Requesting a remedy after a changed workshop

B1.2 · Describe a service problem, explain its effect and request an appropriate remedy without assuming approval.

B1 connected descriptions of past events; comparison, requests and conditional possibilities.

Model

Buenos días:

El lunes recibí la mochila que había encargado para una excursión. El tamaño coincide con el pedido, pero la cremallera principal se atasca y no permite cerrar bien la mochila. Intenté abrirla con cuidado varias veces y el problema continúa. No he usado la mochila fuera de casa.

La excursión será el próximo jueves. Por eso necesito saber si pueden cambiarla antes de esa fecha. En su página aparece el mismo modelo en otro color, que también me serviría. Sin embargo, no sé si esa información sigue actualizada ni cuánto tardaría el envío.

Preferiría recibir otra mochila que funcione. Si el cambio no puede llegar a tiempo, les agradecería que me explicaran cómo devolver el pedido y qué opciones ofrecen. Adjunto una fotografía del cierre y el número de compra para facilitar la revisión. No doy por confirmado ningún cambio hasta recibir su respuesta.

Gracias por su atención,

Marina

1. El tamaño coincide con el pedido, pero la cremallera principal se atasca · The complaint identifies the specific problem rather than rejecting everything.
2. no sé si esa información sigue actualizada · The writer does not convert a website entry into a guaranteed remedy.
3. Si el cambio no puede llegar a tiempo · The fallback depends on a reply and respects the reader’s role.

Task

Write to the organiser of a photography workshop. You paid 30 euros for a Saturday morning session and received that booking confirmation. Yesterday the organiser changed it to Tuesday at 18:00. You work on Tuesdays until 19:00. The organiser’s message says a recording might be offered, but gives no release date; you booked mainly for live feedback on your photographs. You can attend another Saturday session if one is offered. Your friend wrote this draft: “The recording is ready, so please send it and keep my booking for Tuesday.” Write your own message explaining the events and their effect, requesting a suitable remedy and correcting the unsupported assumption in the draft. You may request a transfer or a refund; do not claim either is already approved or state a legal entitlement. This is an invented case. Write in Spanish. The word range is a guide, not an automatic pass/fail rule. Use the criteria for teacher assessment or self-assessment; there is no automatic mark.

140–200 words

Planning

1. What did the booking confirm, and what changed later?
2. Which part of the friend’s draft is unsupported or unsuitable for your purpose?
3. Which remedy would meet your need, and what answer must the organiser supply?

Criteria

1. Explain the original booking, change and practical effect for the organiser.

   A remedy request needs a clear reason grounded in the events.

2. Represent the recording and any remedy according to their stated certainty.

   An unsupported assumption must not become a fact in the new message.

3. Make a justified request that addresses the purpose of the booking and leaves approval open.

   The organiser should understand both the preferred outcome and what to reply.

4. Use a courteous register, a connected account of events and clear time references.

   The message should be firm and understandable without attributing motives.

Review

Keep your first draft. For each criterion, quote evidence from your own text and mark evidenced, partial or not yet evidenced. Revise a weak passage and explain how the change helps this reader. If all four are evidenced, justify a specific factual or language check. Compare meaning with the guide; different wording is welcome, and matching the example does not by itself prove success.

Guide and answers