One of your colleagues was in charge of organising an annual executive conference, and he/she has been successful in doing it. You want to congratulate your colleague on that. Write a letter to this colleague. In your letter: - Congratulate your colleague for successfully organising the event - Mention what you liked about it the most - Say how much you would like him/her to organise other events as well
Sample Response
Dear Mr William,
I am writing to you to congratulate you for making the annual executive conference successful, which was organized on 23rd November 2021. Everything went well by dint of your hard work and effective planning.
Furthermore, your arrangement to organize it in the halls of residence was a good decision due to the increased number of employees. They were distributing the hard copy of speeches, which had been delivered by the main guests, making it understandable to all. All and sundry took an interest in it. Besides, the availability of mics, overhead projector and some other visuals were icing on the cake, and these things facilitate the work of guests.
Moving further, I would like you to organize a New Year party, in which eminent personalities, clients are often invited. If you are the event organizer, it would add a new charm to this special day. If you could present some motivational stories and achievements of our company, it would make that day more exciting and stimulating.
I hope you will achieve more and see you soon to share a cup of joe with you this coming Sunday.
Yours Sincerely,
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct preposition Original: for Suggested revision: on Why it matters: The verb ‘congratulate’ takes ‘on’ before a gerund.
- 2. Clarify the subject Original: They were distributing Suggested revision: Staff distributed Why it matters: A named subject removes the unclear pronoun reference and keeps the account in the past.
- 3. Use plural nouns Original: the hard copy of speeches Suggested revision: hard copies of the speeches Why it matters: Several speeches require the plural noun ‘copies’ and a definite article.
- 4. Match the plural referent Original: making it understandable to all Suggested revision: making them understandable to everyone Why it matters: The pronoun must agree with the plural noun ‘speeches’.
- 5. Add the article Original: mics, overhead projector Suggested revision: mics, an overhead projector Why it matters: The singular countable noun ‘projector’ needs an article.
- 6. Complete the idiom Original: were icing on the cake Suggested revision: were the icing on the cake Why it matters: The fixed expression requires the definite article ‘the’.
- 7. Keep past tense Original: facilitate Suggested revision: facilitated Why it matters: The past-tense account of the conference requires ‘facilitated’.
- 8. Join the list Original: eminent personalities, clients Suggested revision: eminent personalities and clients Why it matters: Two coordinated groups should be joined with ‘and’, not separated by a comma.
- 9. Correct sign-off case Original: Sincerely Suggested revision: sincerely Why it matters: Only the first word of this conventional sign-off is capitalised.
- 10. Use natural praise Original: by dint of Suggested revision: thanks to Why it matters: ‘Thanks to’ conveys the positive cause more naturally in a letter to a colleague.
- 11. Use a clear collocation Original: arrangement to organize it Suggested revision: decision to hold it Why it matters: An event is naturally ‘held’, and ‘decision’ fits the choice of venue.
- 12. Clarify the reason Original: due to the increased number of employees Suggested revision: to accommodate the larger number of employees Why it matters: The replacement clearly links the larger venue to its practical purpose.
Suggested Rewrites
- for on
- They were distributing Staff distributed
- the hard copy of speeches hard copies of the speeches
- making it understandable to all making them understandable to everyone
- mics, overhead projector mics, an overhead projector
- were icing on the cake were the icing on the cake
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter clearly congratulates the colleague, identifies several successful features of the conference, and makes a well-developed request for help with another event. Its main weakness is uneven language control, with awkward wording, inconsistent register, and recurring grammatical slips. Prioritise more natural collocations and accurate sentence construction while keeping the effective paragraph-by-paragraph coverage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear and all three bullet points are covered with relevant, specific detail.
Maintain a consistently professional colleague-to-colleague tone, especially in the closing invitation.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through distinct paragraphs, although some linking phrases and references feel mechanical or unclear.
Use simpler transitions and make pronoun references explicit so each sentence connects more naturally.
Lexical Resource
The letter shows a good range of vocabulary and idiomatic language, but several collocations and register choices are awkward.
Choose natural workplace expressions and avoid idioms such as informal social phrases when they clash with the formal tone.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly despite recurring article, agreement, and tense errors.
Proofread complex sentences for articles, subject-verb agreement, and consistent verb tense.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
One of your colleagues was in charge of organising an annual executive conference, and he/she has been successful in doing it. You want to congratulate your colleague on that. Write a letter to this colleague. In your letter:
- Congratulate your colleague for successfully organising the event
- Mention what you liked about it the most
- Say how much you would like him/her to organise other events as well
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.