You have recently visited a museum. Now write a letter to your friend about the museum you have visited. Write a letter to him/ her. In your letter, write: - where you went - what you saw there - how you felt about it
Sample Response
Dear Joy, Hope this letter finds you in good spirits and health. As you are aware, I'm currently in Chicago for a month for some professional work. I'm writing this letter to share my experience of visiting the 'Science Museum' in Chicago Downtown, which I thought you would enjoy. The entry fee was $15 but I was lucky to get a free pass from one of my colleagues. This museum is visited by a large number of local citizens and international tourists. The ground floor displays the invention of robots, with many robots on display and details on how they were developed. I learned that theories based on the abacus were further expanded to enhance this technology. The first floor displays extinct animals, skeletons of dinosaurs and the history behind their extermination. This was quite interesting. The second floor has a shop where you can buy books and souvenirs. Kiosks are placed on all floors which provide extensive information about the displayed items. It was a great learning opportunity and a fabulous experience that I'll cherish for a long. I wish you had been with me when I visited the museum. Why don't you write me back about things you've done recently and enjoyed? Warm wishes, Tom
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add the subject Original: Hope this letter Suggested revision: I hope this letter Why it matters: The opening clause needs an explicit subject in standard written English.
- 2. Avoid repeated for Original: for a month for some professional work Suggested revision: for a month on a work assignment Why it matters: The revised phrase removes repetition and states the reason for the stay naturally.
- 3. Remove redundant noun Original: writing this letter Suggested revision: writing Why it matters: The reader already knows that the communication is a letter.
- 4. Correct location order Original: in Chicago Downtown Suggested revision: in downtown Chicago Why it matters: English places downtown before the city name in this location phrase.
- 5. Add contrast comma Original: $15 but Suggested revision: $15, but Why it matters: Two independent clauses joined by but require a comma.
- 6. Use local residents Original: citizens Suggested revision: residents Why it matters: Residents is the natural term for people who live locally.
- 7. Clarify the exhibit Original: displays the invention of robots Suggested revision: features exhibits on the development of robots Why it matters: A museum presents exhibits about technological development rather than displaying an invention as a process.
- 8. Use extinction terminology Original: history behind their extermination Suggested revision: history of their extinction Why it matters: Extinction is the correct term for species dying out, whereas extermination implies deliberate killing.
- 9. Clarify what Joy enjoys Original: which I thought you would enjoy Suggested revision: because I thought you would enjoy hearing about it Why it matters: The revision removes the unclear relative reference to the museum or its location.
- 10. Use details of how Original: on Suggested revision: of Why it matters: Details of how is the natural prepositional phrase for explaining a process.
- 11. Use natural development wording Original: theories based on the abacus were further expanded Suggested revision: ideas based on the abacus were developed further Why it matters: The revised wording describes the progression of ideas more naturally.
- 12. Clarify animal exhibits Original: displays extinct animals Suggested revision: features exhibits about extinct animals Why it matters: A museum floor displays exhibits or remains rather than living extinct animals.
Suggested Rewrites
- Hope this letter I hope this letter
- for a month for some professional work for a month on a work assignment
- writing this letter writing
- in Chicago Downtown in downtown Chicago
- $15 but $15, but
- citizens residents
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter gives a vivid, easy-to-follow account of the museum, fully addressing its location, exhibits, and the writer's positive reaction in a warm, friendly voice. The main limitation is occasional imprecise or unnatural vocabulary, particularly when describing the exhibits and experience. The highest-priority improvement is to choose more exact, idiomatic words for scientific content while preserving the engaging personal tone.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully covered with relevant detail, and the friendly opening and closing maintain an appropriate informal register.
Strengthen the personal response further by adding one specific reason why a particular exhibit was especially memorable.
Coherence and Cohesion
The tour through the museum floors creates clear progression, and referencing and linking keep the account easy to follow.
Group the location and background, exhibit descriptions, and personal reaction into separate paragraphs for a more polished letter structure.
Lexical Resource
The response shows good range in describing the visit, but choices such as extermination and cherish for a long reduce precision and naturalness.
Use exact expressions such as extinction and cherish for years, and avoid vague technical claims about the abacus.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide variety of sentence forms is handled accurately, with only rare minor awkwardness that does not impede communication.
Polish relative clauses and sentence openings to remove slight ambiguity while retaining the strong range of complex structures.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You have recently visited a museum. Now write a letter to your friend about the museum you have visited. Write a letter to him/ her. In your letter, write:
- where you went
- what you saw there
- how you felt about it
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.