You are organising an executive event for the company you work for. Write a letter to the person in charge of a venue that you are considering for the event. In your letter: - ask about available dates - ask what services the venue provides - ask about the costs
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am pleased to inform you that we are consideringhave chosen your resort as the venue for our company's prestigious annual conference. I am responsible for the event's planning and execution and hence writing for some details. I hope you can answerI am hoping that you would answer my questionsqueries so that I can book the venuebook it well in advance. We are planning to host the conference at the end of July and need the venue for the whole evening. Please confirm whether it is availablenotify its availability on either 24 or 26 Julyeither on 24th or on 26th July. We are expecting 40 guests at the eventguests on the programme and would like details of the dinner and drinks menuneed the menu for dinner and drinks. Some of our guests are coming from overseas, sooverseas so we will require some continental dishes. We also need a projector and a backup power supplyelectricity backup so that we can give presentationsshow some presentations to our overseas partners without interruptionwithout any interruption. Kindly inform me of a breakdown of the coststhe breakdown costs of the venue, services, food and drinksyour service, venue, food and drinks in your replyin the return mail. Please be noted that the event is profoundly important for us and any sort of flaws will detriment our company's image as well as yours so I hope you will be rigorous in providing your service. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, John Augustin
Why this response received Band 7.0
The letter thoroughly covers date options, guest numbers, catering, audiovisual needs, power backup, and an itemised cost request, making the practical requirements very clear. Its main limitation is the closing warning about flaws damaging both organisations' images, which sounds confrontational and undermines the professional enquiry. The priority is to replace that warning with a polite request for confirmation that the venue can meet the service standards before booking.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed with useful operational detail, but the letter assumes the venue is chosen and ends with an unnecessarily threatening tone.
Present the resort as one option under consideration and ask courteously whether it can guarantee the requested catering, equipment, and backup services.
Coherence and Cohesion
The requests follow a practical sequence from dates to services and costs, though the single paragraph and abrupt final warning weaken the flow.
Use focused paragraphs for event context and dates, guest and service requirements, costs, and a courteous request for confirmation.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate range for event planning and services, but phrases such as 'breakdown costs', 'return mail', 'detriment our image', and 'rigorous in providing' are inaccurate.
Use precise expressions such as 'itemised cost breakdown', 'by return email', 'damage our reputation', and 'deliver the requested services reliably'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied structures communicate the requirements, but missing words, agreement, article use, and the overloaded warning sentence create recurring errors.
Correct forms such as 'I am therefore writing to request details', 'confirm availability on either date', and 'any shortcomings could damage our reputation'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are organising an executive event for the company you work for. Write a letter to the person in charge of a venue that you are considering for the event. In your letter:
- ask about available dates
- ask what services the venue provides
- ask about the costs
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.