You had a good meal at a local restaurant with your family. Write a letter to the newspaper. In your letter: - tell the newspaper about the restaurant - describe the meal you had - explain why you think the restaurant is worth visiting
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to draw your attention to a local restaurant that provides wonderful services to its customers and I request you to publish a review of this restaurant in the ‘Food and Life’ section of your famous daily to let people know about it. Recently, I took my family to dine out at a local restaurant named Golden Spoon at Lalmatia, Mohammadpur. The restaurant mainly serves Chinese and Thai food, although they have arrangements for continental dishes. It is a two-storied building with a rooftop and has ample space for car parking in front of the restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with paintings and soft lightings, and wonderful wooden furniture. We were stunned by the music being played at a low volume to add pleasure to the guests. It has a playground for children on the first floor. We were also delighted at their warm reception and reasonable price. During our last visit, I ordered Thai soup, chicken fry, rice with beef and prawn, and vegetable salad. The food was so fresh and delicious that we ate more than usual. The waiters gave us a great service and we were offered a 10% complimentary discount. I believe this restaurant is worth visiting for the food lovers who like to taste different dishes and want the best return on their money. I am hoping you would write a review on this establishment so that more people can know about it. Yours faithfully, Enamul Kabir
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use standard compound Original: storied Suggested revision: storey Why it matters: Use the standard adjective for a building with two floors.
- 2. Uncountable noun Original: lightings Suggested revision: lighting Why it matters: “Lighting” is uncountable when it refers to the illumination of a room.
- 3. Match the positive tone Original: stunned Suggested revision: impressed Why it matters: “Impressed” conveys the intended positive reaction more naturally than “stunned” here.
- 4. Natural purpose phrase Original: to add pleasure to the guests Suggested revision: to create a pleasant atmosphere for guests Why it matters: This phrasing expresses the music’s positive effect more idiomatically.
- 5. Correct food term Original: chicken fry Suggested revision: fried chicken Why it matters: “Fried chicken” is the standard English name for this dish.
- 6. Correct service collocation Original: gave us a great service Suggested revision: provided excellent service Why it matters: “Provide service” is the natural collocation, and “service” is uncountable in this context.
- 7. Remove redundancy Original: 10% complimentary discount Suggested revision: 10% discount Why it matters: A discount is already a reduction in price, so “complimentary” is redundant and inaccurate here.
- 8. Natural awareness phrase Original: know Suggested revision: learn Why it matters: “Learn about it” is more natural when describing how readers become aware of a restaurant.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: I am writing to draw your attention to a local restaurant that provides wonderful services to its customers and I request you to publish a review of this restaurant in the ‘Food and Life’ section of your famous daily to let people know about it. Suggested revision: I am writing to recommend a local restaurant that offers excellent service and to ask you to review it in the ‘Food and Life’ section of your newspaper. Why it matters: The shorter sentence states the purpose clearly and avoids repetition and awkward phrasing.
- 10. Separate the letter sections Suggested revision: Divide the letter into clear paragraphs for the purpose, restaurant description, meal details, and final recommendation. Why it matters: The single block obscures the progression through the three required bullet points.
Suggested Rewrites
- storied storey
- lightings lighting
- stunned impressed
- to add pleasure to the guests to create a pleasant atmosphere for guests
- chicken fry fried chicken
- gave us a great service provided excellent service
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fulfils its communicative purpose convincingly, covering the restaurant, the meal, and the reasons to visit with specific, relevant detail and an appropriately formal tone. Its main limitation is occasional imprecise or unnatural phrasing, while some long sentences make the presentation slightly less polished. The highest-priority improvement is to refine collocations and streamline sentence structure so the strong content reads more naturally and precisely.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is immediately clear, all three bullet points are fully developed, and the formal newspaper-facing register is appropriate.
Make the request to publish a review slightly more concise and direct for an even sharper communicative effect.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the introduction and setting to the meal, service, recommendation, and closing, with effective linking.
Use clearer paragraph breaks and shorten the opening sentence to make the sequence easier to scan.
Lexical Resource
A broad vocabulary describes cuisine, atmosphere, facilities, service, and value, although several collocations are unnatural.
Replace phrases such as “soft lightings,” “stunned by the music,” and “complimentary discount” with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of simple and complex structures is used with generally strong control and only minor, non-impeding errors.
Tighten article use and noun forms, and divide very long sentences to improve grammatical precision.
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
You had a good meal at a local restaurant with your family. Write a letter to the newspaper. In your letter:
- tell the newspaper about the restaurant
- describe the meal you had
- explain why you think the restaurant is worth visiting
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.