You took your family to a nearby restaurant. You were disappointed with the meal and wish 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
This response is estimated at Band 7.5. Can you write a better one?
Write yours and get clear feedback on all four criteria.
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Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am a regular customer of your restaurant “The Bay Leaf" and visited the place with my wife to celebrate our 1st marriage anniversary on 10th February. But the meal quality was disappointingupsetting and it ruined our celebratory moodcelebration spirit. I would like you to take the necessary steps to improve the food quality to retain your reputation. I often visit your restaurant due to a pleasantlaudable ambience, hygiene, staff behaviour and above all the food quality. HoweverBut, last night it was a majorbig disappointment. I had my table booked well in advance but it was allocated to someone else, which is not acceptable as it hurts customers' faith in your service. Moreover, the meal was below averageless than average. The first course of sea trout was tasteless and salty. We mentioned that the duck was undercooked but no explanation or apology was offeredno comment or apology was made at the time. To make matters worseTo add more grief, my wife's duck had a large piece of gristle in it which was unacceptablewhich was a shame. Besides, our steward was not very attentiveeffusive or communicative, and he appeared to be serving us mechanicallygoing through the motions as quickly as possible. I am a regular customer of your restaurant and if this is what you are going to continue in the futurecontinue in future, then I will have to find a different place for family occasions. Please investigate this incident and improve staff trainingPlease offer the best possible meals, dining experience and efficient waiters to your customers. Yours faithfully, Gagan Bhatia
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter makes a convincing complaint by clearly establishing the occasion and supporting it with specific examples of poor food and service. Its impact is weakened by the single-paragraph structure, abrupt transitions, and a broad final request, so the highest-priority improvement is to organise the issues into clear paragraphs and end with a specific, realistic remedy expressed in natural, professional language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The complaint explains the visit, describes food and service problems, and requests improvement. The requested action is relevant but broad.
Keep the relevant content, then revise the wording and organisation points highlighted in the essay comments.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas are logical, but the one-paragraph format and abrupt “But” transitions reduce polish.
Use clearer paragraphing and smoother links so each bullet point is easy to follow.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, though some choices are overformal or unnatural for a restaurant complaint.
Prefer natural collocations and precise topic vocabulary over overformal or translated-sounding phrases.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is controlled overall, with minor article, punctuation and phrasing issues.
Proofread tense, articles, prepositions and sentence boundaries before submitting.