You have recently visited a museum. Now write a letter to your friend about the museum you have visited. Write a letter to him/ her. In your letter, write: - where you went - what you saw there - how you felt about it
Sample Response
Dear Laura, I've just returned home from an exciting trip to Australia, and visiting the National Museum of Australia was one of the fabulous activities of this tour. I can't wait to share my experience with you. We stayed in Australia for a week, and on our second day, we went to the National Museum of Australia, located on Acton Peninsula, next to the Australian National University in Canberra. The museum's innovative use of new technologies is unprecedented. Initially, I thought that it's not going to be a fun time but to my surprise, I actually got fascinated by the fabulous collection the museum has. The Entrance and the interior blew my mind away. The museum's stunning architecture offered me an extraordinary opportunity to explore the rich and diverse stories of Australia and its people. From pre-colonial settlement to modern Australia, the museum has it all. The Pearling exhibition was excellent from a historical perspective. The museum is divided into 4 galleries and each has many glass cases filled with stories. The experience was stunning. I wish you had been with me there. I'd absolutely recommend you visit this museum whenever possible. I would like to meet you soon and tell you stories about my tour. Take care. Yours truly, Emma
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. More natural collocation Original: fabulous activities Suggested revision: highlights Why it matters: Use a more natural noun for memorable parts of a trip.
- 2. Match past tense Original: thought that it's not going to be Suggested revision: thought that it wasn't going to be Why it matters: The expectation should remain in the past tense after “thought”.
- 3. Add comma Original: fun time but Suggested revision: fun time, but Why it matters: A comma is needed before the coordinating conjunction joining two clauses.
- 4. Use natural phrasing Original: got fascinated by Suggested revision: became fascinated by Why it matters: “Became fascinated” is the more natural expression for this change in reaction.
- 5. Avoid repetition Original: fabulous collection Suggested revision: impressive collection Why it matters: Vary the repeated adjective while preserving the enthusiastic tone.
- 6. Lowercase common noun Original: The Entrance Suggested revision: The entrance Why it matters: “Entrance” is a common noun here and should not be capitalized.
- 7. Correct the idiom Original: blew my mind away Suggested revision: blew me away Why it matters: The standard idiom is “blew me away”.
- 8. Spell out number Original: 4 galleries Suggested revision: four galleries Why it matters: Spelling out a small number is smoother in this informal letter.
- 9. Clarify the description Original: filled with stories Suggested revision: displaying exhibits and their stories Why it matters: This wording makes clearer what the glass cases contain and communicate.
- 10. Separate letter sections Suggested revision: Divide the letter into short paragraphs for the trip context, museum exhibits, personal reaction, and closing recommendation. Why it matters: Clear paragraph breaks would make the sequence of ideas easier for the friend to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- fabulous activities highlights
- thought that it's not going to be thought that it wasn't going to be
- fun time but fun time, but
- got fascinated by became fascinated by
- fabulous collection impressive collection
- The Entrance The entrance
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the visit, describing the museum, its exhibits, and the writer’s enthusiastic reaction in a warm, engaging style. Its main limitation is presentation: the response is one continuous paragraph, and a few repetitive or awkward expressions reduce polish. The highest-priority improvement is to organise the account into clear paragraphs while refining collocations and maintaining consistent past-time narration.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The communicative purpose is clear, all three bullet points are developed, and the generally friendly tone suits the recipient.
Use a more naturally informal closing and add one or two specific personal reactions to make the letter even more convincingly tailored to a friend.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a sensible chronological and descriptive sequence, but the entire letter is presented as one unbroken paragraph.
Separate the opening, visit details, reactions, and closing into distinct paragraphs so the progression is immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
A good range of descriptive vocabulary conveys enthusiasm, though repeated words such as 'fabulous' and some overstated collocations reduce precision.
Replace repetition and awkward phrases with more natural, specific descriptions of the architecture, exhibits, and personal response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The letter uses varied complex structures with generally good control, although a few tense and punctuation lapses remain.
Keep past-time narration consistent, for example changing 'it's not going to be' to 'it was not going to be,' and check sentence punctuation.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently visited a museum. Now write a letter to your friend about the museum you have visited. Write a letter to him/ her. In your letter, write:
- where you went
- what you saw there
- how you felt about it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.