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Band 6.5 vs Band 7.5: General Training Task 1 — Complaint Letter

The same prompts, answered at different band levels. From 6.0 to 7.5, the gap is rarely knowledge — it is the one criterion capping the score: progression, precision or control. These samples are static study material, free to read.

General Training Task 1 — Complaint Letter

You recently stayed at a hotel for two nights and were unhappy with the service. Write a letter to the hotel manager. In your letter: describe the problems you experienced, explain how they affected your stay, and say what you would like the hotel to do.

Band 6.5

Dear Manager,

I am writing to complain about my stay at your hotel last weekend. I stayed in room 214 for two nights, and I had many problems.

First, the air conditioning in my room did not work. The room was very hot and I could not sleep well. I told the reception two times, but nobody came to fix it. Second, the breakfast was cold and there were not many choices. Also, the shower water was sometimes cold, sometimes too hot.

Because of these problems, I was tired in my meeting on Saturday and I did not enjoy my trip. I paid a lot of money for this hotel, so I think the service should be better.

Please give me back some money for the first night, and please check the rooms before guests come. I hope you will answer me soon.

Yours faithfully, Daniel Kim

Band 7.5

Dear Manager,

I am writing to express my disappointment with a two-night stay at your hotel last weekend (room 214, 14–16 June), during which several problems went unresolved despite being reported.

The most serious was the air conditioning, which did not work at all. The room remained uncomfortably warm, and although I reported the fault to reception on Friday evening and again on Saturday morning, no one came to inspect it. The shower was also unreliable, running alternately cold and scalding, and breakfast on both days was served lukewarm with very little choice remaining by 9 a.m.

I was in town for a business meeting on Saturday, and two nights of poor sleep left me tired and unable to concentrate as I should have. For a hotel at this price point, I do not think working climate control and a hot breakfast are unreasonable expectations.

I would appreciate a refund for the first night, when the faults were first reported, and an assurance that room checks now cover air conditioning and water temperature before guests arrive. I have kept my booking confirmation and would be happy to provide it.

Yours faithfully, Daniel Kim

Where the band is won

Task Achievement: Both letters cover all three points and ask for a refund. The 7.5 letter adds the specifics an examiner rewards: room number, dates, and a precise remedy tied to when the fault was reported; the 6.5 request is vaguer ('some money').

Coherence & Cohesion: 6.5 lists problems with 'First / Second / Also' and jumps between them. 7.5 orders them by seriousness ('The most serious was…'), links cause to effect in a separate impact paragraph, and only then makes the request.

Lexical Resource: 6.5 recycles simple words ('very hot', 'a lot of money', 'many problems'). 7.5 uses exact collocations: 'went unresolved', 'alternately cold and scalding', 'at this price point', 'booking confirmation'.

Grammar: 7.5 controls passives ('was served'), conditionals of expectation ('I do not think … are unreasonable expectations') and relative clauses without errors; 6.5 is accurate but built almost entirely from short simple sentences.

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