Diary
This evening, my wife went to a farewell party, so I made dinner for our children. The meal included oyakodon, miso soup with tofu and nameko mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and boiled broccoli. My wife had almost finished cooking the oyakodon beforehand, so I just added some scrambled eggs and simmered it a little longer. I’m grateful to her for preparing it in advance.
References
Original statements
This evening, my wife attended a farewell party. So I cooked dinner for my children. The dishes were oyakodon, miso soup including tofu and nameko mushroom, mini tomatoes, and boiled broccoli. The oyakodon was almost cooked by my wife so I only added scrambled eggs and boiled additionally. I appreciate that my wife cooked it beforehand.
IELTS Improvement Points
- Collocation:
“make dinner”
→ Common British collocation; “make” is more natural than “cook” when referring to preparing a meal in general. - Collocation:
“grateful to someone for [doing something]”
→ Standard collocation for expressing appreciation. “Appreciate that she cooked it” sounds awkward; “grateful to her for preparing it” is more idiomatic. - Template:
“My [relative] went to [event], so I [did something].”
→ This sentence structure is useful for Task 1 (General Training) and Part 2 of Speaking when describing daily events. - Template:
“The meal included [A], [B], and [C].”
→ A natural and concise way to list meal components. Use “included” for describing contents in writing. - Vocabulary:
“cherry tomatoes”
→ “Mini tomatoes” is not commonly used in English; “cherry tomatoes” is the standard term. - Vocabulary:
“in advance”
→ A common phrase meaning “beforehand”, useful in both formal and informal IELTS contexts. - Vocabulary:
“simmer”
→ A precise verb for gently boiling food, often used in cooking contexts. More appropriate than “boil” for delicate dishes.
