You celebrated your birthday with some friends last week in a restaurant. It was a great success and you and your friends enjoyed the evening very much. Write a letter to the restaurant. In your letter: - thank the restaurant for the successful evening - mention the food, service and atmosphere - suggest improvements that could make things better
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I celebrated my 25th birthday at your restaurant on 9th May, and the event was a great success. I am writing because I want to thank you for that. I did not have such a memorable birthday party in a few years. Firstly, the food was amazing - the chicken adobo was cooked excellently, and the sauce was so creamy and yummy. All the food tasted delicious and they were served promptly. Secondly, the restaurant employees were friendly and accommodating. They genuinely smiled and asked how they could help. And finally, the place gave us a peaceful environment that night. It was a nice atmosphere inside. Keep up the good work. I have a suggestion though - I am recommending you to extend the restaurant space. This is because to accommodate a high number of guests you need more spaces so that people do not feel that your establishment is congested. Thank you once again for serving me and my companions last night. It was a commendable effort. Yours faithfully, Rona Olivar
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. State thanks directly Original: because I want to thank you for that Suggested revision: to thank you for the memorable evening Why it matters: The direct purpose is warmer and more specific.
- 2. Fix dash punctuation Original: amazing - Suggested revision: amazing: Why it matters: A colon correctly introduces the specific food details that follow.
- 3. Use food collocation Original: cooked excellently Suggested revision: perfectly cooked Why it matters: This is the natural collocation for describing preparation quality.
- 4. Use polished description Original: creamy and yummy Suggested revision: rich and delicious Why it matters: The revision keeps the praise while using a more suitable written register.
- 5. Use hospitality term Original: employees Suggested revision: staff Why it matters: “Staff” is the natural collective term in this context.
- 6. Describe warm service Original: genuinely smiled Suggested revision: greeted us warmly Why it matters: This expresses the intended friendly service more naturally.
- 7. Use concise transition Original: And finally Suggested revision: Finally Why it matters: The extra conjunction is unnecessary after the sequencing adverb.
- 8. Describe atmosphere naturally Original: place gave us a peaceful environment Suggested revision: restaurant provided a peaceful setting Why it matters: A venue provides a setting rather than gives an environment.
- 9. Avoid vague wording Original: nice atmosphere inside Suggested revision: pleasant atmosphere Why it matters: The shorter phrase is more precise and avoids the unnecessary location adverb.
- 10. Use courteous praise Original: Keep up the good work Suggested revision: Please pass my thanks to the team Why it matters: This connects the praise more directly to the purpose of the letter.
- 11. Use quantity collocation Original: high Suggested revision: large Why it matters: “Large number” is the correct collocation for countable guests.
- 12. Use uncountable space Original: spaces Suggested revision: space Why it matters: “Space” is uncountable when referring to room inside a restaurant.
Suggested Rewrites
- because I want to thank you for that to thank you for the memorable evening
- amazing - amazing:
- cooked excellently perfectly cooked
- creamy and yummy rich and delicious
- employees staff
- genuinely smiled greeted us warmly
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter warmly thanks the restaurant and develops all required areas with specific comments on the meal, attentive service, atmosphere and a concrete suggestion to enlarge the space. Its purpose and tone are consistently clear, making the response engaging and complete. The main limitation is language control: several collocations, pronoun references and verb patterns are awkward. Prioritize natural formal wording and accurate sentence construction around the improvement proposal.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The thank-you purpose is clear and food, service, atmosphere and a relevant improvement are all developed with specific detail.
Frame the expansion suggestion more diplomatically by acknowledging that it may be a longer-term improvement.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves clearly through the three positive aspects before the suggestion and closing, though paragraphing would make this sequence easier to scan.
Separate the thanks, detailed praise, improvement suggestion and closing into distinct paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
There is a useful range of vocabulary for food, service and atmosphere, but expressions such as 'cooked excellently' and 'more spaces' are not natural.
Use precise alternatives such as 'expertly cooked', 'welcoming atmosphere' and 'more space'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is consistently clear, but tense, pronoun agreement and verb-complement errors recur in otherwise varied sentences.
Correct patterns such as 'I have not had', 'all the dishes were served' and 'I recommend expanding the restaurant'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You celebrated your birthday with some friends last week in a restaurant. It was a great success and you and your friends enjoyed the evening very much. Write a letter to the restaurant. In your letter:
- thank the restaurant for the successful evening
- mention the food, service and atmosphere
- suggest improvements that could make things better
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.