You would like to participate in a work-related seminar in another country. Write a letter to the person in charge of the seminar. In your letter: - ask for information about the seminar dates - ask for details of the programme - ask about accommodation - ask about the cost
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to get some details about the seminar - New Techniques of Production Management, which your organisation will administer in London. I am hoping that you will reply to my queries so that I can book my seat for the symposium. I have been working as a production manager in a large home appliances company in Iran for the last five years and I think this seminar would be helpful to me as it covers some new approaches to managing workers and manufacturing lines. I believe this seminar would enhance participants' knowledge and skills in different management manners and styles applied in the home appliance manufacturing industry. As I did not obtain all the information that I need from your advertisement, I would like to know the date and schedule of the seminar. What kind of accommodation would you prepare for the participants, if at all? Finally, how much the registration would cost? Can I book and pay online? If so, give me details instructions, please. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest. Yours faithfully, Milad Rahimi
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use event collocation Original: administer Suggested revision: hold Why it matters: An organisation 'holds' a seminar rather than administers it in a location.
- 2. Use formal booking phrase Original: book my seat Suggested revision: reserve my place Why it matters: 'Reserve my place' is more natural for seminar registration.
- 3. Keep terminology consistent Original: symposium Suggested revision: seminar Why it matters: Using the same event term throughout avoids an unnecessary shift in reference.
- 4. Form compound adjective Original: home appliances company Suggested revision: home-appliance company Why it matters: The compound modifier before 'company' should be hyphenated and singular.
- 5. Use management terminology Original: manners Suggested revision: methods Why it matters: 'Methods' is the appropriate noun for approaches to management.
- 6. Request all date details Original: the date and schedule of the seminar Suggested revision: the seminar dates and programme schedule Why it matters: The prompt asks for seminar dates and programme details, both of which are clearer in this wording.
- 7. Use service collocation Original: prepare Suggested revision: provide Why it matters: Organisers 'provide' accommodation rather than prepare it.
- 8. Use question word order Original: how much the registration would cost? Suggested revision: how much would registration cost? Why it matters: A direct question places the auxiliary verb before the subject.
- 9. Use adjective form Original: give me details instructions, please Suggested revision: please provide me with detailed instructions Why it matters: The noun 'instructions' requires the adjective 'detailed', and the request is more polite in this order.
- 10. Complete fixed expression Original: at your earliest Suggested revision: at your earliest convenience Why it matters: The standard formal closing phrase includes 'convenience'.
- 11. Use formal request phrase Original: get some details about Suggested revision: request information about Why it matters: The revised phrase states the letter's purpose more formally and directly.
- 12. Punctuate the title Original: seminar - New Techniques of Production Management Suggested revision: seminar, “New Techniques of Production Management,” Why it matters: Commas and quotation marks distinguish the seminar title from the surrounding sentence.
Suggested Rewrites
- administer hold
- book my seat reserve my place
- symposium seminar
- home appliances company home-appliance company
- manners methods
- the date and schedule of the seminar the seminar dates and programme schedule
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter has a clear formal purpose, provides relevant professional context, and asks about dates, scheduling, accommodation, registration cost, and online payment. Its main limitation is that the programme-content request is less direct than the other points, while several formal expressions and question forms are awkward. Prioritise an explicit request for a programme outline and grammatically complete, concise questions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The formal purpose is clear and all requested areas are addressed, though the request for programme details is largely implied through the schedule rather than stated directly.
Ask specifically for the session topics, speakers, or full programme outline in addition to the dates and timetable.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter moves logically from purpose and professional relevance to the information requests and closing, but limited paragraphing makes the requests less easy to scan.
Separate the background, dates and programme questions, and accommodation and cost questions into clear paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response uses varied, topic-appropriate formal vocabulary, although phrases such as 'administer a seminar,' 'management manners,' and 'book my seat' sound unnatural.
Use conventional alternatives such as 'hold a seminar,' 'management approaches,' and 'reserve a place.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures is generally accurate, with a few noticeable errors in question formation, adjective form, and closing expressions.
Write 'How much would registration cost?', 'detailed instructions,' and 'at your earliest convenience.'
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You would like to participate in a work-related seminar in another country. Write a letter to the person in charge of the seminar. In your letter:
- ask for information about the seminar dates
- ask for details of the programme
- ask about accommodation
- ask about the cost
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.