Task
You and some friends ate a meal at a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and you were very pleased with the food and service.
Write a letter to the restaurant manager. In your letter
- give details of your visit to the restaurant
- explain the reason for the celebration
- say what was good about the food and the service
Candidate’s Answer
This is an answer written by a candidate who achieved a Band 8.0 score.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you to express my delight with the excellent service and high quality of food that your restaurant provided us last Saturday night, on the occasion of my 50th birthday.
We were a party of twelve, which included my family, close friends, and colleagues from work. Your staff went out of their way to provide seating arrangements that were easily accessible, and did not interfere with other diners. I find that this is unusual in many restaurants these days. The waiters were extremely professional and polite, and were obviously experienced as they did not encroach too much on the procedings.
Your current menu offers a great deal of choice, as does your wine list, and everything was available. There were no complaints about the quality or quantity of the dishes served, and the presentation of each dish was akin to the dishes produced in shows such as ‘Master Chef’.
I ordered the rack of pork ribs, which was deliciously succulent and, if anything, maybe slightly too large. Nevertheless, I managed to finish it!
I was similarly impressed with the large variety of local and International wines available. The wine that was ordered arrived at the correct temperature that each wine should be consumed at. The waiters were familiar with the etiquette of drinking and enjoying fine wines, and the service was paramount.
All-in-all, our group enjoyed a delicious meal at your establishment, and I had a very happy birthday.
Congratulations once again.
Yours sincerely,
Examiner’s Comment
The response addresses all the bullet points very naturally, and expands fully on two of them. The reason for the celebration is covered at the beginning and the end, but could be more fully developed. The message is easy to follow, ideas are logically sequenced and all aspects of cohesion are well managed. The paragraphing is sufficient but could be improved: the three short, single-sentence paragraphs would be better combined into one. A wide range of vocabulary is fluently used to convey precise meanings. There are several spelling errors which do not reduce the communicative effect. A wide range of grammatical structures is accurately used, with full flexibility and control. Punctuation and grammar are appropriate throughout, with no errors.
