You recently attended a training course for your work. Your employer has asked you for your feedback on the training course. Write a letter to your employer. In your letter: - remind your employer - what the course was about - explain why the course was useful to you in your work - suggest why the course may not be suitable for some of your other colleagues
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Emma Bennett, and I am writing this letter to share my feedback on the recent Customer Service Excellence training course I attended. The course covered essential topics such as effective communication, handling difficult customers, and enhancing customer satisfaction through problem-solving strategies.
I found the training extremely useful, particularly in improving my ability to manage customer interactions professionally and efficiently. The role-playing exercises provided practical experience in dealing with challenging situations, and the section on active listening has helped me respond to customer concerns more empathetically. I am confident that the skills I have gained will allow me to contribute to a more positive customer experience and strengthen client relationships.
However, I believe this course may not be suitable for colleagues who do not interact with customers directly, such as those in administrative or technical roles. A more tailored training session focusing on internal communication or problem-solving might be more relevant for them.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this valuable training. I look forward to applying these new techniques in my role.
Yours faithfully,
Emma Bennett
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Address your employer Original: Dear Sir or Madam Suggested revision: Dear [Employer’s Name] Why it matters: A named salutation is more appropriate when writing to a known employer.
- 2. Remove needless wording Original: I am Emma Bennett, and I am writing this letter Suggested revision: I am writing Why it matters: An employer already knows the employee, so the self-introduction and “this letter” are unnecessary.
- 3. Use precise wording Original: essential Suggested revision: key Why it matters: “Key topics” more directly identifies the principal areas covered by the course.
- 4. Improve the connection Original: particularly in improving Suggested revision: especially for improving Why it matters: This phrase connects the general evaluation more smoothly to the specific benefit.
- 5. Use natural phrasing Original: more empathetically Suggested revision: with greater empathy Why it matters: The noun phrase sounds more natural in this description of responding to concerns.
- 6. Refine the preposition Original: might be more relevant for them Suggested revision: would be more relevant to them Why it matters: “Relevant to” is the more idiomatic prepositional combination in this context.
- 7. Keep terms consistent Original: these new techniques Suggested revision: these skills Why it matters: “Skills” links the closing directly to the abilities described earlier.
- 8. Strengthen the reminder Suggested revision: Add when you attended the course so the employer can identify the event immediately. Why it matters: The course name is clear, but a date or time reference would make the requested reminder more complete.
Suggested Rewrites
- Dear Sir or Madam Dear [Employer’s Name]
- I am Emma Bennett, and I am writing this letter I am writing
- essential key
- particularly in improving especially for improving
- more empathetically with greater empathy
- might be more relevant for them would be more relevant to them
Why this response received Band 8.0
The letter is focused, polished, and fully developed: it identifies the customer-service course, explains how role-play and active listening improve the writer's work, and gives a convincing reason why non-customer-facing colleagues need different training. Its strongest feature is the precise connection between course content and workplace application. Only minor refinement is needed; prioritise identifying the employer more personally if their name or role is known.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is completely fulfilled, every required point is well developed, and the professional tone is consistently appropriate.
Refine the opening by briefly reminding the employer when or where the course took place, making the contextual reminder even more specific.
Coherence and Cohesion
Clear paragraphs and natural transitions create strong progression from course content to benefits, limitations for colleagues, and a purposeful close.
The structure is already effective; a named salutation would strengthen the connection between the writer and employer without changing the organisation.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, precise, and well suited to professional training feedback, with effective customer-service terminology.
For further refinement, vary the repeated word 'course' with 'training' or 'programme' where the reference remains clear.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with strong control of agreement, tense, punctuation, and clause relationships.
Maintain this level of accuracy while considering a slightly more direct opening such as 'Thank you for asking me to provide feedback'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently attended a training course for your work. Your employer has asked you for your feedback on the training course. Write a letter to your employer. In your letter:
- remind your employer
- what the course was about
- explain why the course was useful to you in your work
- suggest why the course may not be suitable for some of your other colleagues
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.