Recently you went to a local restaurant with your family and were very satisfied with the food and service. Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. In your letter: - tell the editor about the restaurant - describe the meal you and your family had - explain why you think the restaurant is worth visiting
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am a fan of your informative editorial and articles which I try to read as often as I can. I also like to share and exchange local information with my fellow residents of this town on different forums, such as your newspaper. And, as a part of this information sharing effort, I would like to talk about a restaurant, where I visited recently with my family members, which I think is worth visiting. We tried several meals at that restaurant, and I must say that they were of top quality because they all seemed to be made with fresh ingredients. I especially liked their “mushroom fettuccine”, made with some perfectly grinded hot pepper flakes and evenly cut mushrooms. The French fries served there were also very delicious and chewy. Besides, I also liked the nice sitting arrangement there in front of their spacious porch, which was nicely decorated with different kinds of flower plants. As for the customer service there, I think that the staff at the restaurant knew perfectly well how to make their customer happy.
So, based on these findings, I would certainly recommend this restaurant to anybody and hope that you would publish an article reviewing and recommending this restaurant to your readers. Yours faithfully, George Malone
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Natural reader phrase Original: a fan of your informative editorial and articles Suggested revision: an avid reader of your informative editorials and articles Why it matters: This collocation expresses regular engagement with a newspaper more naturally.
- 2. Accurate channel term Original: different forums, such as your newspaper Suggested revision: various local channels, including your newspaper Why it matters: A newspaper is a communication channel rather than a forum.
- 3. Streamline transition Original: And, as a part of Suggested revision: As part of Why it matters: This removes an unnecessary coordinating conjunction and makes the transition more direct.
- 4. Hyphenate compound modifier Original: information sharing effort Suggested revision: information-sharing effort Why it matters: The compound modifier before the noun needs a hyphen.
- 5. Correct relative clause Original: a restaurant, where I visited Suggested revision: a restaurant that I visited Why it matters: The verb 'visited' takes the restaurant as its direct object, so 'that' is required here.
- 6. Use concise wording Original: family members Suggested revision: family Why it matters: The shorter word conveys the same meaning more naturally in this context.
- 7. Use precise food term Original: meals Suggested revision: dishes Why it matters: Individual food items ordered at a restaurant are more precisely called dishes.
- 8. Refine quality phrase Original: top Suggested revision: excellent Why it matters: This is a more natural formal collocation for describing food.
- 9. Correct past participle Original: grinded Suggested revision: ground Why it matters: The past participle of 'grind' is 'ground'.
- 10. Use culinary verb Original: cut Suggested revision: sliced Why it matters: 'Sliced' is the more precise verb for mushrooms prepared in even pieces.
- 11. Clarify texture praise Original: delicious and chewy Suggested revision: delicious, with a pleasantly chewy texture Why it matters: This makes it clear that the texture is intended as a positive quality.
- 12. Correct collocation Original: sitting Suggested revision: seating Why it matters: 'Seating arrangement' is the standard phrase for how seats are organised.
Suggested Rewrites
- a fan of your informative editorial and articles an avid reader of your informative editorials and articles
- different forums, such as your newspaper various local channels, including your newspaper
- And, as a part of As part of
- information sharing effort information-sharing effort
- a restaurant, where I visited a restaurant that I visited
- family members family
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response has a clear recommendation, relevant descriptions of the food, setting, and service, and a suitably formal tone for a newspaper editor. Its main limitation is that the restaurant is never identified by name or location, while details about the family's meal are narrower than the prompt invites. The highest-priority improvement is to identify the venue immediately and describe what different family members ate and enjoyed.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter addresses all three bullet points in an appropriate formal register, but it omits the restaurant's name or location and gives limited detail about the family's individual meals.
Identify the restaurant clearly and add one or two specific details about what other family members ordered and enjoyed.
Coherence and Cohesion
The recommendation develops logically from the writer's purpose through food, surroundings, and service, although the opening is overextended and paragraphing is limited.
Shorten the introductory remarks and use separate paragraphs for the meal, the wider dining experience, and the recommendation.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range to describe food, decor, and service, but several choices such as 'perfectly grinded,' 'chewy' fries, and 'sitting arrangement' are inaccurate or unnatural.
Choose more idiomatic food and restaurant collocations, such as 'freshly ground pepper' and 'pleasant seating area'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The writer uses varied complex structures with generally good control, though some relative clauses and noun forms are faulty.
Correct constructions such as 'a restaurant that I visited' and check singular-plural agreement in phrases about customers.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
Recently you went to a local restaurant with your family and were very satisfied with the food and service. Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. In your letter:
- tell the editor about the restaurant
- describe the meal you and your family had
- explain why you think the restaurant is worth visiting
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.