You took your family to a nearby restaurant. You were disappointed with the meal and wished to complain to the manager. Write a letter to the manager of the restaurant. In your letter: - Explain why you were at the restaurant - Describe the problems - Write about the action you want the manager to take
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction with the quality of the food served in your restaurant, where I paid a visit yesterday with my family.
I have been looking for a fancy place to dine with my spouse to celebrate the occasion of my promotion at work. My peers have strongly recommended that I eat out at your diner due to the scrumptious food and vast range of menu.
I must admit that I was thoroughly disappointed with my experience at your place. The food took much longer to arrive after placing an order, but the vegetables used in the curry were stale and had a pungent odour. On top of that, the cake ordered to enjoy the special moment was delivered in a different flavour.
Please consider this as genuine feedback from a customer and kindly look into the quality of vegetables used in the preparation of meals. In addition, support staff should be asked to be more vigilant while noting down the order specifications from the customers.
I hope that you look into this matter seriously to avoid unhappy customers in the future.
Yours faithfully,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise wording Original: where I paid a visit yesterday with my family Suggested revision: which I visited yesterday with my family Why it matters: This revision expresses the visit more directly and naturally.
- 2. Use past tense Original: I have been looking Suggested revision: I was looking Why it matters: The search preceded yesterday's restaurant visit and should be framed in the past.
- 3. Keep attendees consistent Original: spouse Suggested revision: family Why it matters: The prompt and opening say the writer visited with the family, while this phrase narrows the occasion to the spouse.
- 4. Show earlier recommendation Original: have Suggested revision: had Why it matters: The recommendation occurred before the completed restaurant visit.
- 5. Correct noun phrase Original: vast range of menu Suggested revision: wide-ranging menu Why it matters: A menu can be wide-ranging, while “range of menu” is not a correct noun combination here.
- 6. Name the subject Original: after placing an order Suggested revision: after we placed our order Why it matters: The original reduced clause incorrectly implies that the food placed the order.
- 7. Link similar problems Original: but Suggested revision: and Why it matters: Both clauses describe problems, so an additive connector is more logical than a contrast.
- 8. Clarify who ordered Original: the cake ordered to enjoy the special moment Suggested revision: the cake we ordered for the special moment Why it matters: The revision supplies the missing subject and uses a natural purpose phrase.
- 9. State the error precisely Original: in a different flavour Suggested revision: in the wrong flavour Why it matters: “Different” does not clearly indicate that the delivered flavour was incorrect.
- 10. Use natural service language Original: noting down the order specifications from the customers Suggested revision: taking customers' orders Why it matters: This is the standard concise expression for recording what diners request.
- 11. Remove redundancy Original: writing this letter Suggested revision: writing Why it matters: The genre is already clear, so “this letter” is unnecessary.
- 12. Use precise wording Original: a fancy place Suggested revision: a special restaurant Why it matters: This wording better suits the formal account of choosing a venue for a celebration.
Suggested Rewrites
- where I paid a visit yesterday with my family which I visited yesterday with my family
- I have been looking I was looking
- spouse family
- have had
- vast range of menu wide-ranging menu
- after placing an order after we placed our order
Why this response received Band 7.0
The complaint is clearly organised, appropriately formal, and supported with specific problems involving the delay, stale vegetables, and incorrect cake flavour. The requested action is relevant but somewhat general, since it focuses on future quality control without stating a concrete remedy for this customer. Strengthen the letter by requesting a specific response, refund, replacement, or explanation and by polishing a few awkward collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter maintains a suitable formal tone and addresses the occasion, the service and food problems, and actions the manager should take.
Make the desired outcome more precise by requesting a direct response or a specific remedy for the disappointing meal.
Coherence and Cohesion
The paragraphs follow a clear sequence from purpose and background to problems, requested action, and closing.
Improve the logical link between the delayed service and stale vegetables by replacing the inaccurate contrast marker 'but'.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective items such as 'stale,' 'pungent odour,' and 'vigilant,' despite some unnatural collocations.
Refine phrases such as 'vast range of menu' and 'order specifications from the customers' into more idiomatic English.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good variety of complex structures with generally accurate punctuation and consistently clear meaning.
Review tense selection and noun-phrase construction, particularly 'I have been looking' and 'a vast range of menu'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You took your family to a nearby restaurant. You were disappointed with the meal and wished to complain to the manager. Write a letter to the manager of the restaurant. In your letter:
- Explain why you were at the restaurant
- Describe the problems
- Write about the action you want the manager to take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.