A friend is going on holiday soon and has asked you to recommend a destination that you have visited. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: - recommend a good place for the holiday - say where you stayed - describe what you did there - describe what the food was like
Sample Response
Dear Ron, I am glad to hear from you after such a long time. Hope all is well with you and your family. Anyway, even though I am glad that you have asked for my recommendation for a good place to spend your summer holiday, it also makes me a bit nervous, thinking that you just might not like the place after visiting it. But, I would still suggest that you visit Cyprus since it has one of the best weather in the whole world. By the way, I stayed in Limassol, a city on the southern coast of Cyprus, after arriving in the country. In fact, the experience of enjoying the celestial view of the entire city of Limassol at night from “Panthea Resort”, located on the hills of Limassol in the middle of all areas, is something beyond any words can describe. Besides, the chance to swim in the clear water of the beautiful Limassol beach and enjoying the fresh Cypriot food and salads will keep your mind captivated for a long, long time. Well, I think that information, I have already given you, should be enough for you to decide whether to choose Cyprus as your holiday destination or not. Wishing you a pleasant tour. Warm wishes, Rob
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add sentence subject Original: Hope all is well Suggested revision: I hope all is well Why it matters: A complete sentence requires the subject ‘I’ before the verb.
- 2. Remove unnecessary comma Original: But, Suggested revision: But Why it matters: A comma should not separate ‘But’ from the clause it introduces here.
- 3. Fix uncountable noun phrase Original: one Suggested revision: some Why it matters: ‘Weather’ is uncountable, so it cannot follow ‘one of the’.
- 4. Use precise description Original: celestial Suggested revision: spectacular Why it matters: ‘Spectacular’ clearly describes an impressive city view without the unnatural heavenly association.
- 5. Correct location preposition Original: on Suggested revision: in Why it matters: ‘In the hills’ is the standard phrase for a resort located within a hilly area.
- 6. Repair comparison structure Original: beyond any words can describe Suggested revision: more beautiful than words can describe Why it matters: The original phrase combines two incompatible grammatical structures.
- 7. Keep verbs parallel Original: enjoying Suggested revision: enjoy Why it matters: ‘Swim’ and ‘enjoy’ should have parallel forms after ‘the chance to’.
- 8. Use suitable closing wish Original: Wishing you a pleasant tour Suggested revision: I hope you have a wonderful holiday Why it matters: A holiday destination calls for a wish about the holiday rather than a ‘tour’.
- 9. Use concise comparison Original: in the whole world Suggested revision: in the world Why it matters: Removing ‘whole’ makes the comparison more concise without changing its meaning.
- 10. Clarify the location Original: in the middle of all areas Suggested revision: in a central location Why it matters: The original phrase does not communicate the resort’s location clearly.
- 11. Use natural beach phrase Original: water Suggested revision: waters Why it matters: The plural ‘waters’ is a natural way to refer to the sea around a beach.
- 12. Use natural effect phrase Original: keep your mind captivated Suggested revision: remain memorable Why it matters: The original collocation is unnatural for describing lasting holiday memories.
Suggested Rewrites
- Hope all is well I hope all is well
- But, But
- one some
- celestial spectacular
- on in
- beyond any words can describe more beautiful than words can describe
Why this response received Band 6.5
The recommendation is friendly and engaging, and it covers the destination, accommodation, activities, and food with enough detail to guide the friend. The main weakness is uneven language control: several long sentences contain awkward collocations, faulty comparisons, and parallel-structure errors. The highest-priority improvement is to use shorter, more natural sentences and expand the food description with specific qualities rather than relying on general praise.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fulfils its purpose in an appropriate friendly tone and covers all four prompts, though the food description is rather brief.
Describe the Cypriot food more specifically, for example its flavours, ingredients, or a memorable dish.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has a clear overall journey from recommendation to experience, but one long paragraph and overused conversational linkers weaken organisation.
Create separate paragraphs for the recommendation, accommodation, and activities and food, using fewer discourse markers.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often vivid, but expressions such as one of the best weather and beyond any words can describe are inaccurate.
Choose idiomatic combinations such as some of the best weather and more beautiful than words can describe.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer attempts varied complex structures, but agreement, comparison, parallelism, and clause-construction errors recur despite clear meaning.
Check noun agreement and parallel verb forms, especially one of the best climates and the chance to swim and enjoy.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
A friend is going on holiday soon and has asked you to recommend a destination that you have visited. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- recommend a good place for the holiday
- say where you stayed
- describe what you did there
- describe what the food was like
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.