General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Letter to Restaurant Manager Regarding Poor Group Dining Experience

You are a member of an organization that meets regularly at a particular restaurant. The most recent meal you had there was not satisfactory.

Write a letter to the manager of the restaurant. In your letter:

explain why you are writing
describe what went wrong with the meal and service
suggest what the manager should do to ensure that you and your group return to the restaurant

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction regarding the dinner service provided to the local History Society last Tuesday evening. As regular patrons who have held our monthly meetings at your establishment for two years, we were disappointed by the decline in standards during our most recent visit.

Regrettably, the evening was marred by several issues. Despite having confirmed our reservation for fifteen people a week in advance, our table was not ready upon arrival. Furthermore, the main courses were served lukewarm after a significant delay, and two of our members received incorrect orders. When we attempted to bring these matters to the attention of our server, their response was dismissive and unhelpful, which was quite distressing for our group.

To ensure we feel comfortable returning for our next meeting, I suggest that you review your staffing levels during peak hours and consider implementing a more robust system for handling group bookings. Additionally, a gesture of goodwill, such as a discount on our next reservation, would go a long way in restoring our confidence in your restaurant.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how these issues will be addressed.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur Penhaligon

198 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response clearly addresses all bullet points with a sophisticated, consistent tone and cohesive structure. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide specific suggestions for improvement, instead offering only vague complaints about the service quality.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

marred: spoiled or damaged the quality of something
patrons: customers who support or frequent a business
lukewarm: only slightly warm and not hot enough
dismissive: showing that something is unworthy of consideration
robust: strong and unlikely to fail or break
goodwill: friendly or helpful feelings towards a business

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.