During a recent plane journey, you sat next to a businessman who owns a chain of restaurants. You talked to him and he suggested that you should contact him about a possible job in one of his restaurants. Write a letter to this businessman. In your letter: - remind him when and where you met - tell him what kind of job you are interested in - say why you think you would be suitable for the job
Sample Response
Dear Mr. Adam,
I am Owen Clarke, writing to follow up on our conversation during our flight from Toronto to New York on 12th March. We had a pleasant discussion about the hospitality industry, and you mentioned how your restaurants and hotels have been serving many locals and tourists in Toronto for the last five years. During our conversation, you kindly suggested that I contact you regarding potential job opportunities at one of your restaurants.
I am particularly interested in a restaurant management position within your chain. With five years of experience in the hospitality sector, including my recent role as an assistant manager at a fine-dining restaurant, I have developed strong skills in team leadership, customer service, and business operations. I am passionate about delivering exceptional dining experiences and ensuring seamless restaurant management.
Given my experience and enthusiasm for the industry, I believe I would be a valuable addition to your team. I would love the opportunity to discuss this further at your convenience. Please let me know a suitable time for a meeting.
Yours sincerely,
Owen Clarke
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the opening Original: I am Owen Clarke, writing Suggested revision: My name is Owen Clarke, and I am writing Why it matters: A complete coordinated structure makes the formal opening clearer.
- 2. Use formal date style Original: 12th Suggested revision: 12 Why it matters: The date format without an ordinal ending is concise and conventional in formal letters.
- 3. Match the stated business Original: restaurants and hotels Suggested revision: restaurants Why it matters: The task identifies the recipient as the owner of a restaurant chain, so hotels are unnecessary here.
- 4. Use precise wording Original: many locals and tourists Suggested revision: local residents and tourists Why it matters: Local residents is clearer and more formal than locals in this context.
- 5. Refer to one position Original: potential job opportunities Suggested revision: a potential position Why it matters: The singular phrase matches the specific job enquiry made in the letter.
- 6. Use the job title Original: management Suggested revision: manager Why it matters: Restaurant manager is the more natural title for the role being requested.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: seamless restaurant management Suggested revision: smooth restaurant operations Why it matters: Smooth operations is a more natural expression for efficient day-to-day management.
- 8. Keep the tone formal Original: love Suggested revision: welcome Why it matters: Would welcome is suitably professional for a job enquiry.
- 9. Evidence your suitability Suggested revision: Add one concise, genuine example of a management responsibility or achievement from your assistant-manager role. Why it matters: The listed skills are relevant, but a concrete example would make the suitability claim more convincing.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am Owen Clarke, writing My name is Owen Clarke, and I am writing
- 12th 12
- restaurants and hotels restaurants
- many locals and tourists local residents and tourists
- potential job opportunities a potential position
- management manager
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter is direct, professional, and complete: it clearly recalls the flight, identifies the desired management role, and supports suitability with specific experience and skills. Its strongest feature is the economical development of relevant evidence in an appropriately courteous register. The main improvement is to remove the minor reference to hotels, which is not part of the restaurant opportunity, and sharpen the requested next step with proposed availability.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully addressed with specific, relevant detail and a clear request for further discussion.
Keep the reminder focused on the restaurant conversation and offer one or two possible meeting times to make the follow-up even more actionable.
Coherence and Cohesion
The three focused paragraphs create an effortless progression from shared context to job interest, suitability, and next action.
Preserve this concise structure and remove the small hotel-related aside from the opening paragraph.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is precise, varied, and professionally appropriate, especially in describing hospitality experience and management skills.
Avoid slight repetition of "restaurant management" by varying the second instance with "daily operations" or another exact responsibility.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences, participial phrases, and coordination are handled accurately with strong punctuation control.
As a refinement, shorten the first paragraph’s longest sentence so the reminder and invitation to apply remain equally prominent.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
During a recent plane journey, you sat next to a businessman who owns a chain of restaurants. You talked to him and he suggested that you should contact him about a possible job in one of his restaurants. Write a letter to this businessman. In your letter:
- remind him when and where you met
- tell him what kind of job you are interested in
- say why you think you would be suitable for the job
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.