Think about what vocabulary you need

Vocabulary is 25% of your score, so it makes sense to think about what words you need – the clue is always in the question. My suggestion is that you should brainstorm some language before you start writing. If you do not do this, you might use too simple vocabulary or repeat words too much. this should also give you ideas for writing. Here are the words I found:

mobile phone: handset/text/camera phone/smart phone/message/screen

website/internet: online/connect

bought: purchase/customer/shop/store/product/service/cost/price

faulty: not work/malfunction/break/unreliable

Complaining language

Letters of complaint are quite common and it is sensible to prepare some language to help you write them. Here are some simple variations:

I am writing to complain

I must complain

I would like to complain

My complaint is

I am unhappy with

I am dissatisfied with

Unfortunately,

Structuring the letter

Generally, IELTS letters are quite easy to organise as you just need to follow the 3 different points the question asks you to write about and use a paragraph for each one of them. If you do this, you make sure that you get a good Task Response score by answering the question fully. Two points to remember (and these are good for life and not just IELTS):

The introduction

You should say clearly what the purpose of the letter is. The standard language in a more formal letter like this is:

I am writing to [complain]

The conclusion

You should say what you expect to happen next. This will normally involve asking the other person to contact you in some way. Again, there is standard language here:

I look forward to

Note that if you use this phrase with a verb following it, the verb needs to be in an -ing form (eg “I look forward to hearing form you”).