Cambridge English: Proficiency

Writing Task (go to Checklist)

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Writing Paper Part 2. Task Type: Review

Question
Your local newspaper is asking its readers to write a review of a restaurant that they have eaten at recently and would recommend to others:

"Which restaurant would you recommend?"

Write your review of the restaurant and the meal that you ate there, and describe some or all of the following points: the atmosphere, attitude of the staff, the quality of the service and whether the restaurant is good value for money.

Write the review for the newspaper readership. (around 280 - 320 words)

What you need to do to pass
Read our checklist first to understand what the examiner is looking for in a good answer.

Ideas for writing
Ask yourself the following questions to help you get started:

• First, decide which restaurant you are going to write about. Is it popular or less well known? On which day did you eat there? Did you dine alone or with a friend? If you include these details it will make your review seem more realistic!
• What was the atmosphere and service like? Although you are recommending the restaurant you may still have encountered a problem. Example:
  "The diners on the table next to us were rather rowdy and they threatened to spoil our meal. Luckily, the waiter spotted this and had a discreet word with the other guests, who then quietened down..."
• The main part of your review should concern the food. How many courses/dishes did you try? This part of the task gives you scope to use a lot of descriptive words:
  Positive words/phrases: delicious, mouth-watering, tender (meat), melt-in-the-mouth, etc.
  Less positive words: bland, tough (meat), undercooked, poorly presented
• You final paragraph is the chance to sum up and could include details like the cost of the meal and the strength of your recommendation.

Drafting and proofreading your work

You should look at your first draft of the task and decide:

• Have you answered the question?
• Is the layout and organisation appropriate?
• Is the language accurate with a good range of structures?
• Is the style appropriate and consistent?
• Will it have a positive effect on the reader?

If the answer is 'no' to any of these questions then you will need to do some more drafting!