - Intricate
Strive to incorporate even richer and more precise language.
Grammar Mistakes: N/A
Vocabulary Repetition:
tickets: 4
received: 3
website: 3
email: 3
Try using synonyms for the above words

Task Response

7
The letter covers all three bullet points: it describes the ticket problem, expresses dissatisfaction with the staff, and suggests actions. The tone is formal and appropriate. However, there are some omissions and lapses: the problem description is slightly unclear (the email vs. QR code issue), the staff's unhelpfulness is not elaborated, and the suggested actions are more about system fixes than addressing the customer's immediate issue. To improve, clarify the ticket problem, explicitly state how the staff were unhelpful, and suggest a more direct resolution such as a refund or compensation.

Coherence & Cohesion

8
The letter is well-organized and easy to follow. The purpose is clear, and each paragraph has a distinct focus: the problem, the staff interaction, and suggested actions. Cohesive devices are used effectively, though a few transitions could be smoother. For example, the phrase 'But they told me' could be improved to 'However, they informed me' for a more formal and cohesive link. Overall, the message flows well and paragraphing is logical.

Lexical Resource

8
The vocabulary is appropriate and generally precise, with some good formal expressions such as 'I am writing to complain about' and 'I propose several actions be taken.' There is a minor issue with 'a huge sum of $1000' - 'huge sum' is slightly informal and could be replaced with 'a significant amount' or 'the full fare.' Also, 'Malibou' appears to be a misspelling of 'Malibu.' Overall, the range of vocabulary is good and conveys the message effectively.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

8
The letter demonstrates a good range of grammatical structures, including complex sentences and conditionals. There are only minor errors, such as 'This was really frustrating situation' (missing article 'a') and 'need to take place' (should be 'needs to take place' to agree with 'evaluation'). Punctuation is generally accurate. These minor issues do not impede understanding, and the overall control is strong.

Answers On The Same Topic:

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 were unhappy with the staff – suggest what action the train company should take

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