You and your family are planning to spend a weekend at a seaside hotel. Write a letter to the hotel for making the arrangement. In your letter say: - when you will be arriving and leaving - what type of rooms you would like - ask how much the weekend will cost - inquire about activities and places of interest near the hotel
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you to make the necessary arrangements for our stay at your hotel on 22nd and 23rd November. I will travel with my parents, wife and 7 years old son. I am hoping that you would be able to provide us with suitable accommodation and assist us to enjoy our trip. We will arrive on 22nd November and check out from your hotel on 24th November before 12.00 pm. We are expecting two double size bedrooms with attached bathrooms, hot water and air cooler facilities. We would prefer rooms with a sea view and room service. I would really appreciate it if the rooms are on the same floor. I am also interested to know about recreational activities in the vicinity. Despite my parent’s age, they are very lively and would love to go to the theatre, beach and amusement parks, if available. I would also like to know about the market, where we can buy traditional items and souvenirs. Please notify me of the cost that will incur on our trip at your earliest with the facilities you can offer. I am expecting a comprehensive reply from your side about the details of the activities and other information I requested. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Fahad Sultan
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Hyphenate age modifier Original: 7 years old son Suggested revision: seven-year-old son Why it matters: A compound age used before a noun is singular and hyphenated.
- 2. Use future form Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: Use "will" after "I am hoping" for a genuine future arrangement.
- 3. Use natural phrasing Original: assist us to enjoy our trip Suggested revision: help us enjoy our trip Why it matters: "Help us enjoy" is more natural and concise in this request.
- 4. Correct preposition Original: from Suggested revision: of Why it matters: The phrasal verb takes "of" when the place is stated.
- 5. Use hotel term Original: two double size bedrooms Suggested revision: two double rooms Why it matters: Hotels provide "double rooms," while "bedrooms" and "double size" are unsuitable here.
- 6. Correct verb pattern Original: interested to know Suggested revision: interested in knowing Why it matters: The adjective "interested" is followed by "in" and a gerund.
- 7. Use plural possessive Original: my parent’s age Suggested revision: my parents’ age Why it matters: The earlier reference is to both parents, so the possessive must be plural.
- 8. Remove comma Original: market, where Suggested revision: market where Why it matters: The defining relative clause identifies the market and should not be separated by a comma.
- 9. Be more concise Original: I am hoping Suggested revision: I hope Why it matters: The shorter form is more direct and natural in a formal request letter.
- 10. Order time naturally Original: on 24th November before 12.00 pm Suggested revision: by noon on 24 November Why it matters: This places the deadline before the date and expresses midday unambiguously.
- 11. Use polite request Original: We are expecting Suggested revision: We would like Why it matters: A conditional request is more appropriate than stating that the rooms are expected.
- 12. Use hotel vocabulary Original: with attached bathrooms Suggested revision: with en-suite bathrooms Why it matters: "En-suite bathrooms" is the standard concise term for bathrooms attached to hotel rooms.
Suggested Rewrites
- 7 years old son seven-year-old son
- would will
- assist us to enjoy our trip help us enjoy our trip
- from of
- two double size bedrooms two double rooms
- interested to know interested in knowing
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter fully addresses the booking arrangements, room preferences, price request, and nearby activities in an appropriately formal tone, with particularly strong practical detail. Its main limitation is that the whole response is presented as one paragraph and some awkward constructions reduce precision; the highest-priority improvement is to organize requests into clear paragraphs and rewrite phrases such as the cost request more naturally.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
All four requested points are fully addressed with clear dates, detailed room preferences, a cost enquiry, and relevant questions about nearby attractions.
Make the cost request more direct by asking for the total price for the two-night stay and stating whether taxes or services should be included.
Coherence and Cohesion
The requests follow a sensible sequence and linking is clear, but presenting the entire letter as one paragraph weakens its organization.
Divide the letter into short paragraphs for travel details, room requirements, and cost and activity enquiries.
Lexical Resource
A good range of formal and topic-specific vocabulary is used, though several collocations such as "double size bedrooms" and "reply from your side" are awkward.
Use standard hotel-booking expressions such as "double rooms," "the total cost of our stay," and "a detailed reply."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied sentence forms, but recurring errors in noun phrases, possessives, and clause construction reduce accuracy.
Correct forms such as "a seven-year-old son," "my parents' age," and "the cost we will incur" to improve grammatical control.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You and your family are planning to spend a weekend at a seaside hotel. Write a letter to the hotel for making the arrangement. In your letter say:
- when you will be arriving and leaving
- what type of rooms you would like
- ask how much the weekend will cost
- inquire about activities and places of interest near the hotel
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.