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Writing Task 1 Lesson 1

This document outlines a special 1-1 writing course focused on informal letter writing for a writing task. It includes assessment criteria, differences between formal and informal language, letter structure, and exercises for practice. The course aims to help candidates effectively communicate through informal letters while adhering to specific guidelines and criteria.

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4 views

Writing Task 1 Lesson 1

This document outlines a special 1-1 writing course focused on informal letter writing for a writing task. It includes assessment criteria, differences between formal and informal language, letter structure, and exercises for practice. The course aims to help candidates effectively communicate through informal letters while adhering to specific guidelines and criteria.

Uploaded by

Hoàng Tùng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SPECIAL 1-1 COURSE

WRITING TASK 1 – LESSON 1


Focus: Writing an informal letter

1. General introduction
- This is the first part of the writing section which makes up one third of the overall band
score.
- Candidates are required to write a letter of at least 150 words or more within suggested
20 minutes based on given information.
2. Assessment criteria
Your writing will be assessed on 4 different criteria, each of which is worth 25% of your
total marks for task 1.

Task achievement Coherence & Lexical resource Grammatical range


Cohesion & accuracy

 fully addresses  displays effective use  writer understands  grammatically


the questions but of several cohesive and can use some accurate
may lack some devices less common sentences at
depth in response  slight awkwardness is vocabulary least 50% of the
 present an answer present at times  word structures time.
in appropriate  most text can be are used with fair
tone understood by accuracy
examiner without
having to reread
Parts of a General Task 1 question:

Background info You have tickets for a sports event but won’t be able to

attend.

Instruction words Write a letter to a friend offering them the tickets. In

your letter,

Letter details  tell your friend how you got the tickets
 give the reason why you can’t attend
 say why you think your friend will enjoy the
event

Letter types:
1. A letter of request
2. A letter of invitation
3. A letter of application
4. A letter of advice, feedback or suggestion
5. A letter of apology
6. A letter of complaint
Differences between formal and informal language:

Formal Informal

 does not make use of contractions  permits the use of contractions


(i.e. can’t, won’t, haven’t)  delivers a message in a personal tone
 avoids spoken language and often uses spoken language to do
 taps into more complicated lexical so
resources and wording styles  uses more active sentence
 uses passive sentence constructions, constructions and may make direct
making it more professional and less questions
personal

Let’s take a look at the following examples to see how differences in tone can affect a letter:
1. A letter to a business owner:
Sample 1:
I am writing to request a reissue of the documentation that comes with your GDX 93
model coffee maker. Please allow me to describe my circumstances.
Sample 2:
I hope you and your team are doing well. You’ll never guess what happened to me the other
day. I misplaced the documentation for my GDX 93 model coffee maker! I am writing to see
if you would mind reissuing it to me.
2. A letter to thank a friend:
Sample 1:
I am writing on behalf of my wife and I to thank you for the lovely evening you hosted last
week.
Sample 2:
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I’m writing to thank you for the party you threw
last week
Structure of a Task 1 letter:

A friend has invited you to a party, but you are busy on the day it's being held.
Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

 Apologise for not being able to attend.


 Explain why you're busy.
 Invite your friend to do something else with you.

Greeting and statement of Dear Sam,


purpose I hope this letter finds you in good health. I just received the
invitation to your birthday party next Saturday.

Answer the 3 given You know, it sounds great, and I’d absolutely love to come,
questions but unfortunately, already arranged to do something else
that day. Do you remember my cousin Victor? He's the one
who's been living in Singapore for the last year. Well, he's
flying in for a visit and I promised I'd show him around. He's
only going to be in town for the day, so I really can't get out
of it.

I really want to get together, though. How about coffee next


week or the week after? I know you've got a lot on your
plate at the moment, but I'll give you a call and we can sort
out the details over the phone. Maybe we can check out that
new café near the library. I hear their coffee is to die for.

Sign off Speak soon,

Matt
WRITING AN INVITATION LETTER (INFORMAL)

Vocabulary practice:
One of the most effective way to get a good score in “Lexical Resource” is use some phrasal
verbs and informal phrases in your letter.

Can you match these common phrasal verbs to their meaning(s)?

1. come up A. learn; collect someone in a vehicle

2. work out B. start doing

3. take up C. solve

4. turn out D. happen unexpectedly

5. give up E. postpone

6. sort out F. continue

7. pick up G. stop doing

8. come along H. exercise; find the answer to something

9. keep on I. happen in the end

10. put off J. accompany; progress

Now use the correct form of the phrasal verbs to complete these sentences. Some of them
are used twice.

A. I'm going to a party, and I'd love it if you could_________________________________


B. She_____________________borrowing my clothes without asking: it's driving me crazy!
C. I wish I could be there, but I'm afraid something has____________________________
D. The movie starts at 8, so I'll ___________________ you_____________________at 7.
E. It took me ages to___________________the answer.
F. I ___________________ This game is just too hard.
G. I think I might______________________ knitting in my spare time.
H. I ______________________ quite a lot of French words when I was on holiday in France.
I. I like to listen to dance music while I'm
J. I've been having problems with my computer, so I hope they get it______________ soon.
K. Things are______________________well. We should be finished by the end of the week.
L. He seemed like a nice guy but he______________________to be anything but.
M. Don't _____________________ it __________ to the last minute like you usually do.

Practice writing

Exercise 1:

A friend of yours is thinking of going on a camping holiday for the first time this summer. He/
she has asked for your advice.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,

 Explain why you think your friend would enjoy a camping holiday.

 Describe some possible disadvantages.

 Say whether you would like to go camping with your friend this summer.

Exercise 2:

A friend of yours is thinking about applying for the same course that you did at university. He/
she has asked for your advice about studying this subject.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,

 Give details of the course you took at university.

 Explain why you recommend the university.

 Give some advice about how to apply.


Exercise 3:

A friend you made while you were studying abroad has written to ask you for help in finding a
job in your country. You have heard about a job in a local company that might be suitable for
him/ her.

Write a letter to this friend. In your letter,

 Tell your friend about the job and what sort of work it involves.

 Say why you think the job would be suitable for him/ her.

 Explain how to apply for the job.

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