You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery school has asked for your feedback on this course. Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter: - describe what you enjoyed about the course - say how much cooking you've done since the course - suggest another cookery course you'd like the school to offer
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam,
I recently completed the Traditional Chinese Cuisine course at your cookery school, and I would like to express my appreciation for the experience. I am also excited to be contacted to offer my feedback.
The hands-on approach, combined with the expert guidance of the instructors, made learning both enjoyable and effective. I particularly loved how the course focused on authentic techniques, such as mastering the perfect dumpling folds and achieving the right balance of flavours in Sichuan dishes.
Since completing the course, I have been cooking much more frequently. I have recreated several dishes, including Kung Pao Chicken and Cantonese-style steamed fish, for my family and friends. They have been very impressed with the flavours, and I feel more confident in my cooking skills.
I would love to see your school offer a course on Chinese Street Food Specialties. Many iconic dishes, such as Jianbing (savoury crepes) and Roujiamo (Chinese burgers), are popular worldwide, and a course dedicated to them would be a great addition.
Thank you once again for an enriching experience. I look forward to joining another course soon.
Yours faithfully,
Li Wei
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Refine formal tone Original: loved Suggested revision: appreciated Why it matters: Appreciated maintains the positive meaning in a slightly more professional register.
- 2. Use natural technique phrase Original: the perfect dumpling folds Suggested revision: how to fold dumplings perfectly Why it matters: The revision describes the practical technique more naturally.
- 3. Use sentence case Original: Chinese Street Food Specialties Suggested revision: Chinese street-food specialities Why it matters: A proposed course subject does not require title capitalization, and specialities follows British spelling.
- 4. Clarify course reference Original: a course dedicated to them Suggested revision: a course covering these dishes Why it matters: The replacement gives the pronoun a clear and direct reference.
- 5. Use course collocation Original: joining another course Suggested revision: enrolling in another course Why it matters: Enrol in is the standard collocation for becoming a course participant.
- 6. Sentence rewrite Original: I am also excited to be contacted to offer my feedback. Suggested revision: I am also pleased to have been invited to provide feedback. Why it matters: The rewrite removes an awkward passive construction and uses the natural phrase provide feedback.
- 7. Quantify recent cooking Suggested revision: State approximately how often you have cooked since completing the course, in addition to naming the dishes. Why it matters: The task asks how much cooking has been done, and much more frequently remains imprecise.
- 8. Connect proposed course Suggested revision: Briefly explain how the street-food course would build on the techniques or confidence gained from the completed course. Why it matters: This would develop the requested suggestion while keeping it personally relevant to the feedback.
Suggested Rewrites
- loved appreciated
- the perfect dumpling folds how to fold dumplings perfectly
- Chinese Street Food Specialties Chinese street-food specialities
- a course dedicated to them a course covering these dishes
- joining another course enrolling in another course
- I am also excited to be contacted to offer my feedback. I am also pleased to have been invited to provide feedback.
Why this response received Band 8.5
The letter fully achieves its purpose through specific, engaging detail about the course, subsequent cooking practice, and a well-justified proposal for a future class. Its strongest features are the natural formal tone, clear paragraphing, and precise culinary vocabulary; the only limitation is a slightly awkward phrase about being contacted for feedback. The priority is simply to refine that phrasing while preserving the letter's concise, personable style.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three bullet points are fully developed with specific examples, and the appreciative, appropriately formal purpose remains clear throughout.
Refine the opening to state more naturally that you were pleased to be invited to provide feedback.
Coherence and Cohesion
Each communicative function has a focused paragraph, and the progression from appreciation to recent cooking and the proposed course is effortless.
As a final polish, link the proposed street-food course explicitly to the techniques enjoyed on the completed course.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, precise, and natural, particularly in the descriptions of techniques, dishes, confidence, and the proposed course.
Replace the slightly awkward phrase 'excited to be contacted to offer my feedback' with a more idiomatic formal expression.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with punctuation and agreement consistently well controlled.
Maintain this level of control while shortening the opening sentence sequence to avoid any slight formality or stiffness.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery school has asked for your feedback on this course. Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter:
- describe what you enjoyed about the course
- say how much cooking you've done since the course
- suggest another cookery course you'd like the school to offer
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.