Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2. Informal Email
Simone
I dare say youve seen the news about our trip. Its been cancelled. What a
shame! I think the management should try to find another organiser a.s.a.p. I
dont suppose youd volunteer, would you?
Dear Jean-Paul,
See you,
Model Texts
Example Aptis Part 4 Question:
You see the following message in your weekly memo at work:
Dear Employees,
Due to unforeseen events, the organiser for next weeks proposed trip to the tea plantation in the
Cameron Highlands, Mr. Smith, has had to take leave. As a result the event has been cancelled. We are
sorry for any inconvenience.
The Management
Formal Email
Write a response to the management saying how you feel and suggesting alternatives. Aim for 150
words
Dear Management,
I was very disappointed to hear that our staff outing has been cancelled. It is very unfortunate that Mr.
Smith is unavailable.
I know that everyone was very keen to visit the Cameron Highlands next week and I am sure that this
will be a blow to staff morale. I am particularly unhappy with the cancellation because it is so rare I get
the opportunity to socialise with my colleagues.
I wonder if there is any way to still have the trip. Would it be possible to find another organiser? Perhaps
you could make a general announcement calling for volunteers. I would even be happy to take on the
responsibility myself.
Please let me know if I can assist in any way as I would very much like the outing to go ahead.
Best regards,
Miss Simone De Beauvoir
140 words
Not happy
Enthusiastic
Trip
Fellow employees
Unusual
Help
Unlucky
B2. What does the lexical chunk a blow to staff morale mean?
B3. Find the two words in the formal email that use the root cancel. Write these words down and
say what part of speech each one is (e.g. preposition, adjective, etc.).
PART C
Look back at the email texts. The formal email has seven parts and the informal one has four parts.
Can you give a name for each of these parts? Type them in the text boxes below in bold. The first
one is done as an example
Formal Email
Opening Salutation
Signature
PART D
Useful Phrases
Look at the two emails and see if you can find any useful phrases that will help you in the future. Type them into
the appropriate text box from Part C.
E.g. What a shame! from the informal email.
Now look at any other models you have for writing emails and see if you can find more useful phrases. You
probably have a few model texts from your teacher.
PART E
Production
First, you might like to remind yourself of the information in the common errors PowerPoint, then, go to
http://proelt.byethost7.com/ and choose one of the questions from there and write your own emails. Follow
the instructions and post your answer online. There is no time limit but when you start reading the question you
should start timing yourself to see how long you take.
ANSWERS
PART B
Vocabularly
B1. Find words in the formal email text that have similar meanings to the following:
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
B2. What does the lexical chunk a blow to staff morale mean? It is something that will make the
staff feel unhappy and dissatisfied
B3. Find the two words in the formal email that use the root cancel. Write these words down and
say what part of speech each one is (e.g. preposition, adjective, etc.). cancelled (verb);
cancellation (noun)
PART C
Look back at the email texts. The formal email has seven parts and the informal one has four parts.
Can you give a name for each of these parts? Type them in the text boxes below in bold. The first
one is done as an example
Formal Email
Opening Salutation
Suggesting an alternative
Closing line
Final closing salutation
Contributed by: Justin Miller
The British Council, 2014
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities.
British Council Malaysia is a branch (995232-A) of the British Council, registered as a charity in England and Wales (209131) and Scotland (SC037733)
Informal Email
Opening salutation
Closing salutation
Signature