Part – The topic. Part – The person you must write to. Part – What you should write about

Complaint letter

All questions for IELTS letters have the same structure. They are made up of 3 parts.

Part 1 – The topic.
Part 2 – The person you must write to.
Part 3 – What you should write about (listed as 3 bullet points).

There is a problem with the changing rooms in the sports centre that you visit. You have complained several times but with no success. Write a letter to the manager of the sports centre. In your letter: describe what the problem with the changing rooms is say what happened the last times you complained explain what you want the manager to do.

The topic Who you should write to What you should write about

Here is a sample question for a letter of complaint with the 3 parts illustrated.
Letter structure
The layout of your IELTS complaint letter should follow the structure of the question and consist of four paragraphs with a greeting at the beginning and a signoff at the end.
Use this easy to remember 6 part structure.
1) Dear .....
2) Paragraph 1: Purpose – why you are writing
3) Paragraph 2: Write about 1^st bullet point
4) Paragraph 3: Write about 2^nd bullet point
5) Paragraph 4: Write about 3^rd bullet point
6) Signoff

Paragraph 1

In the first paragraph, you must state the reason for writing the letter, that is, its purpose.
Paragraph 1: Purpose – to complain about the sports centre changing rooms
. Here are 4 different phrases you could use to start an IELTS complaint letter.

• 
  I am very unhappy with / about….
  

• 
  I am writing to complain about….
  

• 
  I am extremely dissatisfied with / about
  

• 
  I write to express my disappointment…
  

Practice Question

You live in a room in college which you share with another student. There are many problems with this arrangement and you find it difficult to work.
Write a letter to the accommodation officer at the college. In the letter:

• 
  describe the situation
  
• 
  explain the problems and why is it difficult to work
  
• 
  say how you would like the situation resolved