You and some friends ate a meal at a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and you were very pleased with the food and services. Write a letter to the restaurant manager. In your letter: - Give details of your visit to the restaurant - Explain the reason for the celebration - Say what was good about the food and the services
Sample Response
Dear Sir,
I am writing this letter to express my admiration and the delightful experience I had while visiting your hotel with some friends. Initially, we planned to go to some club for great music and a Halloween party. While we were crossing the street, our eyes caught on the fun and appealing Halloween theme banner put up with the details of the live music event and the happy hour offers on the drinks and food.
First of all, we were totally thrown away with the spooky Halloween theme decoration and a personalized selfie booth for clicking photos which was such a unique idea for creating great memories. I loved the pumpkin carving idea for each table, followed by live music and dance. This was our first Halloween party, and we could not ask for the better one.
Besides, the quality of the food was delectable and flavorful, especially some desserts like Pumpkin Truffles and Halloween special Cheesecake. On top of that, despite getting crowded, all your staff members were very friendly and attentive. They offered the best service they could provide us.
I hope concerning authorities of your restaurant will ensure this excellent service in the long run.
Please accept my sincere thanks for the great event that you made for us.
Thanks & Regards,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use correct article Original: some Suggested revision: a Why it matters: An indefinite singular venue takes ‘a’ rather than ‘some’.
- 2. Correct the expression Original: our eyes caught on Suggested revision: our attention was caught by Why it matters: The revision uses the natural expression for something attracting notice.
- 3. Use concise description Original: Halloween theme banner put up with the details Suggested revision: Halloween-themed banner displaying details Why it matters: The revised phrase describes the banner and its information more naturally.
- 4. Improve offer phrasing Original: the happy hour offers on the drinks and food Suggested revision: happy-hour offers on food and drinks Why it matters: The revised wording is more concise and uses the usual ordering and article pattern.
- 5. Correct idiom Original: thrown away with Suggested revision: impressed by Why it matters: ‘Thrown away with’ does not express a positive reaction to the decorations.
- 6. Use adjective and plural Original: theme decoration Suggested revision: themed decorations Why it matters: An adjective and plural noun are needed for the restaurant’s decorative features.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: clicking Suggested revision: taking Why it matters: ‘Taking photos’ is the standard English collocation.
- 8. Correct comparative structure Original: could not ask for the better one Suggested revision: could not have asked for a better one Why it matters: The perfect modal and indefinite article are required in this expression.
- 9. Describe the food directly Original: the quality of the food was delectable and flavorful Suggested revision: the food was delectable and flavorful Why it matters: Taste adjectives describe the food itself rather than its quality.
- 10. Introduce examples clearly Original: especially some desserts like Suggested revision: especially desserts such as Why it matters: ‘Such as’ introduces the named dessert examples more precisely.
- 11. Fix modifier order Original: Halloween special Cheesecake Suggested revision: special Halloween cheesecake Why it matters: The adjective order is more natural, and the generic dessert name does not need capitalization.
- 12. Name the crowded venue Original: despite getting crowded Suggested revision: although the restaurant was crowded Why it matters: The original participial phrase incorrectly makes the staff seem crowded.
Suggested Rewrites
- some a
- our eyes caught on our attention was caught by
- Halloween theme banner put up with the details Halloween-themed banner displaying details
- the happy hour offers on the drinks and food happy-hour offers on food and drinks
- thrown away with impressed by
- theme decoration themed decorations
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter gives a warm, detailed account of the Halloween visit and clearly praises both the food and the attentive service. Its strongest feature is the specific supporting detail, while its main weakness is the frequent use of ambitious but inaccurate expressions. The highest-priority improvement is to choose more natural collocations so the positive message remains polished and precise.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response clearly expresses appreciation, explains the Halloween occasion, and provides specific details about the visit, food, and service in a suitable register.
State the visit details more directly and consistently refer to the venue as a restaurant rather than a hotel.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically organised into focused paragraphs, and the sequence from arrival to entertainment, food, service, and thanks is easy to follow.
Reduce the number of additive linkers and simplify the long opening paragraph for smoother progression.
Lexical Resource
There is a broad and lively vocabulary range, but several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as 'thrown away' and 'concerning authorities.'
Prioritise precise, conventional collocations over elaborate wording, for example 'impressed by' and 'restaurant management.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses varied complex sentences with generally clear meaning, though article, clause, and modifier errors occur throughout.
Check articles and sentence boundaries, especially in long sentences containing relative clauses and multiple coordinated ideas.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You and some friends ate a meal at a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and you were very pleased with the food and services. Write a letter to the restaurant manager. In your letter:
- Give details of your visit to the restaurant
- Explain the reason for the celebration
- Say what was good about the food and the services
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.