Describe a place you visited that you would recommend to others

Band 6

I want to talk about a small coastal town I visitTense slip: should be “visited” about two years ago, a few hours’ drive from my home, which I go withTense slip: should be “which I went with” two friends from university for a long weekend. It is quite off the beaten track compared to the more famous beach towns near it, and this is, erNatural hesitation marker, minor filler, actually part of why I like it so much. When we are there, we spend most morning just walking on the coastal path, which was very beautiful, especially early before it getTense slip: should be “got” busy, and in the afternoon we mostly explore the old town on foot, stopping at small local places to eat, not the ones for tourists. One afternoon we find this tiny restaurant almost by accident, and we sit outside for a very long time just, you knowFiller phrase used as a hesitation marker, enjoying the atmosphere, and we talk to the owner, who give usSubject-verb agreement error: should be “gave” recommendations for the rest of the trip that was better than the internet. What make me recommend it so much is exactly this — it is not overrun like many famous coastal towns, so it still feels like a real hidden place, not somewhere only for tourists. I send the name to some friends after, and every one who go sayTense slips: should be “everyone who went said” it was a very good tripBasic phrase repeated; limits Lexical Resource.

Band 7

I’ll talk about a small coastal town I visited about two years ago, a few hours’ drive from where I live, which I went to with two university friends over a long weekend. It’s fairly off the beaten track compared to the more well-known beach townMinor slip: should be plural “towns” nearby, which is actually part of why I ended up liking it so much. While we were there, we spent most mornings walking along the coastal path, which was genuinely picturesquePrecise, natural vocabulary choice, especially early before it got busy, and in the afternoons we mostly explored the old town on foot — or, sorry, mainly on footNatural self-correction mid-sentence — stopping at small local places to eat rather than anywhere obviously aimed at tourists. One afternoon in particular stands outFronted structure adds coherence and emphasis — we found this tiny family-run restaurant almost by accident, sat outside for what felt like hours just soaking up the atmosphereNatural, idiomatic collocation, and ended up talking to the owner, who gave us recommendations for the rest of the trip that turned out better than anything we’d read online. What makes me recommend it so strongly is exactly that: it hasn’t been overrun the way a lot of more famous coastal towns haveComplex comparative relative structure, so it still feels like a genuine, hidden gem rather than somewhere built around tourism.

Band 8

I’ll talk about a small coastal town I visited roughly two years ago, a few hours’ drive from where I live, which I went to with two university friends over a long weekend. It’s fairly off the beaten track compared to the more well-known beach towns nearby, which is actually part of why I ended up liking it so much. While we were there, we spent most mornings walking along the coastal path — genuinely breathtaking, especially early on before it grew crowded —Embedded parenthetical clause adds fluency and in the afternoons we mostly wandered the old town on foot, stopping at small, unassuming local places rather than anywhere obviously geared towards tourists. One afternoon in particular has stuck with meNatural discourse marker organising the narrative: we stumbled uponIdiomatic, natural paraphrase a tiny family-run restaurant almost by chance, sat outside for what felt like hours simply soaking up the atmosphere, and ended up chatting to the owner, whose recommendations for the rest of the trip proved far more usefulRelative clause with “whose” used naturally than anything we’d dug up online beforehand. What makes me recommend it so strongly is precisely that: it hasn’t been overrun the way so many well-known coastal towns have, so it still feels like a genuine hidden gem rather than somewhere built entirely around tourismPrecise, idiomatic collocation.