INTERMEDIATE B1 – JOB APPLICATION E-MAILS

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN

Recurrent mistake or
Usual / correct / better usage
wrong usage

COMMUNICATION (comprehension, task, register)

Irrelevant remarks
Lack of specific details
Literal repetition of phrases from advert
E-mail heading missing
E-mail subject expressed with a verb; lack
of specific detail (*Apply for a job)
*Dear Ron Adams /// * Dear Mr Ron
Adams /// *Dear Sir Adams /// Dear Ms
Rose Sykes /// Dear Madam Sykes
Confusion:
Yours faithfully  Yours sincerely
Avoid irrelevant information
Specify advertisement: where / when
Specify previous work experience: where / when / how long...
Use synonym expressions and phrases to refer to the same ideas.
From: ..... ; To: ..... ; Subject: .....
Use nouns and identify subject clearly:
“Application for barista position”
Don’t use first name + surname  Mr/Mrs/Ms + surname only
Dear Mr Jones / Dear Mrs Conway / Dear Ms Holt
If you DON’T KNOW the receiver’s surname:
Dear Sir or Madam /// Dear Sir/Madam  Yours faithfully
If you KNOW the receiver’s surname:
Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms + surname  Yours sincerely

INTERACTION (coherence, organization & text type format, information)

Paragraph organisation ---
Replace the most usual or informal connectors  Use more formal synonyms:
 .... and ....  ... as well as + noun/-ing /// In addition, /// Additionally, ///
Moreover, /// Furthermore,
 ... , too.  as well.
 because  as /// since
 just  recently
 (...) , so...  (…) . Therefore, /// (…) . As a result,

RANGE (lexis, grammar, cohesion & connectors)

Replace usual or informal language  Use more formal synonyms:
 job  position / post / vacancy
 a lot (of)  a great deal (of) (countable and uncountable)
 a large number (of) (countable) ; a large amount of (uncountable)
 very  really / extremely ...
 good skills  excellent skills
 every day  daily / on a daily basis
 I can work 15 hours/week  I am available to work 15 hours per week
(‘per week’ is more formal than ‘a week’)
 I am 25 years old  I am 25 years of age
 I love teaching a lot / very much  I really enjoy teaching / I find teaching extremely rewarding
 I got back from London  I returned from London
 I did a course on...  I completed a course on...
 I want to...  I wish to...
 Could you...?  I would be really grateful if you could... / I was wondering if you could...

ACCURACY (lexis, grammar, spelling & punctuation)

 I am writting  I am writing
 Yours *sincerelly / * sincerally  Yours sincerely
 And remember: CONTRACTIONS ARE NEVER USED IN FORMAL WRITING.

Cleo Merino – EOI Móstoles