PROMPT

140-190 words

An English friend of yours is P1 visiting your city next summer. Write to him and

tell him about P2 the places he should visit and P3 the clothes he should wear.

You must also invite him to stay with you during his stay.

Write between 140-190 words in the appropriate style.

Dear Jack,

It’s great to hear from you after so long! How are you doing? I’m so excited about your
visit next summer. Let me give you some tips so you can get ready.

First of all, there are some places which you can’t miss! For example, here in Granada
you should totally visit the Alhambra, an ancient Muslim palace. It has become one of
the new seven wonders of the world. Also, don’t forget to check out St Nicholas
viewpoint – you’ll have the best views of the Alhambra and the whole city.

As for clothes, remember that it can get super hot in Granada, especially for foreigners!
So forget about long sleeves or trousers and just pack some shorts, T-shirts and
sandals. Oh, and remember to bring a cap, too!

By the way, do you have a place to stay? If you want, I could put you up in my place. I
have a spare room and it would be great to have you here.

Anyway, I must dash now. Drop me a line soon and let me know what you think.
Best wishes,
Suzy
(word count: 188)






1. STYLE and REGISTER

DOS
and DONTS



2. LAYOUT + ORGANISATION

GREETING ,

1 PAR INTRODUCTION

-Address 1 line in the prompt.

2 PAR develop question 1 in the prompt

3 PAR develop question 2 in the prompt

4 PAR develop question 3 in the prompt

5 PAR CONCLUSION

-Say goodbye because you have to go

SALUTATION






_______________________ ,


PAR 1

PAR 2

PAR 3

PAR 4

(Par 5)


_______________.

Suzy




Dear /Hi /Hello Jack,

PAR 1

Greet your friend
Refer to your friend’s email
(2 or max 3 short sentences here!)
PAR 2

Answer the FIRST indirect question in the prompt

PAR 3


Answer the SECOND indirect question in the prompt

PAR 4

Answer the THIRD question in the prompt OR

Conclude your email by saying you have to STOP WRITING
and why and possibly mention the NEXT TIME you could
MEET UP again.
(Par 5)

Conclude your email by saying you have to STOP WRITING
and why and possibly mention the NEXT TIME you could
MEET UP or WRITE each other again

All the best, Lots of love, Best wishes,

Suzy



Dear Jack,

PAR 1

It’s great to hear from you after so long! How are you doing? I’m so excited about your visit
next summer. Let me give you some tips so you can get ready.

PAR 2

First of all, there are some places which you can’t miss! For example, here in Granada you
should totally visit the Alhambra, an ancient Muslim palace. It was nominated to become one
of the new seven wonders of the world. Also, don’t forget to check out St Nicholas viewpoint
– you’ll have the best views of the Alhambra and the whole city.

PAR 3

As for clothes, remember that it can get super hot in Granada, especially for foreigners! So
forget about long sleeves or trousers and just pack some shorts, T-shirts and sandals. Oh, and
remember to bring a cap, too!

PAR 4

By the way, do you have a place to stay? If you want, I could put you up in my place. I have a
spare room and it would be great to have you here.

(Par 5)

Anyway, I must dash now. Drop me a line soon and let me know what you think.

Best wishes,

Suzy




PROMPT

THIS IS PART OF AN EMAIL FROM YOUR FRIEND, Tim.
Read this part of the email and reply to Tim.


I’m really looking forward to visiting you this summer. If possible, I’d really like to see

some live music. Can you tell me what kind of music is popular with you and your

friends? How easy is to get tickets for concerts??

Thanks

Tim
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Who? 2. What? 3. What exactly?

Write your email to Tim in 140-190 words. Do not write any addresses.


1. Who? 2. What? 3. What about exactly?

_____________________
Look at the model answer. Divide the letter into paragraphs and choose the most suitable phrase
in italics for an INFORMAL LETTER:


Hi Tim,

It was lovely to hear from you – I can’t wait to see you, too! It’s good you want to see some live

music while you’re here. In my town 1) there’s a music festival every summer/an annual

music festival takes place so 2) you will have the opportunity / you’ll be able to see

lots of local bands play. Unfortunately, none of them is very famous but there’s a fantastic

atmosphere there and I always 3) find it very enjoyable / enjoy going there a lot. Also, the

tickets are very reasonable and you can spend the whole day there. Of course, like all my

friends, 4) I am mainly interested in /have a preference for rock bands but you can find

reggae and traditional music there too – 5) you won’t be disappointed because there’s

something for everyone/it offers something for everyone, which means no one will be

disappointed. There aren’t any large music venues near where I live, so it’s not that easy for

me to go to big concerts very often. 6) But/However, one of my favourite bands, Soundtracks,

is playing in the nearest city on 22 August, so 7) if you like, if you are interested / I would

be willing to get tickets for us to got to that. 8) Let me know what you think / Please

reply as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Suzy
________________________________________________________________________________________________________


















FCE - INFORMAL EMAILS
(140-190 words)

It is written in response to a situation outlined in the task/prompt.
Your response should be consistently appropriate for the specified target reader.
It features the following:

1) an OPENING SALUTATION
2) some CLEAR PARAGRAPHS
3) a CLOSING PHRASE
EMAIL TYPE: INFORMAL

TARGET READER (close) friend or a relative
AIM Suggesting, explaining, informing, refusing,
inviting, describing, apologising, describing, etc.
STYLE Informal
REGISTER Colloquial, casual, intimate
CONTENT reply to the task with your own ideas
ORGANISATION + LAYOUT 5 Paragraphs + salutation forms, linkers
LANGUAGE Idioms, collocations, short forms, non-gradable
and gradable adjectives, adverbs, a variety of
verb tenses (tempi verbali)

Hints

• DO begin by giving a reason to write. You would normally start with a
greeting, then acknowledge the EMAIL or some key information given
in the EMAIL to which you are replying.
• Use paragraphs in which you cover each of the points mentioned in the task
input.
• As well as the points mentioned in the task input, think of some of your own
ideas.
• Identify the function(s) you should use (e.g. advising, reminding, requesting,
suggesting...).
• Make sure the points covered follow a logical right order so that the whole
email is coherent.
• Finish the email in a natural way, by arranging to see or contact the person
your are writing to again soon.
• Remember to use an informal tone.


USEFUL LANGUAGE
Informal emails

BEGINNING the email: MAKING A REQUEST

- Thanks so much for your email - it was so good to
hear from you! What have you been up to lately? - I was wondering if you happened to
- How are you? It’s been a long time since I last heard have time to meet a friend of mine
from you. What have you been up to lately? who is…
- How’s life? I’m really sorry not to have got back to - If you’ve got a spare moment, do
you for so long lately. I’ve been up to my eyes in you think you could ...?
…work/exam preparation!
- How are things? How’s your family? I thought I’d
better send you a message/drop you a line to let you
know…

ENDING the email: REFERRING to a PREVIOUS EMAIL/

- I think that brings you up to date on what I’ve been - Remember that course you had
up to. Do write soon and let me know what you’ve enrolled for?
been doing. - In your email you told me that you
- Once again, thanks so much for all your help. were thinking of…
- I’m really looking forward to seeing you on Monday - Last time you wrote, you wanted
/ in 2 weeks’ time in… to know where/what/when
- Please say “hi” to… from me. - You know that cousin of mine I
- Give my love to…. told you about? Well, …
- Well, I’d better stop now. Give me a ring as soon as…
APOLOGISING INVITING

- I’m really/terribly/awfully sorry that I missed your - Do you fancy getting together for a
birthday the other day. meal some time?
- Sorry, we didn’t manage to get together when.. - Why don’t we meet up in the next
couple of days?
- I was wondering if you could be
into coming along to a class
reunion later this week?
CLOSING SALUTATION RESPONDING TO AN INVITATION

- All the best, (with) best wishes - Thanks very much for inviting me
(saluting people you don’t know well) to your welcoming party. I can
hardly wait.
- Lots of love, with all my love, love, big hug - I was absolutely thrilled to get
(saluting friends) your invitation but unfortunately it
doesn’t look as if I’ll be able to
make it.
SUGGESTING or RECOMMENDING INFORMAL EMAILS:

- I would advise you to -NO long forms (ex: DO NOT COME =
- The best ... to … is don’t come)
- If you feel like ..., there’s a good…. in… -YES phrasal verbs, question tags,
- You should definitely try…. exclamation marks, idioms, fixed phrases
- I’d highly recommend ….+ing / I suggest you go… from colloquial speech


Examiner’s 4 marking criteria

Scores: Minimum 1; Maximum 5 or
any sub-score (1;1,5;2;2,5;3;3,5;4;4,5)
for each criterion

1. CONTENT 1-5
• Are all content points (P1,P2,P3) covered?
• Have you given enough details?

2. COMMUNICATIVE ACHIEVEMENT 1-5
• Is the register COLLOQUIAL?
• Is the style INFORMAL?
• Is the tone POLITE and FRIENDLY?
• Have you used the opening and closing formulas correctly?

3. ORGANISATION 1-5
• Have you used 4-5 PARAGRAPHS?
• Have you used some LINKERS to connect ideas?
• Have you followed the INPUTS in the same order as in the
prompt?

4. LANGUAGE 1-5
• Have you used relevant VOCABULARY?
• Have you used a variety of GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES and
VERB TENSES (phrasal verbs, modals, conditionals, present,
past and future verb tenses)
• Have you checked if there are any SPELLING MISTAKES?
FINALLY:
“Would your TARGET READER be fully and clearly informed?”
YESJ /NOL, MAYBE K?

MAX SCORE: 20 AVERAGE SCORE: 12 (4X3)




PROMPT

You have received an email from your English-speaking friend, Julia.

From: Julia
Suject: MUSIC CLUB

I’m going to start a music club here! I want to play music from all over the

world, and I’d like to visit your country to get ideas. When’s the best time to

come? What’s the best way to find out what kind of music young people like?

Can you recommend some local music clubs I could visit?

Reply soon,

Julia

Write your email to Julia in 140-190 words. Do not write any addresses.