As part of a student social survey project, you are organising a group to visit a historical exhibition in a small town. Write a letter asking for information about the exhibition. In your letter: - ask about the contents of the exhibition - ask for its opening and closing dates - ask whether any discounts are available
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am organisingabout to organise a small group of students to visit the historical exhibition in your town to encouragein an effort to encourage them to participate in different social survey projectsdifferent kinds of social survey projects and broaden their knowledgelearn new things. I would like to request informationSo, I would request some information to finalise the arrangementsarrangement. This kind of participationNeedless to say, this kind of participation would help these young students to understand social problems and prospects in their communitythe types of problems and the prospect of a society in which they live. Before visitingBut, before visiting the exhibitionthat historical exhibition, I would appreciate some information from youcould surely use some information from your part. Specifically, information aboutFor example, information, like what contentwhat kinds of contents or items would be displayed at the exhibition, and which historical periodswhat historical period or era those items representthose historical items belong to, would be very helpfulwould be highly appreciated. I would also appreciateBesides, I would also love to get some specific information about the opening and closing datesdates of its opening and closing along with its hours of operation. Please also let me know whetherFinally, I could also use some information on whether there is a group discount is availableany discount available for a group of 16. So, I would be highly obliged if you could please provide me with these details at your earliest convenience so that I am able to start making the transport and accommodation arrangements in advance. Yours faithfully, James Collin
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter has a clear formal purpose and fully develops every required enquiry, asking about exhibit contents and historical periods, opening and closing dates, operating hours, and a discount for sixteen students. The added planning context makes the request practical. Its main opportunity is concision: the explanation of social-survey benefits is longer than necessary, and a few phrases are overly formal or unnatural. Prioritise direct, itemised questions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully and specifically addressed in a consistently appropriate formal register, with useful group-planning context.
Ask whether advance group booking is required and whether the discount applies to students, accompanying staff, or both.
Coherence and Cohesion
The request progresses logically from purpose to contents, dates and hours, discount, and planning needs, with effective overall flow.
Shorten the general explanation of social-survey benefits and present the three enquiries in separate concise sentences.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and appropriately formal, though phrases such as ‘from your part’, ‘kinds of contents’, and ‘highly obliged’ are unnatural.
Use ‘could you provide’, ‘exhibits on display’, ‘historical period’, ‘group discount’, and ‘I would appreciate’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are generally accurate, with occasional punctuation, article, modifier, and sentence-length issues.
Remove unnecessary commas around examples and split the longest request sentence into direct questions.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
As part of a student social survey project, you are organising a group to visit a historical exhibition in a small town. Write a letter asking for information about the exhibition. In your letter:
- ask about the contents of the exhibition
- ask for its opening and closing dates
- ask whether any discounts are available
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.