Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever 129

Writing

Student book This book

Writing
1 Correcting errors 97 131

2 Writing a formal response 105 142

3 Writing an informal letter 117 153

©2009 The City and Guilds of London Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or transmitted in any
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130 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Writing Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever
Writing Part 1 131
Introduction

Introduction to Writing Part 1

The focus of Writing Part 1 is to test the candidates’ ability to identify
and correct errors in a text.
The candidates proofread a double-spaced continuous text that contains
two spelling errors, three errors of punctuation and three grammar errors.
The eight errors in this part of the test are preceded by three examples,
one of each type. The punctuation errors can be full stops, capital letters,
commas and question marks. The one-word grammar errors can be in
subject/verb agreement, verb tenses, conjunctions and connectives.
There is no more than one error per line and some lines have no errors.
The candidates show the corrected errors in the answer spaces adjacent
to the text.
The text form may be a letter, description of events, short report or
a newspaper article.
To prepare, students need practice in:
– punctuation
– spelling
– verb tenses
– the use of common conjunctions and connectives.

1
Student introduction
In this part of the test, you read a text to find and correct errors.

There are two spelling errors, three errors of punctuation and three grammar
errors (preceded by one example of each).

The punctuation errors can be full stops, capital letters, commas and question marks.

The one-word grammar errors can be in subject/verb agreement, verb tenses,

conjunctions or connectives.

There is no more than one error per line and some lines have no errors.

The text form may be a letter, description of events, short report or newspaper article.

There is a test practice exercise at the end of this part of the book.

To prepare, you need to practice in:

– punctuation
– spelling
– verb tenses
– the use of common conjunctions and connecting phrases.
132 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes
1 Correcting errors
We all make mistakes!
Language students at Achiever level are often very sensitive about
making mistakes. It is important to make your students aware that
making mistakes is a natural part of learning a language. It can be
encouraging to draw on your own (ultimately successful) experience
of language learning to stress that we all make mistakes.
You may like to engage the students’ interest in the overall topic
of errors by demonstration (eg, saying ‘Bye’ instead of ‘hi’).
Tell the students that they are going to read a note with different kinds
of mistakes in it. Ask the students individually to read the text to find
as many errors as they can and think about why they are errors.
It is probably most effective to allow students at this level to learn about
the language by discovery. Give the students the opportunity to think
about types of error rather than tell them – at this stage – what the
categories are.
Monitor, and if necessary point out the errors in the text .
1 The editor of the college magazine has sent you this note about a text
with errors. Unfortunately, the note itself isn’t quite perfect. Can you
identify the errors made by the editor?

Hi, how is everything whith you. I hop you’re not two busy to
have a look at this article about acomodation for students?
the information are really interesting, but it’s full of
mistakes? Sarah wrote it and she is normally so carful isn’t
she. Please don’t tell Sarah I have ask you to correct the
article, because she wood be very upset you know how she
hates to making mistake

Thanks and goodbuy for now,

Pat
Writing Part 1 133
Correcting errors

2 What different types of error does the note contain? Write examples Notes
of the different errors below.
Spelling Grammar Punctuation

whith (with) are (is) you. (you?)

hop (hope) ask (asked) students? (students.)

two (too) to making mistake the (The, line 3)

(to make mistakes)

acommodation mistakes? (mistakes.)

(accommodation)

carful (careful) she. (she?)

wood (would) upset you (upset. You)

goodbuy (goodbye) mistake (mistakes.)

Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to tell each other what errors
they have found and to discuss the types of error they are. Monitor, and
without correcting or confirming at this stage, note the students’ ideas
on the types of error (spelling, punctuation, grammar).
3 Work with a partner. Have you found the same errors?

Now ask the students to compare notes with the other members of the
group. You can organise this as a whole-group activity or ask the students
to move around the room comparing notes.
4 What about other students in your class? What types of error have
they found?

Now ask the students individually to read the article. Ask them to
underline any mistakes in the lines and identify any lines with no
mistakes.
5 Read Sarah’s article. Underline the mistakes and write your
corrections below.

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
If you are looking for accommodation this year, their are several
different possibilities. Many students stay in rooms at the college
and others prefers to stay in the town centre. The college has rooms for
two thousand students so you need to arrange a place by the end of june.
You have more types of accommodation if you want to stay in town? The
cheapest is a house or flat. Students can sharing accommodation and
this keeps the costs low. If you would like more information you can
telephone the student help desk between ten and four every day ask to
speak to the accommodation officer to found a place to stay.
134 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to tell each other what
the errors were and to discuss how to correct them. Monitor, and note
the errors identified and suggested corrections. Don’t confirm these
at this stage.
6 Work with a partner. Did you find the same mistakes? Are there any lines
without mistakes?

As a whole-group activity, invite the students to tell you what they and
their partners have decided were the necessary corrections to the article
and which lines in Sarah’s article were correct. Confirm these.
Check the answers as a whole-group activity.
– line 1 ‘there’
– line 3 ‘prefer’
– line 4 ‘June’
– line 5 ‘.’
– line 6 ‘share’
– line 8 ‘day. Ask’
– line 9 ‘find’
Now get them to rewrite the note to the editor. Ask them to:
– correct any errors they can find
– identify the correct lines in Sarah’s article (lines 2 and 7).
7 Send this note to the editor (but correct any errors first!). Write it out
again. Check that your own note has no errors in it.

Deer Pat,
No problem, I’ll send the corrected article to you by
wednesday. I think that lines 4 and 7 are correct but
there is a misstake in all the others?
beast wishes,

Dear Pat,
No problem, I’ll send the corrected article to you by
Wednesday. I think that lines 2 and 7 are correct but
there is a mistake in all the others.
Best wishes,
8 Work with a partner. Do you agree about the two lines that are correct?
Did you correct all the mistakes in the note to Pat?
Writing Part 1 135
Correcting errors

Notes
Big or small?
One of the areas of error in the note in activity 7 and the article in activity
5 is the use of capital letters. Ask the students individually to look at the
set of rules produced by a student of English – stress that these are not
necessarily all accurate. Ask the students to put a tick (Y) if it is correct
or a cross (X) if it is incorrect next to each of the proposed rules.
9 It is sometimes difficult to know when to use a capital letter. Look at this
set of rules a student of English has produced for other students. Do you
think they are all correct? Put a tick (Y) or a cross (X) in the box next to
each statement.

English Rules!
Do you have problems with capital letters?
Just follow these simple rules and you’ll never go wrong.

1 The first word of a sentence always starts with a capital letter. Y

2 The name of a country always starts with a capital letter. Y

3 Adjectives for nationalities like ‘english’ or ‘chinese’ don’t have a

capital letter. X
Adjectives for nationalities like ‘English’ or ‘Chinese’ always start with
a capital letter.
4 People’s names always begin with a capital letter. Y

5 Pronouns like ‘he’ and ‘you’ and ‘i’ only have a capital letter if they are the
first word in a sentence. X
Pronouns like ‘he’ and ‘you’ only have a capital letter if they are the first
word in a sentence. The pronoun ‘I’ is always a capital letter.

6 The names of days, months and seasons always have a capital letter. X
The names of days and months always have a capital letter. Seasons don’t
always have a capital letter.
7 The words ‘Doctor’ and ‘Teacher’ always have a capital letter. X
The word ‘Doctor’, when used as a title, has a capital letter, but ‘doctor’
and ‘teacher’ don’t have to have a capital letter.
8 Titles of books, films and songs always begin with a capital letter. Y

9 We always use a capital letter for words like ‘Music’ and ‘History’. X
We sometimes use a capital letter for academic subjects like ‘Music’
and ‘History’.
10 The ‘yours’ in ‘yours sincerely’ at the end of a letter does not have a
capital ‘Y’. X
The ‘yours’ in ‘Yours sincerely’ at the end of a letter has a capital ‘Y’.
136 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to compare answers
and discuss which rules are correct and which are incorrect.
10 Work with a partner. Do you have ticks and crosses in the same boxes?

Now ask the students to compare notes with the other members of the
class. You can do this as a whole-group activity, putting the students’
responses on the board.
Ask them to suggest more reliable rules than those for numbers 3, 5,
6, 7, 9, 10.
11 What about other students in your class. Do you agree about the
information in the ‘English Rules!’ text? What corrections would you
make to some of these rules?

Check the answers to the ‘English Rules’ text as a whole-group activity.

Punctuation
Now engage the students’ interest in the topic of punctuation and the
importance of using this to make writing easy to read. One way to do this
is to appear to struggle to read a letter from a friend and explain that her
grammar is fine, so is her handwriting, but that what she writes is very
difficult to read. This is an example you may like to put on the overhead
projector or board, or adapt to produce something similar.

Dearfriendhowareyouandhowsyourfamilyimsorryihaventwritten
foralongtimeitsbeenverybusyhereattheofficedoyouremember
jakefromschoolwellisawhimintownafewdaysagoheslooking
reallywellhesplayinglotsofsportsliketennisfootballgolfandsquash
thatsallmynewspleasedontforgettowritesoonbestwishessue

Don’t ask the students to attempt to punctuate the letter; the purpose
is just to make the point that punctuation is important (you may like to
adapt the letter as a homework assignment after the students have had
the opportunity to study the key elements of punctuating sentences in
the next activities).
Put on the board the punctuation marks that the writer of the letter
needed to use (and which the students will use in activity 12).
Ask the students individually to look at the sentences in activity 12. Ask
them to put in the punctuation marks they think should be there. Monitor,
and help any of the students who find this activity particularly difficult.
Writing Part 1 137
Correcting errors

12 Look at these sentences. Each of them needs one or more punctuation Notes
marks. The punctuation marks you will need are the comma (,), question
mark (?), full stop (.) and exclamation mark (!). Put the punctuation marks
in the sentences.
a He wears a lot of unusual clothes doesn’t he
He wears a lot of unusual clothes, doesn’t he?

b Julie asked me what you are doing

Julie asked me what you are doing.

c Look out there’s a car coming

Look out! There’s a car coming./Look out, there’s a car coming!

d Shall we go today tomorrow or on Friday

Shall we go today, tomorrow or on Friday?

e Excuse me do you know what the time is

Excuse me, do you know what the time is?

Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to compare notes and to see
if they have any answers that are different. Monitor, and note anything
that produces different use of punctuation from different students.
13 Work with a partner. Do you have the same punctuation in the sentences?

If monitoring shows that different pairs of students have produced

different answers, it will be worth setting up an activity in which the
pairs separate and the students move around the class finding out
what alternative answers have been produced.
Check the correct answers as a whole-group activity.
Students’ use of punctuation is usually influenced by their first language.
The use of punctuation in written English, commas in particular, is a
complex area. At this level, encourage the students to develop confidence
in using commas to separate words in a list and to indicate a significant
pause within a sentence.
Now ask the students to look at the advertisement a friend would like to
put on the school noticeboard. Tell them that the note contains a number
of mistakes in the use of capital letters and punctuation marks. Ask the
students to write the note again individually with the corrections they
think are needed.
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Notes 14 A friend would like to put this advertisement on the school noticeboard
but needs to put in the correct punctuation and use capital letters in the
right places. Put in the punctuation and capital letters for your friend.

trip to London

i am organising a coach trip to london on saturday 26 february

would you like to come along if you would please contact Me
on 07780 456654 tickets only twenty Pounds

hurry up only Six tickets left

martin

Trip to London
I am organising a coach trip to London on Saturday 26
February. Would you like to come along? If you would, please
contact me on 07780 456654.. Tickets only twenty pounds.
Hurry up! Only six tickets left.
Martin
Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to compare notes.
Monitor, and note any changes about which the students disagree.
15 Work with a partner. Do you have the same corrections to
the advertisement?

As a whole-group activity, ask the students to tell you what changes they
and their partners made. Put on the board or overhead projector the
corrected version and remind students of previous activities to explain
why certain punctuation marks and capital letters are needed.

Grammar challenge
Now engage the students’ interest in identifying and correcting
grammatical errors. The whole area of errors and correction can be
daunting for learners of a language; stress that making mistakes is a
natural part of the learning process (it may help to refer to your own
experiences of language learning).
The ‘Grammar challenge’ activity is intended to be fun and you can make
it a competitive activity as the students work first individually, then with
a partner and then in competition with the other members of the class.
Writing Part 1 139
Correcting errors

Ask the students individually to read the ten sentences and to tick Notes
the 0, 1 or 2 mistakes columns.
16 Learners of a language naturally make grammar mistakes of various
kinds. Look at these sentences. How many grammar mistakes do you
think there are in each sentence? Tick (Y) the column to show if there
are 0 (no mistakes), 1 (one mistake) or 2 (two mistakes).
0 1 2

If you really want to learn to speak a language Y

well, you must to use (must use) it in the country
where people speaks (speak) it.

There are so many interestings (interesting) Y

subjects to study at university that I find it
impossible to choose just one.

A good teacher understands that students Y

make mistakes and doesn’t make them feel
bad about this.

I will never forget mine (my) first day at school,

but for some reason I can’t remember
nothing (anything) at all about the last day. Y

We are studying very hard at the moment Y

because we are going to taking (take) an important
exam next week.

The students in my class thinks (think) that English Y

grammar is the most hardest (hardest) part of
our studies.

My teacher has worked at this school since (for) ten Y

years and she is very happy here.

I really don’t like doing homework, but I know Y

that it’s an important part of my studies.

You are never too old to learning (learn) new things Y

and people should continue studying after they
will leave (they leave) school.

This is the final sentence and I hope I haven’t Y

done (made) any mistakes.

Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to compare notes and to see
if they have identified the same number of grammar mistakes in each
sentence. Monitor, but don’t confirm or correct any answers at this stage
(this will come in a final activity). If the students disagree, they should try
to persuade each other and come to a joint answer.
140 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes 17 Work with a partner. Do you have the same answers?

Now ask the students to look at the sentences in which they agree on
the number of errors. Ask them to discuss what the correct versions
should be and to write these down.
18 Look at the sentences with grammar mistakes. Can you correct them?

As a whole-group activity, ask the pairs of students to tell you their

answers in the 0, 1 or 2 columns and their suggested corrections. If
you wish to make this a competition, give 1 point for each correct
answer in the 0, 1 or 2 box and 1 point for each accurate correction.
Alternatives to the corrections in the key are:
1 ‘have to use’
4 ‘can remember nothing’
6 ‘most difficult’
7 ‘since (year/date)’ (instead of ‘ten years’).
At the end of the activity, put the correct answers on the overhead
projector or board.
19 What about other students in your class? Do you all agree about
the mistakes and the corrections?

The previous two activities will have highlighted any specific areas
of grammatical error your students need to work on. As a whole-group
activity, make a study focus of these.
Writing Part 1 141
Test practice

Notes
Test practice
Tips from the examiners

Read the instructions carefully. You are told exactly how many mistakes are in
the text.

Read the text through quickly first, so that you know what it is about.

Now look at the three examples in the first three lines.

Then read the text again in detail looking for the mistakes.

Write the corrections to the mistakes in the spaces at the end of each line.

Remember that some lines have no mistakes.

Read the text and circle each mistake. Write the correction at the end of
the line. The first three lines are examples. There are two more spelling
mistakes, three more punctuation mistakes and three more grammar
mistakes. Some lines have no mistakes.

Dear pedro, Pedro

Hi! How is you and your family? I hope everyone is well and are
that, the weather is better now. When I visited you last that the
year, it rained allmost every day. 1. almost
Did you hear the news about David. He has a new job 2. David?
now and he is working very hardly. I don’t see him very 3. hard
often, but he sometimes write me an email. I’m sure he’s 4. writes
really happy.
I met your friend Max in the shopping centre on saturday. 5. Saturday
He finish his examinations last week and is enjoying the 6. finished
holiday Max and Lucia are planning to travel round Europe. 7. holiday.
I think that’s all the news I have to tell you at the moment.
I prommise to write again soon. 8. promise
Best wishes,
Jim
142 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever

Introduction to Writing Part 2

The focus of Writing Part 2 is to test the candidates’ ability to respond
formally to a text. Candidates read a text of 30 to 60 words which may be
a letter, poster, leaflet or advert. The text requires some kind of response.
The instruction asks candidates to address four points or notes connected
to the input text. The person addressed by candidates is public and
distant, eg, a teacher, a competition organiser, a newspaper editor,
a sports centre manager.
To prepare, students need practice in:
– reading texts that require specific responses, eg, adverts for
summer jobs, adverts for competitions, articles in the newspaper
asking for opinions about local issues
– writing simple formal/neutral letters, articles and reports, using
appropriate language and register.

Student introduction
In this part of the test, you respond formally to a text.

You read a text of 30 to 60 words which may be a letter, poster, leaflet or advert.
The text asks for some kind of response.

2
You address four points or notes connected to the text you read.

The directions tell you who you are writing to.

There is a test practice exercise at the end of this part of the book.

To prepare, you need to:

– read texts that require specific responses, eg, adverts for summer jobs, adverts
for competitions, articles in the newspaper asking for opinions about local issues
– write simple formal/neutral letters, articles and reports in an appropriate style
of language.
Writing Part 2 143
Writing a formal response

Notes
2 Writing a formal response
Café life
Start by asking your students to think of their favourite café. Get them
to write down five things that they like about it. Then tell them to discuss
their ideas in pairs.
1 What is your favourite café? What do you like about it?
Write your ideas below.
My favourite café is

Why I like it

As a whole group, brainstorm things which make a café popular

(quality/type of food, cost, the people, decor, comfort, music,
atmosphere, etc).
2 Compare ideas with other students. Do you agree on what makes
a café popular?

Now tell the students to read the notice on the college notice board.
It requires them to give opinions and to make suggestions. Read the
different ways of responding to the first point.

Making suggestions
3 Read the notice on the college noticeboard. What ideas do you have?

New College Café

The College Committee has agreed to build a new student café in our
college. We want you, the students, to give us your opinions and
suggestions. We want to have your ideas about the following things:
– opening times
– type of food/drinks to serve
– decor (colour/furniture, etc)
– entertainment.
Please post your suggestions in the box at reception.

Andrew Luxton
College Catering Officer
144 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever

Notes 4 Look at the different ways of making suggestions for the first point.
Opening times
a I suggest that the café should open at 8.30 am and close at 5.30 pm.
I suggest you (should) open the café at 8.30 am and close it at 5.30 pm.

(For a formal suggestion, use

… suggest that + noun + should + infinitive without to.)

b Why don’t you open the café at 8.30 am and close it at 5.30?
(Less formal structure)

Now tell them to make suggestions using these structures for the
other four bullet points.
2
a ‘I suggest that you serve salads and sandwiches.’
b ‘Why don’t you serve fast food and different fruit juices?’
3
a ‘I suggest that you paint the café blue because it is a nice,
calm colour.’
b ‘Why don’t you put comfortable sofas in the café so that students
can relax?’
4
a ‘I suggest the café should have computers for Internet access.’/
‘I suggest you have some computers in the café.’
b ‘Why don’t you have some music in the café?’
5 Now write suggestions. Use the structures in activity 4 to help you.
College café – My suggestions
Food and drink
a

Decor and furniture

a

Entertainment
a

Listen to some of the suggestions and write an example of each on the

board, using the given structures.
6 Listen to other students’ suggestions. Which do you think are the best?
Writing Part 2 145
Writing a formal response

Notes
Expressing ideas
Ask your students to brainstorm different types/categories of music
(classical, rock, jazz, folk, flamenco, sitar, etc). Write them all up on the
board. (If the other class members don’t know a particular music style,
the nominator has to give a demonstration!)
7 Think of as many different kinds of music as you can. The pictures
may help you.

Get the students to discuss the questions below in small groups.

8 Get into small groups. Ask each other the following questions.
What’s the first music/song you can remember? Why?

Are your musical tastes the same as your parents’?

Why/why not?

What’s your favourite music for relaxing?

What’s your favourite music for dancing?

Have you been to any music concerts?

What was good and/or bad about them?

Which music from other parts of the world are you interested in?

Now ask how many students listen to music on CD, on TV or on the radio.
Which do they prefer? Why?
9 Do you listen to music on CD, on TV or on the radio? Which do you prefer?
Why?

Read the advert for the World Music Radio programme together.
146 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever

Notes 10 Now read this advert from a local newspaper for a new radio station.

Scorpio World Music Station

We need your help!
We want to broadcast a brand new
World Music programme – playing
different kinds of music from different
parts of the world.

Write and tell us:

– about yourself
– about some good music which comes
from a particular part of the world
– why you like it
– what other things we could include
in the programme.

All contributors receive a World Music

compilation CD – absolutely free!
Contact: Ms Roxanne Robins, PO Box 42

Tell them that they are going to complete a letter to Ms Robins replying
to the advert. They must use one word to complete each gap.
11 Read the letter to Roxanne Robins, replying to the advertisement.
Complete the letter by putting one word in each gap.

Dear Ms Robins,
I am replying to the advert I saw about the World Music programme. I am a
twenty year old student and I enjoy listening to different kinds/types/sorts
of music.
I would like you to play some Jamaican reggae music. I am especially
interested in music that comes from the Caribbean. At the moment
my favourite musician is Bob Marley.
Reggae music is so enjoyable because it is full of energy and rhythm.
It makes you feel good.
I have another idea/suggestion for the programme. You could have a
quiz about a different part of the world each/every week.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,

Elvira Nagore
Writing Part 2 147
Writing a formal response

Then check the letter as a whole group. Make sure they understand Notes
the following:
– ‘twenty-year-old student’ (not ‘years’)
– ‘enjoy listening to’ (not ‘to listen to’)
– ‘different kinds of music’ (not ‘kind’) .
Now ask them to write their own letter to Ms Robins. They can use the
previous letter to help them, but encourage them to use their own ideas
where possible. Tell them that they must include the points listed below.
12 Now write a letter to Ms Robins, replying to the advert.
In your letter you must:
– introduce yourself
– tell Ms Robins what music you want to hear on the programme
– explain why you like it
– suggest another idea for the programme.

Dear Ms Robins,

Listen to one or two examples as a whole group. Collect the letters

and mark them, noting any problems that need dealing with.
148 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes
Explaining why
Tell your students to read the two letters to Amir Khan. Then discuss
the scenario. (Amir’s classes start on 8 September. Mohammed
needs his help during this time.)
13 Read the two letters to Amir Khan.

Languages Department
Telford College
Telford TZ4 5KU
8 August

Dear Mr Khan,
I am writing to inform you that the new college term will start on Monday
8 September. Your English classes will take place in Room B, Building 4,
and your teacher will be Mr George Manning. I enclose your programme
for the term.
I wish you success with your studies next term.

Yours sincerely,
Jane Sheldon
Student Entries

To: Amir <amir@atl.com>

From: Mohammed
Subject: Help
Hi Amir,
Hope you’re well. Can I ask you a big favour, please?
Shania is going into hospital in the second week of
September to have our new baby. I asked Abdul to
look after the shop for me during this time and he
agreed. But now he can’t do it. He has to return to
Pakistan.
So, Amir, can you come and look after the shop for
me? I need to be with the other two children while
their mum is in hospital. I know I can trust you.
Please say ‘yes’.
Your friend, Mohammed
Writing Part 2 149
Writing a formal response

Now tell your students to complete the letter from Amir to his teacher, Notes
George Manning, using the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets.
14 Now complete the letter from Amir to his teacher, George Manning.
Write the correct tenses for the verbs in brackets.

Dear Mr Manning,
My name is (be) Amir Khan and I am/am going to be (be) in your class next term.
I am writing (write) this letter because I will/shall not be able to (not be able
to) come (come) for the first week of term.
My friend in Bradford has asked (ask) me to look after (look after) his shop for
him during this time. His wife is having/is going to have (have) a baby in the
first week of September. My friend will have to (have to) take care of (take
care of) his other children.
I am (be) very sorry about this. I hope (hope) to start (start) your class on 16
September.
I am looking forward to (look forward to) meeting (meet) you in class.

Yours sincerely,

Amir Khan

Check their answers, noting any problems with the difference between
‘will’, ‘going to’ and the present continuous for future reference.
15 Check your answers with your teacher.

Now tell the students to imagine that they are also going to be in Mr
Manning’s English class. They also cannot attend the first week of
classes. They have to write a similar letter to Mr Manning, but must
give a different reason for their absence from class.
16 Now imagine that you are also going to be in Mr Manning’s English
class. You also cannot attend the first week of classes.
Write a letter to Mr Manning. You must:
– introduce yourself
– explain the reason for your absence
– apologise and say which date you can start.

Dear Mr Manning
150 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever

Notes

Listen to a selection of the letters, making sure they have covered all four
functions. Correct any tenses. Take in and mark all the letters, checking
for a suitable level of formality, tenses and clarity of explanation.
17 Listen to other students’ letters. Are their reasons similar to yours?

Test practice
Tips from the examiners

Read the instructions carefully. Do you have to write a letter, instructions, an article
or a report?

Read/look at the ‘input text’ in the box.

Go back to the instructions and highlight the four points that you have to write about.

Ask yourself:
– who am I writing to?
– what must I write?
– how can I write it?

If you have enough time, write some notes first. Remember that your language
must be formal.

Check the number of words is between 70 and 100.

Writing Part 2 151
Test practice

Write a letter to the manager of the project advertised below. Notes

Write complete sentences. Write between 70 and 100 words.
Tell the manager:
– why you are interested
– which part of the project you prefer to work on.

Ask for information about:

– dates
– accommodation.

The Valentine Project

We are building a nature reserve in the Valentine Forest.
Our ambition is to conserve the plants and animals
for future generations.

We are looking for volunteer workers to help us

– clear rubbish from the lake
– plant trees
– make and put up bird nesting boxes
– mend walls and fences.

Food and accommodation provided.

–––––––––––––––––––
If you are interested please contact:
Toby Maguire, PO Box 67
Or visit www.valproj.com
152 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes
Writing Part 3 153
Introduction

Introduction to Writing Part 3

The focus of Writing Part 3 is to test the candidates’ ability to write
an informal letter.
The candidates are required to write an informal letter to a new English-
speaking friend of between 100 to 120 words. The candidates are given
the topic of the letter, which includes two functions, eg:
Write a letter to a friend.
a Invite your friend to stay for the weekend.
b Say where you can go together.
The opening and close of the letter are given. Candidates do not
write any addresses.
To prepare, students need practice in:
– writing informal letters which include the functions expected at this
level, such as describing, explaining, thanking, suggesting, apologising
– forming direct questions
– building their range of vocabulary and structures, including simple
colloquial and idiomatic language
– using linking language correctly and effectively
– checking their writing for errors.

Student introduction

3
In this part of the test, you write an informal letter to an English-speaking friend
in 100 to 120 words.

You have the topic of the letter, which includes two language functions. For example,
you will be asked to write a letter to a friend:
– inviting your friend to stay for the weekend
– saying where you can go together.

The opening and close of the letter are there for you. You do not write any addresses.

There is a test practice exercise at the end of this part of the book.

To prepare, you need to:

– write informal letters that include the functions expected at Achiever level:
describing, explaining, thanking, suggesting, apologising, etc
– form direct questions
– build up your range of vocabulary and grammatical structures, including simple
idioms and colloquial language
– use linking language correctly and effectively
– check your writing for errors.
154 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes
3 Writing an informal letter
Replying to a letter
Engage the students’ interest in the general theme of informal letters
from a friend. You can easily do this by taking an envelope from your
pocket and appearing to read the letter enclosed with exaggerated facial
expressions and gestures: puzzled frown, read on, shake of head, read
on, broad smile.
Find out a little about the students’ letter-writing skills. Draw their
attention to the part of a letter below. Ask them individually to write a
reply of about 50 to 80 words. There is no set time limit for any one part
of the International ESOL test and it will be helpful to encourage your
students to develop the habit of managing time effectively. Depending
on the time available in your lesson, set a time limit of 10 to 15 minutes
for this activity.
1 Look at this part of a letter.

Anyway, that’s all about me. Could you write and tell me a
little about yourself – the subjects you like or liked at school,
any hobbies you have. Oh, yes, I’m planning to visit your
town for the first time next month. Can you suggest places
to stay and interesting places to go to?

2 Write a reply.

Ask the students to make sure their names are on the letters and to
hand these to you. It will be useful to have a closer look at these letters
at a later stage so that you can give individual students advice on writing
(and on planning, checking, etc). For now, the purpose is to use what the
students have written to communicate a message – tell them not to worry
about mistakes.
3 Hand your letter to your teacher.
Writing Part 3 155
Writing an informal letter

Depending on the number of students and on the time available, read Notes
out all or some of the letters. It is most effective to read out the letters
with errors corrected (you won’t have time for formal or thorough
correction but you should, as you read, be able to read out versions that
are sufficiently accurate). Ask the students to listen to the letters and
to guess who the writers are – the hobbies, suggested places to go, etc,
should give clues. Give each letter a number as you read it and ask the
students to write the name of the person they think wrote it.
4 Listen to the letters your teacher reads. Who do you think wrote them?
Write down the names of the students you think wrote the letters.

After reading the letters, ask the students to tell you who they thought
wrote each of them. Check if they were correct.
Stress the importance of including in the letters all the information that
has been asked for: describing hobbies and/or subjects liked/disliked;
suggesting places to stay/interesting places to go.
Ask the students to listen to the message in activity 5. Tell them that the
message is an answer to a letter. Ask the students individually to think
about what information was in the original letter.
5 Listen to this message from one friend, Jerry, to another friend. 22

22
Male voice ‘Hi. It’s Jerry here. Just got your letter and – yes, I’d love to come
next weekend. Don’t worry about meeting me, as I can easily get a bus from
the station. Your ideas for Saturday sound great – I love watching and playing
all kinds of sports. Sunday sounds fine, too; I’ll bring my swimming things.
See you Friday.’

6 Make a few notes about the information you think was in the letter
to Jerry.

Ask the students individually to jot down a few notes about the
information they think was in the original letter. These notes can be just
words and phrases rather than full sentences at this stage. Monitor, and
advise the students that they can use a dictionary to check words and
spellings. To help your students prepare for the test, set a time limit of
5 minutes for this preliminary planning activity.
Now ask the students to write the letter individually. In the test, the
candidates write 100 to 120 words in Writing Part 3; encourage your
students to get into the habit of producing letters around this length.
Tell the students they are not expected to know exactly what was in the
original letter – there will be several variations that are perfectly possible.
Again, a time limit of 15 minutes will give your students the opportunity
to plan, write and check.
Monitor, and if any of the students has difficulty knowing what to include,
point at relevant parts of the message: the response to an invitation, the
response to the offer to meet Jerry and the response to suggestions
about sports.
156 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes 7 Write the letter Jerry received.

Dear Jerry,
Hi, how are you?

Give me a call and let me know your answer.

Best wishes,
Now ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to compare the letters
they have written and to see what similarities and differences there are.
Monitor, and note if any of the differences are due to the omission of
required functions (offering and suggesting). Also note different ways
the students have made offers and suggestions.
8 Work with a partner. Compare your letters. What’s the same,
what’s different?

As a whole-group activity, ask the students to tell you what similarities

and differences they and their partners produced in their letters. Put
on the board some forms of offer, such as ‘I can meet you.’ ‘Do you want
me to meet you?’ and suggestions such as ‘Shall we go to …?’ ‘Would you
like to go …?’ and so on. Also put some of the vocabulary items likely to
be in the letter (different sports, beach or swimming pool, etc).
Now show the students the original letter in activity 9 and ask them to say
whose letter is closest to this. This should draw the students’ attention to
the content points and also to the different ways of using functional
language to invite, offer, suggest, etc.
Writing Part 3 157
Writing an informal letter

9 Look at a copy of the original letter. Which of the students in your class Notes
had letters most like the original one?

Dear Jerry,

Hi. How are you? Why don’t you come and stay for the
weekend? I can come and pick you up at the station and
then we can go out for a meal at this great
Indian restaurant near my house.

What about going to see a football match on Saturday

afternoon – City are at home – shall we go? If you like, we
can play a game of tennis after the football.

They say the weather is going to be hot. Do you fancy going

to the beach on Sunday? Give me a call and let me know.

Best wishes,

Stress that variations are perfectly acceptable and take the opportunity
to focus on different ways of expressing certain ideas.
For example:
Inviting
– ‘Why don’t you…?’
– ‘Would you like to…?’
– ‘How/What about…?’
Offering
– ‘Shall I…?’
– ‘I’ll…’
– ‘I can…’
Suggesting
– ‘Shall we…?’
– ‘Would you like to…?’
– ‘How/What about…?’
– ‘Do you fancy…?’
– ‘Do you want to…?’
158 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes
Suggestions in a letter
Now ask the students to think about how they can use these and other
ways of suggesting when they write to friends. Ask them to write two
or three suggestions individually in each of the categories supplied.
Encourage them to use different ways of making their suggestions.
10 Look at some of the phrases the writer of the letter uses to suggest
things. Write short notes using some of these phrases to suggest things
to a partner. The topics and pictures below may give you some ideas.

music food

cinema holiday Ask the students to work in pairs. Ask them to exchange their written
suggestions with their partner. Ask them to read the suggestions
and indicate with a tick or cross whether they would accept or reject
the suggestions.
11 Exchange notes with a partner. Put a tick (Y) if you would like to
accept your partner’s suggestions, put a cross (X) if you would prefer
not to accept.
play sport Suggestions Y/X

Now ask the students to compare notes with the other members of
the group. You can do this as a whole-group activity or by asking the
students to move around the class asking and answering questions.
It isn’t necessary for the students to write their responses at this stage:
this will come later.
12 What about other students in your class? Who accepted all of their
partner’s suggestions? Who didn’t?
Writing Part 3 159
Writing an informal letter

Ask the students to read the email message individually. It is a response Notes
to a text received. Ask the students to jot down a few notes about the
possible contents of the original letter from Frank. Ask them to jot down
the phrases Frank may have used to make suggestions (refer the students
to the functional language which was a focus of activity 10).
13 Look at this email message. What do you think was in Frank’s original
letter to Paula?

To: Frank
From: Paula
Re: (no subject)

Hi. Thanks for your note. It would be very nice to see

you, but I have so much work to do before the
weekend. I’ve never eaten there, but I’m sure it’s
great. Also, I’m afraid I’m going away for the weekend
so I’ll have to say ‘no’ – it’s a shame, I’ve heard it’s a
great movie.
Unfortunately I get seasick, so if you don’t mind I’d
rather not go on a sea cruise.

Thanks anyway.
Speak soon,
Paula

Now ask the students to work in pairs. Focus on the importance

of planning before writing. Ask them to discuss:
– the possible content (and make notes of vocabulary: restaurant,
holiday, etc)
– the invitations and suggestions Frank might have made
– the phrases Frank might have used.
Set the students a time limit of 10 minutes for discussion and planning.
Monitor, and give any prompts needed.
160 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes 14 Work with a partner. Plan the letter you think Frank wrote.

Now ask the students in their pairs to write Frank’s letter. Stress that
they are not expected to get the ‘correct’ information – there will be lots
of variations. As the students have had time to discuss and plan, set a
time limit of 10 minutes for the writing of the letter and encourage the
students to produce around 100 to 120 words.
Monitor, and note any successful items of language of invitation,
description, suggestion, etc, produced by the students.
15 Write Frank’s letter.

Dear Paula,
I haven‘t seen you for ages! Would you like

I hope you will say ‘yes’!

Yours truly,
Frank
Ask the pairs of students to compare their letters with those the other
members of the class have produced. One way to do this is to ask the
students to put their letters on tables or noticeboards around the room
and move around reading them.
Writing Part 3 161
Writing an informal letter

16 Compare your letter with some of the other students in your class. Notes
Are your ideas similar or very different?

Now look at the letter Frank originally wrote in activity 17.

17 Now look at a copy of Frank’s original letter. Which pairs of students
had a letter most like it?

Dear Paula,

I haven‘t seen you for ages! Would you like to go out for
dinner on Wednesday or Thursday? There’s a new place in
town called China Garden. The food is fantastic and I know
you’d love the atmosphere.

And what about Saturday evening? I’ve got a spare ticket

for the film Far Horizon at the Rialto cinema as Angela
can’t come.

I’ve been thinking about the summer holidays. Do you have

any plans for the summer? How do you feel about a week on
a cruise ship in the Mediterranean? Do you want me to
find out about the costs?

I hope you will say ‘yes’!

Yours truly,

Frank

As a whole-group activity, ask the students to tell you whose letter was
most similar to Frank’s. Focus on what made some of the letters similar
to the original: content and functional language used. Put examples on
the board along with any successful alternatives the students produced.
Now ask the students to look at the phrases Paula used to reject Frank’s
invites and suggestions in activity 13. Ask them, in pairs, to repeat
activities 10 and 11, where students make suggestions to each other,
and practice rejecting the suggestions using some of Paula’s phrases.
162 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
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Notes 18 Look at some of the phrases Paula used to say ‘no’ to Frank’s invitations
and suggestions. Go back to activities 10 and 11 – could you use some
of these phrases in reply to your partner’s suggestions?

As a whole-group activity, invite the students to tell you which

expressions they used to say ‘no’ to some of the suggestions.
Engage the students’ interest in the topic of famous people. One easy
way to do this is to use photos from magazines, newspapers, etc.
Ask the students to think individually of a famous person (living or dead,
real or fictional – it doesn’t matter as long as their fellow students will
know the famous person). Ask them to imagine that they are this person
and to write a letter to old friends. (Stress that this is just a classroom
activity and that in the test itself the students will write only as
themselves). Monitor, and supply any ideas and language the students
are struggling to find. Set a time limit of 15 minutes and encourage the
students to produce around 100 to 120 words. Tell the students not to
sign as the famous person – their fellow students will read their letter
and guess who they are.
19 Think of a famous person. Imagine that you are this famous person and
write a letter to an old friend. Tell your old friend what your daily life is
like and ask about some of the people you knew in the past.

Dear Friend,

How are you?

The students exchange letters in pairs and say who they think the ‘writer’
is; they mustn’t say anything to any of the other students.
Writing Part 3 163
Writing an informal letter

20 Work with a partner. Read each other’s letters. Who do you think Notes
the famous people are?

Now ask the students to put their letters around the room – ideally on
noticeboards – with their own name but not that of the famous person
and to move around reading the letters and making notes about who
they think the ‘writers’ are.
21 Read other students’ letters. Can you guess who all of the famous
people are?

As a whole-group activity, the students tell you who they thought

the famous people were and what made them come to that decision.
Check the answers.
164 International English for Speakers of Other Languages
Teacher’s Book 3 Achiever

Notes
Test practice
Tips from the examiners

Read the instructions carefully. Ask yourself:

– what must I write about?
– how many words must I write?

Think about the two points you must include in your letter.

Make a plan before you start to write your letter. Take a few minutes to make notes
about the words and phrases you may use.

Try to use a variety of different phrases and don’t forget to check in a dictionary
for the meanings and spellings of words.

When we write to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to people, we normally use more than simple ‘yes’
or ‘no’ responses. When we say ‘no’, we usually add an explanation and apologise for
not accepting. If you are asked to accept or refuse something as part of the test, you
will get credit for using a variety of ways of accepting or rejecting offers, suggestions,
invitations, etc.

Check the number of words you write is between 100 and 120.

Write a letter to a friend. Tell your friend about your English class and
ask them to tell you about their English class and teacher. Write between
100 and 120 words.

Dear Jo,
How are you?

Bye for now,

Best wishes,