You and some friends ate a meal at a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and you were very pleased with the food and service. 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 service
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to let you know how pleased I and my friends are after celebrating my friend’s 27th birthday at your restaurant. By the way, we were planning to celebrate my friend’s birthday at another place, but we had to change our plan at the eleventh hour for some reason. But, after coming to your restaurant and seeing how you have flawlessly planned for the birthday, I am so glad that we actually went to your place. Anyway, the seating arrangement for so many guests was just perfect. The foods and desserts were just outstanding as they tasted like they were so fresh and right out of the oven. In fact, I would never forget the chewy taste of those mushrooms which were cooked with Italian pasta. And, as for the services, all of your staff members were courteous and professional, and some of them even went out of their ways to write few poetry lines to cheer up our birthday boy. So, all in all, we all had a great time at your restaurant, and we sure would like to come back again in future. Yours faithfully, Jimmy Falcon
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Pronoun order Original: I and my friends Suggested revision: my friends and I Why it matters: In English, the other person or group usually comes before “I”.
- 2. Remove digression marker Original: By the way, Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: This phrase sounds casual and introduces information that is not central to the task.
- 3. Smoother link Original: But, after coming Suggested revision: However, after arriving Why it matters: This transition is more formal and natural.
- 4. Natural phrase Original: flawlessly planned for the birthday Suggested revision: prepared everything for the birthday celebration Why it matters: This sounds more natural for restaurant arrangements.
- 5. Formal noun Original: your place Suggested revision: your restaurant Why it matters: “Your restaurant” is more suitable for a formal letter to the manager.
- 6. Remove filler Original: Anyway, Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: The sentence is stronger without this conversational filler.
- 7. Uncountable noun Original: The foods and desserts Suggested revision: The food and desserts Why it matters: “Food” is normally uncountable when referring to a meal in general.
- 8. Better food phrase Original: right out of the oven Suggested revision: freshly prepared Why it matters: This phrase works for some baked items but not all foods; “freshly prepared” is broader.
- 9. Texture wording Original: chewy taste Suggested revision: rich flavour Why it matters: “Chewy” describes texture, not taste, and may not be positive for mushrooms.
- 10. Uncountable service Original: as for the services Suggested revision: as for the service Why it matters: “Service” is normally singular in this restaurant context.
- 11. Fixed expression Original: went out of their ways Suggested revision: went out of their way Why it matters: The fixed expression uses the singular “way”.
- 12. Missing article Original: write few poetry lines Suggested revision: write a few lines of poetry Why it matters: Use “a few” and a more natural noun phrase.
Suggested Rewrites
- I and my friends my friends and I
- By the way, Delete
- But, after coming However, after arriving
- flawlessly planned for the birthday prepared everything for the birthday celebration
- your place your restaurant
- Anyway, Delete
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The letter gives details of the restaurant visit, explains the birthday celebration, and praises both food and service. It fully achieves the communicative purpose, though some details about the original plan are not necessary.
Use the space to give one or two more precise details about the restaurant visit rather than explaining why another venue was not used.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has a clear overall flow, but it is one long paragraph and several transitions sound casual or repetitive. Some sentences are long and overloaded.
Break the letter into paragraphs for visit details, food and service praise, and closing appreciation.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is varied and enthusiastic, with useful phrases such as “courteous and professional”. Some expressions are unnatural, including “foods”, “chewy taste”, and “went out of their ways”.
Keep the positive tone but choose natural restaurant-review collocations such as “the food”, “freshly cooked”, and “went out of their way”.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Most meaning is clear, but grammatical errors in pronoun order, countable nouns, articles, and plural forms reduce accuracy. Sentence control is weaker in the longer sentences.
Proofread noun number and article use, especially with “food”, “service”, “a few”, and “the future”.