INTENSIVE COURSE

GENERAL TRAINING MATERIAL

WRITING TASK 1 – SUPPLEMENT LESSON
UNDERSTANDING THE TASK 1 QUESTION
General Task 1 questions are made up of 3 different parts (please see below).

1. The first is usually 1-2 sentence(s) long and gives some background information on why the letter is
being written.

2. The second part instructs the student to write a letter and often indicates the nature and tone the
student is expected to display.

3. The third part of the question shares specific details that the student must elaborate upon.

 It is important that the student completely understands each section of the question to ensure
their answer fulfills it properly.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
 FORMAL AND INFORMAL
1. The most significant differences between 2 tones lie in opening part and ending parts of the
letter.

2. The next noticeable distinction between these tones is the content of its first and last paragraphs.

Formal Informal

The first paragraph should be short and state The first paragraph should be a warm
the purpose of the letter- to make an greeting, which most likely asks about the
enquiry, complain, request something, etc. situation of the receiver and shows some of
your regards.

The last paragraph of a formal letter should

state what action you expect the recipient to
take- to refund, send you information, etc.

3. The rest of the work to differentiate the tone will depend on how you use vocabulary and
grammar.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
LETTER STUCTURE EXPLAINED
Although the purpose and tone of your IELTS letter may vary, the structure you will follow will not.
Because letters address their reader directly, they are structured in a manner that allows them to be
extremely concise without sacrificing courtesy.

A complete letter has five parts. You should skip a line between each to ensure it is clear where one part
finishes and another begins. The five parts of a letter are

1. The salutation is the greeting portion of the letter. On the IELTS exam, this portion will be written for
you. Common salutations you will see on your exam are:

2. The statement of
purpose is the short paragraph that you will write to tell your reader why you are writing. This section is
typically only 1 or 2 sentences long.

3. The situational details paragraph is the portion of the letter where you will expand and explain the
particulars of your position to your reader.

4. The statement of request is the part of the letter where you declare what you hope will be accomplished
as a result of your writing.

5. The farewell is the few words you write to close your letter. Tailoring your farewell to the subject of your
letter is an additional way to demonstrate your lexical abilities in English to your examiner. Some example
farewells are:

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
To demonstrate these parts in action, please look at the following letter:

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
LETTER OF COMPLAINT

 As explained, all letters in IELTS Task 1 General Training should be written in at least 5 parts.

Depend on the number of requirements listed in the topic question, part 3 and 4 can be divided into
several independent paragraph to meet the demands of the task.

In case there is no bullet points or extra requirements in the question form but only the situation which
need to be complain about, or even if there are those, you can use this strategy to expand your writing:

 A formal letter of complaint is written to complain about a problem which has risen (e.g. faulty
merchandise, rude staff, inaccurate information, etc). It should explain the reasons for the
complaint, and usually includes a suggestion/request/demand concerning what should be done
(e.g. refund, compensation, etc).

 The nature of the complaint should be clearly stated in the first paragraph. Each aspect of the topic
(the bullet points in the topic sentences) should be presented in a separate paragraph containing a
clear topic sentence. Each complaint/request/demand should be supported by clear justification.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
 Mild or strong language can be used depending on the writer’s feelings and the seriousness of the
complaint, but abusive language must never be used. Below are some useful expression which should be
utilized as template to support your fast-writing:

To begin letters:

Mild complaint

I am writing to |complaint about| / |draw your attention to| (the problem of)………….

express my |disappointment| / |dissatisfaction| with ……………………

Strong complaint

I am writing to express my |annoyance| / |exteme dissatisfation with| / |anger at| / |protest about|

I |regret to| / |feel I | must inform you how appalled/ shocked I was

To end letters:

Mild complaint

I hope/trust this matter will be dealt with/resolved as soon as possible.

receive your immediate attention.

not be treated lightly.

I feel that you should …. /

I am entitled to compensation/ a refund/ a replacement.

Strong complaint

I must insist on…/ insist that…/ demand…/ warn you that …..

Unless this matter is resolved…

Or unless satisfactory compensation is offered … I will have no choice but to …./ I will be forced to take further legal
action.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
LINKING WORDS:
Complaints and justifications can be linked together as follows TO EMPHASIZE YOUR SITUATION:

 I purchased the camcorder only a month ago but the rewind button does not function properly.

 I purchased the camcorder a month ago. Nevertheless, / However, the rewind button does not

function properly.

 The rewind button does not function properly in spite of/ despite the fact that I purchased the

camcorder only a month ago.

 Although/ even though I purchased the camcorder only a month ago, the rewind button does not

function properly.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
 PRACTICE EXERCISES
1. Read the instructions and model letter, and complete the paragraph plan that follows, identifying the
topic of each paragraph. Then, fill in the blanks in the letter with the words and phrases below, as in the
example. Some of the words can be used more than once.

In the meantime, therefore, not only… but also, while, nevertheless, thus, furthermore, as a result, although, since

Dear Mr Seward,

It is with regret that I feel I must write to express my disappointment at the quality of food and service I
received at your restaurant yesterday evening.

(1) _______ your food is usually of a very high standard I felt that, on this occasion, the meal left a lot to be
desired. The preparation and presentation seemed hurried and careless. (2) _______ , neither my guest
nor I felt inclined to finish our meal.

(3) _______ , the service was not what I have come to expect from your establishment. Our waiter was
rather inattentive and slow, (4) _______ in taking our order in bringing the dishes. (5) _______ the
reason for my visit was to entertain a client, I was somewhat disturbed at the apparent fall in standards.
On the basis of my previous experience of your restaurant, I had promised my guest an especially
memorable dinner, and was (6) _______ deeply embarrassed to be proved entirely wrong.

Might I suggest that, as the manager, it would be advisable for you to oversee the preparation of food
personally. (7) _______ I realize the work involved in running a restaurant is very demanding, I (8)
_______ feel that the standard of the food served is of utmost importance. I would recommend, (9)
_______ , that you give this matter your urgent attention.

Regarding the service, I would suggest that you speak to the waiter concerned to ensure that other
customers are not similarly inconvenienced. This would help your restaurant maintain its well-deserved
reputation.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible. (10) _______ , I hope you will take my comments
into consideration.

Your sincerely,

P.A Hogan

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
2. Read the instructions below and the beginnings and endings from letters of complaint. Then match the
beginnings and endings and say whether the language in each pair is mild, strong or abusive. Which level of
language would be most appropriate for the situation described?

You recently travelled by coach and were very disappointed with the service provided by the staff, and the
delays you encountered. Write a letter to the company to complain and to demand compensation.

1| Head Office Hanoi

ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
1| Head Office Hanoi
ZIM Building, 130F Thai Thinh 2 (65 Yen Lang), Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Dist, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Office
ZIM Building, 308 Tran Phu, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City