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 request some information regarding the conference that your organisation is going to conduct next month in Perth Australia, as advertised in the Daily Heralds. I am hoping that you will provide me with these details as soon as possible so that I can book my seat for the workshop. Firstly, I would like to know the exact schedule of the symposium to sanction the leaves from my work. Is there any prerequisite to attend the conclave? If so, what are they? Secondly, the venue details with a navigational map would be highly appreciated as I will be travelling to Perth for the first time. Are the participants expected to bring their personal laptops and other stationery? Finally, who would be responsible for the accommodation - the participants themselves or your organisation? Can I book a hotel of my own? What will be the total cost for a participant from the UK, and if there is an early bird discount provided that booking is done well in advance? I am hoping to receive your reply before next Friday. Your help and time will be greatly appreciated. Yours faithfully,
Dev Odedra
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Match task term Original: conference Suggested revision: seminar Why it matters: Using the task's term seminar avoids suggesting a different type of event.
- 2. Use event collocation Original: conduct Suggested revision: hold Why it matters: Organisations hold seminars rather than conduct them.
- 3. Punctuate location Original: Perth Australia Suggested revision: Perth, Australia Why it matters: A comma separates the city from the country.
- 4. Use registration phrase Original: book my seat Suggested revision: reserve my place Why it matters: Reserve my place is the natural formal expression for seminar registration.
- 5. Use natural possessive Original: personal Suggested revision: own Why it matters: Own is more natural than personal when asking what participants should bring.
- 6. Clarify own booking Original: a hotel of my own Suggested revision: my own accommodation Why it matters: The writer means arranging accommodation independently, not owning a hotel.
- 7. Use concise preposition Original: some information regarding Suggested revision: information about Why it matters: Information about is more concise and natural.
- 8. Use formal request Original: I am hoping that you will provide me Suggested revision: I would appreciate receiving Why it matters: The revision creates a more polished formal request.
- 9. Keep event term consistent Original: workshop Suggested revision: seminar Why it matters: The response should use seminar consistently for the event named in the task.
- 10. Clarify required supplies Original: other stationery Suggested revision: any required stationery Why it matters: The revised phrase asks more precisely which supplies participants must bring.
- 11. Use concise closing Original: I am hoping to receive Suggested revision: I hope to receive Why it matters: The simple present is more concise for this closing request.
- 12. Use courteous timing Original: as soon as possible Suggested revision: at your earliest convenience Why it matters: This is a more courteous formal way to request a prompt reply.
Suggested Rewrites
- conference seminar
- conduct hold
- Perth Australia Perth, Australia
- book my seat reserve my place
- personal own
- a hotel of my own my own accommodation
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter maintains a suitably formal tone and asks relevant questions about dates, programme arrangements, accommodation, and fees, so the recipient can respond usefully. Its main limitation is unnatural over-formality in several word choices and one awkwardly constructed cost question. Prioritise direct, conventional business-letter language and split combined questions into clear, grammatically complete sentences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, the formal register is appropriate, and every requested area is covered with useful questions, though programme content could be requested more directly.
Ask explicitly for the session topics or a programme schedule instead of relying mainly on questions about prerequisites and equipment.
Coherence and Cohesion
The requests progress logically through scheduling, programme matters, accommodation, and cost, although the presentation would benefit from clearer paragraph breaks.
Group related questions into distinct paragraphs and keep each transition tied to the prompt's four requested areas.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a broad formal vocabulary, but choices such as 'sanction the leaves' and 'conclave' sound unnatural or unnecessarily elaborate.
Prefer conventional phrases such as 'arrange leave from work,' 'seminar,' and 'reserve a place.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of sentence structures is used with generally clear meaning, but agreement, article use, punctuation, and question formation contain noticeable errors.
Correct the prerequisite pronoun agreement and rewrite the final cost-and-discount question as two complete questions.
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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.