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Writing: explain a problem and request a solution
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Make the next action possible
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A problem email needs to let someone investigate and respond. Before writing, identify what happened, evidence, effect and requested action.
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Check whether you can distinguish a fact from an assumption: The screen went black twice is observed; You sold me a broken machine assumes the cause.
Describe what you know. Ask for a useful next step without inventing certainty.
An email with evidence
Hello, I bought desk lamp L24 from your shop on 6 May. Since yesterday, it has switched off after about ten minutes on three occasions. I have checked the plug and tried another socket. I need it for evening study. Could you advise me on arranging a repair or replacement? I can provide the receipt. Kind regards, Alex Chen.
- The product and date help the shop identify the purchase. Repeated observations support the problem. Checks already tried prevent an unhelpful first reply. The request leaves room for a workable solution.
Which statement matches the evidence in the lamp example?
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Three observed failures support the first claim. They do not establish never or a defect across all lamps.
Repair a complaint that cannot be investigated
- Compare: Your lamp is terrible. It always fails. Fix everything immediately.
Always overstates three observations, and everything does not identify a repair. Anger gives the reader little to investigate.
- Repair: It switched off after about ten minutes on three occasions. Could you explain how I can arrange a repair? You could ask for a replacement instead; the suitable remedy depends on the situation, not on one compulsory phrase.
Which detail should go in the photography support email?
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The failure point helps troubleshooting. A support message should not disclose a password, and the hobbies do not help resolve playback.
Organise before drafting
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Plan two short paragraphs. Paragraph 1: identify the item and describe the problem with evidence. Paragraph 2: explain the effect and ask for a specific next step.
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Use since for the starting point of an ongoing problem. Use on three occasions when that is what you observed. Check that every detail helps the recipient respond.
Which request fits the locked-room problem?
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The first addresses the access problem. Replacement belongs to a different context; deliberately attributes an unproven intention.
Try a fresh problem
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Situation: You joined an online photography course last Monday. Two lesson videos stop after one minute. Other websites play normally. You need the videos before Saturday's class. Ask the course support team for help, giving your username but no password.
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Write your email before viewing the model. Choose the details relevant to technical support.
Situation: You joined an online photography course last Monday. Two lesson videos stop after one minute. Other websites play normally. You need the videos before Saturday's class. Ask the course support team for help, giving your username but no password.
Write your email before viewing the model. Choose the details relevant to technical support.
Write your response, then compare with the model and checklist.
Compare meaning, completeness and tone. Several answers can meet these criteria; this is a self-review, not an automatic score.
Revise for evidence and clarity
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Underline every factual claim. Can you point to an observation supporting it? Replace nothing works with the two specific videos and failure point.
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Choose one priority from your checklist, revise it, then compare the two versions. More words do not automatically make the email better. Save drafts in your own notes; this self-review does not assess them automatically.
Transfer to a community problem
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New situation: A shared study room has been locked during its advertised opening hours on two visits this week. Write to the community centre. Give the days and times, explain the effect on your study group, and ask how to arrange reliable access.
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The aim is reliable access. Do not assume the caretaker's intention or demand a product replacement: the new context needs a different solution.
New situation: A shared study room has been locked during its advertised opening hours on two visits this week. Write to the community centre. Give the days and times, explain the effect on your study group, and ask how to arrange reliable access.
The aim is reliable access. Do not assume the caretaker's intention or demand a product replacement: the new context needs a different solution.
Write your response, then compare with the model and checklist.
Compare meaning, completeness and tone. Several answers can meet these criteria; this is a self-review, not an automatic score.
Check retrieval and move on
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Tomorrow, list the four jobs of a problem email without rereading: what happened, evidence, effect and requested action. Then draft a new email about a missed delivery using fresh details.
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Next, practise explaining your experience aloud in B1 speaking, or develop an evidence-based proposal in B2 writing.
Without looking back, name one useful revision you made and explain why it helps your reader. Tomorrow, try the fresh situation described in the last step.
A useful reflection connects a concrete change with its purpose. It does not establish delayed recall until you return and attempt the work later.