You recently organised an all-day meeting for your company, which took place in a local hotel. In their feedback, participants at the meeting said that they liked the hotel, but they were unhappy about the food that was served for lunch. Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter: - say what the participants liked about the hotel - explain why they were unhappy about the food - suggest what the manager should do to improve the food in future
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Matthew Hudson, recently organised an all-day meeting for our company - Taylor's Logistics, at your hotel on 25th November, and I would like to share some feedback from our participants regarding their experience.
Overall, the attendees were highly impressed with the hotel’s facilities and service. The meeting room was spacious and well-equipped, the staff were courteous and efficient, and the ambience of the venue was professional yet welcoming. These aspects contributed significantly to the success of our event.
However, there were several complaints about the food served at lunch. Many participants felt that the variety was limited, with only a few options available. Additionally, the quality did not meet their expectations, as some dishes were bland and lacked freshness. A few guests also mentioned that dietary requirements were not adequately catered for, despite prior requests.
To enhance the dining experience in the future, I would suggest expanding the menu options, ensuring better ingredient quality, and providing clear labels for dietary preferences. I hope these recommendations will help improve the overall experience for future guests.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Matthew Hudson
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add coordinating subject Original: I am Matthew Hudson, recently organised Suggested revision: I am Matthew Hudson, and I recently organised Why it matters: The sentence needs “and I” to coordinate the introduction with the past-tense action.
- 2. Fix company-name punctuation Original: company - Taylor's Logistics, Suggested revision: company, Taylor's Logistics, Why it matters: The company name is an appositive and should be enclosed by commas, not introduced with a spaced hyphen.
- 3. Use formal date style Original: 25th Suggested revision: 25 Why it matters: The cardinal-number form is standard in formal British correspondence.
- 4. Remove wordiness Original: feedback from our participants regarding their experience Suggested revision: our participants' feedback on their experience Why it matters: The possessive construction conveys the same meaning more concisely.
- 5. Avoid repeated meaning Original: the variety was limited, with only a few options available Suggested revision: the menu offered only a few options Why it matters: “Limited” and “only a few” repeat the same idea.
- 6. Make recommendation concrete Original: ensuring better ingredient quality Suggested revision: using fresher, higher-quality ingredients Why it matters: The replacement links the recommendation directly to the reported lack of freshness.
- 7. Match reported concern Original: preferences Suggested revision: requirements Why it matters: The complaint concerns requirements that were not catered for, not merely preferences.
- 8. Keep focus on lunch Original: overall Suggested revision: lunchtime Why it matters: The requested improvements concern the food served at lunch specifically.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am Matthew Hudson, recently organised I am Matthew Hudson, and I recently organised
- company - Taylor's Logistics, company, Taylor's Logistics,
- 25th 25
- feedback from our participants regarding their experience our participants' feedback on their experience
- the variety was limited, with only a few options available the menu offered only a few options
- ensuring better ingredient quality using fresher, higher-quality ingredients
Why this response received Band 8.5
The letter delivers highly effective hotel feedback in a professional, constructive tone, fully developing what participants appreciated, why lunch disappointed them, and how the food service could improve. Its organisation and vocabulary are especially strong, with recommendations that respond directly to the complaints. The principal refinement is grammatical: correct the malformed introductory clause and tidy the punctuation around the company name so the opening matches the control shown throughout the rest of the letter.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The communicative purpose is fully achieved, every bullet point is specifically developed, and the tone balances appreciation, criticism, and constructive advice.
Retain this level of detail while making the final request slightly more actionable, for example by inviting confirmation of planned menu changes.
Coherence and Cohesion
Focused paragraphs follow the task’s three functions in a natural order, with cohesive devices used smoothly and accurately.
For maximum concision, merge the final recommendation and closing ideas without repeating future experience and future guests.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is precise and flexible across facilities, service, food quality, dietary needs, and practical recommendations.
Continue using this specific language while avoiding minor repetition of experience and improve in the closing section.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is accurately controlled apart from the faulty introductory relative clause and minor dash punctuation.
Write I am Matthew Hudson, and I recently organised an all-day meeting for Taylor's Logistics at your hotel on 25 November.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently organised an all-day meeting for your company, which took place in a local hotel. In their feedback, participants at the meeting said that they liked the hotel, but they were unhappy about the food that was served for lunch. Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter:
- say what the participants liked about the hotel
- explain why they were unhappy about the food
- suggest what the manager should do to improve the food in future
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.