You lent your friend Sam your laptop for a week. Sam returned it with a cracked screen and a sticky keyboard.

Question:
You lent your friend Sam your laptop for a week. Sam returned it with a cracked screen and a sticky keyboard. Sam didn’t mention the damage. Write an email to Sam. In your email:

• State what happened to your laptop
• Express your feelings
• Suggest what Sam should do

Model Answer (180 words):

To:	sam@email.com
Subject:	Hey – need to talk about the laptop

Hey Sam,

I got the laptop back yesterday, and I’ve got to be honest – I’m pretty upset about its condition. I was really shocked when I opened it.

First of all, there’s a big crack running across the left side of the screen. It’s actually affecting the display now because there’s a patch of dead pixels around the crack. Secondly, the keyboard feels sticky and horrible to type on – like something has been spilled on it. Some keys are really hard to press down. You didn’t mention any of this when you gave it back, so I’m guessing you might not have noticed? But it’s hard to miss a cracked screen.

I’m not trying to make you feel awful, but this laptop is how I do all my university work and freelance editing. The repair quote I got today is $120. I lent it to you in perfect condition because you said your own laptop had crashed.

Could you please cover the repair cost? Even if you pay half, that would help a lot. Let’s just sort this out between us without involving anyone else.

Let me know when you’re free to talk.

Take care,

Chris