Unit 2 A WRITING TASK GUIDE FOR STUDENTS

Language Focus: Starting out

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  The purpose is sometimes stressed at the beginning of a letter. (It depends on the type of letter you are writing as to how much you emphasize your purpose at the start or whether you decide to leave it to the end of the letter.) However, you do not need to open your letter with something that will be appropriate for the reader and will capture reader’s attention and there are structures to help you do this. Read the following examples:
  

I am writing to express my concern/dissatisfaction about …

I would like to draw your attention to …

TEST TIP: how to approach the task

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  It is worth reading the question several times to make sure you understand it fully, as you will lose marks if you misinterpret the situation.
  
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  You will need to invent some information for this task. You must use your imagination but make sure your ideas are realistic and fit the situation.
  
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  Copy the diagram above and replace the ideas in the bubbles with realistic information.
  
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  Consider the order in which you would want to present the information in a letter.
  
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  Consider the tenses you will use.
  

THE MESSAGE

Once you have your purpose clearly in mind and have given the reader some background information, you should continue with your message. The tone and level of formality that you use in your letter will affect how successful you are at communicating your message.

Language focus: Expressing feelings

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  There are many feelings that you may wish to convey in a letter. Here are some of the vocabulary and structures associated with them.
  

Dissatisfaction/dislike	Regret/apology	Needs/wants/desires
I’m unhappy about/ do not like … I am not comfortable about/ with … … is not what I expected/ was expecting. … does not suit me/ my needs. … is too + adjective	I’m sorry that I … I regret that I … Please accept my apologies for …ing Please forgive me for … Unfortunately/ regrettably I …	What I’m looking for is … What would suit me best is … I am very keen to … I would very much like to … I would be grateful if you could …
Gratitude	Annoyance	Pleasure/satisfaction
Thank you very much for … I very much appreciated … I’m grateful to you for …	Although I stated that … Despite my request for … Even though I tele-phoned you about …	I was delighted about/ by … I thoroughly enjoyed … … was very impressive/ enjoyable.

Food for thought 5:

10. What other feelings might you want to express in a letter? What vocabulary and structures are associated with them?

Language focus: Making requests, suggestions, etc.

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  You may also have to request or suggest something in your letter.
  

Food for thought 6:

11. Look at the list of sentences and expressions below. What do you notice about those in the left-hand column? 12. Discuss with your teacher how a reader would react to some of the statements in the left-hand column. 13. Rewrite some of the messages in the left-hand column using a structure from the right-hand column.

Send me a brochure. I want a ticket for tonight’s show. I think you should employ more staff. You should give up smoking. In my opinion you should improve your service. I want to get a place at your company. I can’t stand your car alarm. You park your car too close to mine. Why is your information always out-of-date?

I would like to … I am very interested in …ing. Could I suggest that … Please avoid …ing Wouldn’t it be better if you … I would be grateful if you could … Please would you … Could you please … I would recommend that you … I would appreciate it if …

Writing practice 2:

Write the second part of your letter in which you state how you feel about the supermarket error and ask the manager to do something about it.

Directory: jspui -> bitstream -> 123456789
123456789 -> College day annual report
123456789 -> A. gw student and alumni numbers summary 3
123456789 -> Clustering Microarray Data within Amorphous Computing Paradigm and Growing Neural Gas Algorithm
123456789 -> Kankam boadu
123456789 -> Министерство сельского хозяйства и продовольствия республики беларусь
123456789 -> Personal informations: Nationality: Sudanese Date and place of birth
123456789 -> So far, administration of Koutthep village-fund group (Phonnady) is worked by boards, it has a common coordination and discussion

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