Letter

Band 7+: You recently purchased a product online from a company but received the wrong item. Write a letter to the company apologizing for the inconvenience they may have experienced due to your previous email, which was written in frustration. You should describe: - What item you ordered and what you received instead - Why you are now apologizing for your previous communication - What action you would like the company to take to resolve the issue

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Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction regarding the incorrect goods I received following my online order placed on 25th May, and I would appreciate your urgent attention to this matter.

The reason for my concern is I ordered two packs of protein bars which contains 24 bars in each container. However, today I received my parcel and open it and found out these are energy drink sachets. I specifically order chocolate chips protein bars from your website, which also contains 18 grams of protein in each bar.

Furthermore, I would like to mention that this order was a gift for my brother for his 20th birthday, which is on 30th May. In addition, he is allergic to energy drinks, so I am unable to gift this to him. As far as I read your policies online it says you will do a free exchange for my order. That is why, I request you to exchange my items within two days and send this to my same address.

I will look forward to your prompt response to this letter.

Yours faithfully,

Tia.

Word Count: 185

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Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B1 - Intermediate
Using more sophisticated words could be beneficial.

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:

order: 4

protein: 3

which: 3

Try using synonyms for the above words

Task Response

The letter addresses all parts of the task effectively. You clearly described the item ordered versus the item received, explained the impact of the mistake (the birthday deadline and the allergy), and provided a clear solution. The tone is appropriately formal for a letter to a customer service manager. To improve and reach a higher score, ensure better grammatical precision in verb tenses (e.g., 'I specifically ordered' instead of 'I specifically order' and 'I opened it' instead of 'open it') and refine sentence structures to avoid minor awkwardness, such as 'which contains' vs 'which contain' when referring to plural items.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter is logically organized, and the progression of ideas follows the task requirements well. You have used cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'That is why' to link your points. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to integrate your ideas more naturally so the flow feels less like a list of sentences and more like a continuous narrative. For example, instead of starting a new sentence with 'In addition' to explain the allergy, you could combine it with the previous sentence to show a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Lexical Resource

You have used a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal complaint, such as 'formally express my dissatisfaction', 'urgent attention', and 'prompt response'. To reach a higher band, aim for more precise and sophisticated word choices. For instance, instead of saying 'found out these are energy drink sachets', you could use 'discovered that the contents were actually energy drink sachets'. Also, ensure that your word choices are used with consistent accuracy regarding collocations.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are several errors in verb tense and subject-verb agreement that detract from the overall quality. For example, 'which contains' should be 'which contain' (plural), 'I specifically order' should be 'I specifically ordered' (past tense), and 'open it and found out' should be 'opened it and found out'. Pay close attention to maintaining consistent tense usage, especially when describing a sequence of past events. Improving your control over these fundamental grammatical aspects will significantly boost your score.

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Task Response

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Lexical Resource

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

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Task Response

Coherence & Cohesion

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