Writing: explain a problem and request a solution

Make the next action possible

• A problem email needs to let someone investigate and respond. Before writing, identify what happened, evidence, effect and requested action.

• 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.

An email with evidence

• 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.

Repair a complaint that cannot be investigated

• Compare: Your lamp is terrible. It always fails. Fix everything immediately.

• 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.

Organise before drafting

• 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.

• 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.

Try a fresh problem

• 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.

Revise for evidence and clarity

• Underline every factual claim. Can you point to an observation supporting it? Replace nothing works with the two specific videos and failure point.

• 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

• 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.

Check retrieval and move on

• 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.

• Next, practise explaining your experience aloud in B1 speaking, or develop an evidence-based proposal in B2 writing.