You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery the school has asked for your feedback on this course. Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter: - Describe what you enjoyed about the course - say how much cooking you’ve done since the course - suggest another cookery course you’d like the school to offer
Sample Response
I am fortunate enough to give my positive feedback on the cookery course that I completed a week ago in your ‘Trinity’ training center.
I would like to mention that instruction made of teaching was advanced and particularly, the prominent personality, who had years’ experience, shared varied exotic recipes, which were the icing on the cake for all the aspirants. Besides, flexi-time reduced our pressure of work as most candidates were jobholders.
Since I have completed this course, every weekend, I make new dishes for my family. Moreover, recently I was approached by a school to take cooking classes in a school in the evening. So, it has been two days, I have been taking classes and demonstrating them by making different cuisines like Italian, Mexican and to name but a few.
I would like to recommend you to start a course on Chinese food. As I have seen people love to eat Chinese food and they show their disinterest in other food. If you start it, I would like to join it to keep myself abreast with other dishes. Now, it is high time as students are free from their schools and colleges and they are more interested in culinary skills.
I hope you will consider the matter and it will help you in the long run.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add an appropriate opening Original: I am fortunate enough to give Suggested revision: Dear Course Director, I am pleased to provide Why it matters: A formal letter needs a salutation, and “pleased to provide” states the purpose naturally.
- 2. Use formal wording Original: flexi-time Suggested revision: flexible scheduling Why it matters: This phrase is clearer and more suitable for a formal feedback letter.
- 3. Fix the collocation Original: reduced our pressure of work Suggested revision: reduced the pressure on us Why it matters: English uses “pressure on someone” in this context.
- 4. Use natural wording Original: jobholders Suggested revision: in employment Why it matters: This is a more natural formal description of candidates who had jobs.
- 5. Clarify the teaching role Original: to take cooking classes in a school in the evening Suggested revision: to teach evening cooking classes there Why it matters: “Take classes” suggests being a student, while the context says the writer teaches them.
- 6. Fix the verb pattern Original: recommend you to start Suggested revision: recommend that you start Why it matters: “Recommend” is followed here by a that-clause rather than an object plus infinitive.
- 7. Use a precise course name Original: course on Chinese food Suggested revision: course in Chinese cuisine Why it matters: “Chinese cuisine” is a more precise formal label for the proposed course.
- 8. Remove the sentence fragment Original: As I have seen people love Suggested revision: Many people love Why it matters: Removing “As” gives the sentence a complete independent clause.
- 9. Moderate the wording Original: show their disinterest in other food Suggested revision: are less interested in other cuisines Why it matters: This wording expresses the comparison more naturally and precisely.
- 10. Clarify the reference Original: If you start it Suggested revision: If you offer this course Why it matters: Naming the course removes the vague pronoun reference.
- 11. Use natural wording Original: keep myself abreast with other dishes Suggested revision: broaden my knowledge of other cuisines Why it matters: “Keep abreast with dishes” is not an appropriate collocation for learning cookery.
- 12. Use suitable tone Original: it is high time Suggested revision: this would be a good time Why it matters: The revision makes the recommendation measured and appropriate for a formal letter.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am fortunate enough to give Dear Course Director, I am pleased to provide
- flexi-time flexible scheduling
- reduced our pressure of work reduced the pressure on us
- jobholders in employment
- to take cooking classes in a school in the evening to teach evening cooking classes there
- recommend you to start recommend that you start
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response addresses all three content points and is organised so that each main purpose receives a separate paragraph. However, frequent unnatural collocations and unstable sentence structures make several ideas harder to follow, while the missing opening salutation weakens the letter format. The highest priority is to express each point in simpler, idiomatic language and proofread grammar before adding ambitious vocabulary.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All bullet points are addressed, but some supporting details are unclear or only loosely relevant, and the opening salutation is missing.
Use a complete formal letter opening and give straightforward, internally consistent detail about how often you have cooked since the course.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses through the three requested points in distinct paragraphs, though some linking is mechanical and sentence relationships are occasionally unclear.
Connect ideas with direct cause-and-effect wording and avoid formulaic transitions that do not clarify the relationship between sentences.
Lexical Resource
There is an ambitious range of topic vocabulary, but frequent inaccurate collocations and inappropriate choices reduce precision and naturalness.
Prefer familiar expressions such as 'teaching methods', 'experienced instructor', and 'learn more dishes' over forced or imprecise alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer attempts varied complex structures, but recurring article, tense, clause, and punctuation errors weaken accuracy and sometimes strain comprehension.
Build shorter complete sentences, then check verb tense and clause boundaries, especially in the paragraph about cooking since the course.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery the school has asked for your feedback on this course. Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter:
- Describe what you enjoyed about the course
- say how much cooking you’ve done since the course
- suggest another cookery course you’d like the school to offer
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.