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APTIS Writing Part 4: Sample Questions, Model

Answers And Tips
In this article, we will provide you with sample questions, model answers, general tips,
and strategies to prepare for APTIS writing part 4.

In this article, we will provide you with sample questions, model answers, general tips
and strategies to prepare for APTIS writing part 4.

This article will:

 Briefly explain the nature of the test

 Look at example questions
 Discuss the writing skills required
 Discuss common problems
 Give you tips and advice
 Provide your with strategies to use preparing for your exam and on exam day 
What Is APTIS Part 4 Writing?
Part 4 of the APTIS Writing Test consist of two sections. In the first question, you have
to write an informal email to a friend and in the second question, your task is to write a
formal email to an unknown person. The first, informal email should be 40-50 words
long and you have 10 minutes to complete it. The second formal email should be 120-
150 words long and you have 20 minutes to complete this section.
The topic will be the same as the other three parts, in the examples we have been
looking at the topic has been ‘travel, but you may have to write about more abstract
things such as feelings.

For further details please visit the British Council website here. 

APTIS Writing Part 4: Sample Question
#1 

Part 4: You are a member of a travel club. You received this email from the club.

Dear member,

I am writing to tell you that the famous travel writer Mr. David Price will unfortunately not
be able to attend our next club meeting. Although Mr. Price will not be there to sign copies
of his new book Around the World in Eighty Ways, members of the club will be able to buy
a copy for the price of twenty-five pounds. If you would like to reserve a copy of the book,
please contact the club secretary.

Write an email to your friend (about 50 words). Write about your feelings and
what the club should do about the situation. You have 10 minutes.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Write an email to the president of the club (about 120-150 words). Write about
your feelings and what the club should do about the situation.  You have 20
minutes.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
If you would like to access more simulated APTIS writing tests then please visit our exam
library here. 

How To Answer The Question?

You can achieve a score of C1 or above in this section. The examiner assesses you on the
following criteria: task fulfillment and register, grammatical range and accuracy, vocabulary
range and accuracy, and cohesion.

Task Fulfilment

This not only means answering the question fully but also answering in a way that you will
achieve the result you want. In both the questions, you must write about your feelings and
what you think the club should do

Register

'Register' is the way we change our language in different situations, depending on the
relationships between the speaker and listener, or the author and the intended reader. This
is an important part of language use. For example, your language choices will be different
when you’re writing to a new business partner and when you’re writing to a friend. To be
successful in part 4, you need to show that you can write in both casual and formal
registers.

The first question of part 4 asks you to write in an intimate or casual register (one used
among family members and close friends). The second question asks you to write in a
formal register (one used between strangers or in a business setting). Fortunately, there
are standard expressions that we use in letter writing (see APYIS General Tips and
Strategies) and you can use them for your response

Punctuation

Using capitals correctly. Good use of commas. Full-stops at the end of sentences, correct
use of question marks.

Grammatical range and accuracy

Your grammar should be correct and use tenses and structures relevant to the question. To
achieve a high score, you will need to use higher-level tenses and conditional, the Passive,
relative and participle clauses. Verbs and nouns should agree. Correct use of countable and
uncountable nouns, articles, and determiners are also essential.
Vocabulary range and accuracy

Using the appropriate vocabulary. You should try to use formal words such as ‘attend a
meeting’ rather than words like ‘go to a meeting’. With the right level of formality, you are
more likely to get the result you want (task fulfillment). Remember that formality and
politeness don’t just depend on who you are talking to but also on what you want. For
instance, you are more likely to be polite or formal if you want to borrow your friend’s car,
than if you want to borrow their pen.

Cohesion

The answers in these sections are longer. Therefore, your response to the question will be
around three or four sentences for question one. Question two requires more complex
sentences and you should aim for around six. For your answer to be cohesive you will only
have to use linking words for contrast examples etc. Sequence words like Firstly, secondly,
finally etc. Pronouns, and other referencing words like these/those/that/this.

Tackling the question

The key to writing a good answer is planning. You should not start writing straight away.
This won’t save you time because you will have to keep stopping to think as you are
writing. And your writing may seem disorganised if it is not planned.

You can use the same ideas in both pieces of writing, but you must not use the same words
if you want a high mark.

When you read the situational part of the question there doesn’t seem much to write about.
However, the writer (Mr Price) is not coming to give a talk but he still wants to sell the
unsigned book for £25.00. It may be difficult to write 150 words if you agree with this
situation and so your best option is to disagree.

Writing Plan

•         Explain the situation.

•         I (don’t) feel

Disappointed he’s not coming.

Surprised he still wants £25 for an unsigned book.

•         I (don’t) want to

Buy the book for £25

The book sold to the other members.

•         I suggest

There is a reduction in the price

Mr. Price comes another day

APTIS Writing Part 4: Example Answer To Sample Question #1

Part 4: You are a member of a travel club. You received this email from the club.

Dear member,

I am writing to tell you that the famous travel writer Mr. David Price will unfortunately not
be able to attend our next club meeting. Although Mr. Price will not be there to sign copies
of his new book Around the World in Eighty Ways, members of the club will be able to buy
a copy for the price of twenty-five pounds. If you would like to reserve a copy of the book,
please contact the club secretary.

Write an email to your friend (about 50 words). Write about your feelings and
what the club should do about the situation. You have 10 minutes.

Hi Jack, how’s it going?

I’m disappointed about the situation with David Price’s book. I think it’s a cheek that he
isn’t coming to the meeting and yet still wants to sell his book. I’m not going to pay £25 for
a copy unless it’s signed. Maybe he can reduce the price or rearrange his visit. (52 words)

Write an email to the president of the club (about 120-150 words). Write about
your feelings and what the club should do about the situation.  You have 20
minutes.

Dear Club President,

I am writing to you in connection with the sale of My Price’s book for £25 even though he
was unable to attend the meeting and the book is unsigned. Firstly, I am upset by this
situation, I do not consider it to be very fair and because of this, I do not intend to buy a
copy. Furthermore, I am sure that the other club members feel the same way, and, in my
opinion, this is not beneficial to the club.

To resolve this situation I suggest that we either ask Mr. Price to sign copies of his book,
which will allow us to sell it at £25 per copy or arrange for Mr. Price to give another talk at
a later date. For me, this would be the best option as I am still extremely interested in
hearing what he has to say about his travels as well as asking him a few questions.
Yours sincerely,

John
APTIS Writing Part 4: Sample Question #2

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

We are writing to inform you that the trip to the science centre to see the robotics display
has unfortunately been canceled. Although many of you were looking forward to this
excursion, we did not reach the necessary number of participants to continue. However, we
hope to reschedule this event for next month. Please let us know if you would like a refund
or if you would like to hold your spot for the new date.

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Write an email to the president of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes
ion. You have 20 minutes.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
APTIS Writing Part 4: Sample Question #3

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

We are writing to let you know that the potluck picnic has been postponed. Unfortunately,
the weather forecast is not in our favour and it is going to rain all week. It will now take
place next Friday, which is June 16th. The event is still free to attend and advance food
tickets are $5 for 2 meals or $7 for 2 on the day. There will be food from over 10 different
countries, so come hungry. If you plan on bringing a dish, please contact the coordinator
so we can finalize the menu.

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Write an email to the coordinator of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________ 
APTIS Writing Part 4: Sample Question #4

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

I know that you were all very excited to meet famous nature photographer, John
Lethbridge, at our meet and greet social event. Unfortunately, John has just emailed and is
unable to attend. However, the social will still continue as planned with an exhibition of his
work on display. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please email us if you have any
questions or concerns.

Regards,
Angela

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Write an email to the coordinator of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Hopefully, you had a chance to practice on the above sample questions. Now we will
provide example answers for APTIS writing test part 3.
APTIS Writing Part 4: Model Answers To Sample Question #2

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

We are writing to inform you that the trip to the science centre to see the robotics display
has unfortunately been canceled. Although many of you were looking forward to this
excursion, we did not reach the necessary number of participants to continue. However, we
hope to reschedule this event for next month. Please let us know if you would like a refund
or if you would like to hold your spot for the new date.

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
Hey John,
I am so bummed out that the science trip was canceled. I was really looking forward to
checking out the new display on robots. Although I can get my money back, I might just
tell them to hold my place so I can go when it gets rescheduled. You should come too!
Speak soon,
Gorkem
Write an email to the president of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes
ion. You have 20 minutes.
Dear President,
I am upset to hear that the science trip has been canceled. I know a lot of my fellow club
members are disappointed because we have been waiting for this for months. We have
heard amazing things about the robotics display. However, I am happy to know that the
trip is being postponed to a future date. I am really looking forward to it.
I appreciate that you are offering refunds but I would like to reserve my spot for the
rescheduled trip. Moreover, I would like to help you advertise the trip to ensure that we
have enough students to go on the next one. I can make posters or advertise it to the
students in my class. I might post about it on my social media.
Let me know if there is anything else I can do.
Regards,
Gorkem

 
APTIS Writing Part 4: Model Answer To Sample Question #3

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

We are writing to let you know that the potluck picnic has been postponed. Unfortunately,
the weather forecast is not in our favour and it is going to rain all week. It will now take
place next Friday, which is June 16th. The event is still free to attend and advance food
tickets are $5 for 2 meals or $7 for 2 on the day. There will be food from over 10 different
countries, so come hungry. If you plan on bringing a dish, please contact the coordinator
so we can finalize the menu.

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
i.e. informal style

Hey Jamie,
The potluck picnic has been canceled for this week because of bad weather. I am a little
upset because I really wanted to try your mom’s paella, but I will have to wait until next
week. I hope you are looking forward to tasting my homemade kimchi rice!
Speak soon,
SooBin
Write an email to the coordinator of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes.
i.e. formal style
 
Dear Coordinator,
Thank you for the email.
While I am upset that I have to wait until next week, I appreciate that you postponed the
event because of the bad weather. Nobody likes getting wet and even if it stopped, the
ground would be muddy. I also think many people would cancel or just not show up last
minute!
I am writing to you to let you know that I am bringing homemade fried rice with kimchi. It
is a traditional Korean dish that is very popular. It is a little bit spicy, but I think everyone
will enjoy it. I think I will have enough for 30 portions. Is that enough? Should I make
more?
Also, I would like to buy 2 advanced food tickets. I can bring you the money to your office
on Monday.
Regards,
SooBin
 
APTIS Writing Part 4: Model Answer To Sample Question #4

Part 4: You received this email from the president of the technology club.

Dear member,

I know that you were all very excited to meet famous nature photographer, John
Lethbridge, at our meet and greet social event. Unfortunately, John has just emailed and is
unable to attend. However, the social will still continue as planned with an exhibition of his
work on display. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please email us if you have any
questions or concerns.

Regards,
Angela

Write a short email to your friend (about 50 words). Tell your friend your
feelings about this and what you plan to do. You have 10 minutes.
i.e. informal style

Hey Gian Marco,

I am so upset. The photographer that I told you about has canceled. I am a big fan of his
work and I wanted him to sign a photo for me. I will probably still go to the exhibit, but it
won’t be the same.
Speak soon,
Patricia

Write an email to the coordinator of the club (about 120-150 words). Tell them
your thoughts about this and what you would like to do. You have 20 minutes.
i.e. formal style
 
Dear Angela,
Thank you for your email.
I am upset to hear the news about John Lethbridge, who can no longer attend the event. I
had been looking forward to the social for months with the hope that I could meet my
favourite photographer. I have followed him and his work for years. In fact, he is the
reason I started taking photos! I know I will still enjoy the exhibit, but it won’t be as great.
I have spoken to others and I know that many fellow club members are also quite
disappointed in this. We purchased tickets with the promise of meeting our idol. Do you
think the club can try to reschedule his appearance?  It would be great if he could come to
our next social or if we could arrange another time.
Please let me know if this is possible.
Regards,
Patricia