PET WRITING FORMAT

What’s in the Writing paper?

What’s in the Writing paper?
PART-1
 What does a typical email task look like?

 When you look at a writing task in the PET

exam, there are always some questions that
you have to ask yourself.
 What is the situation?
 What do I have to include in my email?
 Who is going to read my email?
 A typical PET email looks like
this:

 opening formula
 four main topic paragraphs
 closing formula
  the situation is about organising an end-of-year party
with your class and your teacher
 have to include four main things in your emails.
1.   react to the news that there is a party, 
2.   explain if the party should be in the classroom or
the park
3.   make a suggestion about possible games and
activities 
4.  tell Mrs Lake what kind of food you would like to eat
at the party 
   use specific language for each of the four points
 use contractions like ‘I’m’ or ‘she’s’ or phrasal verbs,
but no slang words or anything that is not in the
dictionary
 Useful language for emails

 React to a piece of news

 Agree / Disagree
 Explain something
 Offer to do something
 Give your opinion
 Apologise for something
 Make a suggestion
 Make a recommendation
 Opening formula

• Hi [name],

• Hello [name],

• Dear [name]
 Closing formula
• Talk to you soon.

• All the best,

• Take care,

• Best regards,

• Warm regards,

• Love,

• Lots of love,
 Reacting to a piece of news

• It’s good/great/sad to hear that …

• I’m glad/happy/sorry to hear that …

• Thanks (a lot) for letting me know that …

• What great/fantastic/brilliant/wonderful news!

• That’s awful / a pity / unfortunate!

 Agreeing / Disagreeing
• I agree / disagree (with you).

• I couldn’t agree more.

• I (don’t) think so.

• I think you’re right.

• That’s so true!

• Yes, but …

• I’m not sure about that.

 Explaining something

• because (of)

• That’s why …

• This means …

• for example / such as / like

 Offering to do something

• I/We could …

• If you want, I/we could …

• Shall I/we …

• Do you want me/us to …?

 Giving your opinion
• In my opinion, …

• I think …

• For me, …

• From my point of view

• I guess
Apologising for something

• I’m sorry for (+-ing)

• I apologise for (+-ing)

• I (really) didn’t mean to …

 Making a suggestion
• Let’s …

• I suggest (+-ing)

• How about (+-ing)

• Why don’t you/we …?

• Don’t you think …?

Making a recommendation

• (I think) you/we should …

• Don’t miss …

• I (highly) recommend (+-ing)

 PART-1

You must answer this question.

Write your answer in about 100 words on the answer sheet
 NOTE

Don’t forget to make a plan before you write.

PART-2
 PART-2
WRITING
ARTICLE
 What does a typical article task
look like?

 What is the situation?

 What do I have to include in my article?
 Who is going to read my article?
 A typical article task might look like
 need to be about films
 two main questions that you have to

answer in your text

1.films you enjoy
2.if you prefer going to the cinema or
watching films at home with reasons
 the readers of the English-language website are the
people you write your article for.
  your language should be neutral to
informal because it is not for your friends, but
neither for your boss or teacher.
 In neutral English you can use contractions like
‘I’m’ or ‘she’s’, phrasal verbs or informal
punctuation (e.g. ‘!’),
 no slang words or anything that is not in the
dictionary.
 How to organise your article
 two main questions that you have to cover
  In our example the two questions are:
 What kind of films do you enjoy?
 Do you prefer watching them at the cinema or at
home? Why?
 As there are two main points it is probably a good
idea to have two main paragraphs in your article.
 In addition, you should always have an title and a
final sentence so we get to four parts in total:
 The different parts of an article
 Title
 2 Main paragraphs with 2points
 Final sentence
 Always make a plan

 If you plan your article, you can save a lot of

time because you know exactly what the
different parts of your text are and what you
want to include.
 The different parts of an article

 Title
 Every good article has a title. 
 Try to make the title interesting 
 For example, choose one of the following ideas:
 Films I like (and how I watch them)
 How to best watch the films you love
 Home or cinema – How do you watch your favourite
films?
 However, don’t feel stressed. If you just use the
title “Films”, you won’t lose any marks. 
 Main paragraphs

 the most important pieces of your article

 Does the paragraph talk about about one of

the main questions in the task?

 Do I use good language (neutral/informal,

linking words, good grammar and
interesting vocabulary)?
 NOTE
 you have to answer the questions in the task
very clearly.
 Don’t talk about things that are unrelated,
but focus on the topic. 
 EXAMPLE
 I know many people who love animated or romantic films,
but for me, there is nothing better than an amazing drama
or adventure movie like ‘Indiana Jones’ because I’m a big
fan of stories with a fascinating plot.
 In my opinion, watching a film at home isn’t the same
as going to the cinema to enjoy a great movie on a huge
screen with popcorn and cola. If it wasn’t so expensive, I
would go every week.

 Answer the question about what films he/she enjoys

  focus on the question and give some examples.
 IN YOUR MAIN PARAGRAPHS
 interesting grammar
  vocabulary
 linking words
 In the second paragraph 
 say how I prefer watching a film (going to the
cinema)
 explain why (huge screen, popcorn and cola).
 include a conditional sentence for good grammar
  (If it wasn’t so expensive, I would go every week.).
 FINAL SENTENCE

  end your article with a nice final sentence

 summarise your article
 Remember: The more interesting your
article is, the better it is for your marks.
 Final sentence
 EXAMPLE:
 So, if you want to give me some money to go to the
cinema more often, or to tell me which you prefer –
the cinema or the TV screen, leave a comment.
 In final sentence the writer
 tries to be funny (I’m not a very good comedian  )
 speaks directly to the reader (This is a good way
of making your article more interesting because the
reader feels as if they are part of the text.
 PART-2
WRITING
STORY
What does a typical story task look like?
 What is the situation?
 What do I have to include in my story?
 Who is going to read your story?
 The situation you have to start
your story  
 Lou is on a plane flying over an island and he’s
looking at the beaches. The plane is going
lower so it might be getting ready to land
 Everything you write has to be related to the
beginning.
 The things you need to include in
your story
 you can pretty much write about anything
you like.
 The only restriction is the first sentence and
the situation that comes with it.
 You can make your story funny, sad, full of
action or fantasy and include whatever you
can imagine, but connect it to the first
sentence.
 The reader of your story
 your English teacher is going to read your
story.
 In other writing tasks you need to be very
careful with your language,
 In a story you are freer. You decide if your
characters use very formal English or if they
are informal.
 Remember: don’t use rude language or
words that are not in the dictionary.
 How to organise your story

 First sentence / Beginning

 Main part paragraph 1
 Main part paragraph 2
 Ending
Always plan your story
 First sentence / Beginning

 always have to start with a sentence that you

get directly from the task.
 Don’t change the sentence in any way
 simply copy it onto you answer sheet
 begin your story 
 Example
 As the plane flew lower, Lou saw the golden
beaches of the island below. The sun was
shining brightly and he said to the woman next
to him, “I’m so excited about my holidays!”
 Language
  past continuous (was shining) {to give some background
information (past continuous) to introduce the main
character(s) }

  adverb (brightly) 
 adjective (golden)
 direct speech (“I’m so excited about my holidays!”) {to make
the reader feel more interested in your story and they want
to keep reading}

 Always try to make sure to set the scene

 Main paragraph
 As soon as Lou got off the plane he left the airport
and took a taxi to the city centre because he really
wanted to swim in the clear water and sunbathe
on the beautiful beach he had seen earlier.
 However, when he arrived at the beach he saw
that the weather was changing and five minutes
later it was raining heavily. Lou ran into a bar
and was surprised because someone shouted,
“Hi, it’s you again!”
 Main paragraph
 create some excitement for the reader
 time expressions (as soon as, when, five
minutes later)
 past perfect and past continuous (had seen,
was changing, was raining)
 adjectives (clear, beautiful, surprised)
  adverbs (really, heavily)
 contrast (however)
  surprising elements (someone shouted) 
 Ending
 Every good story has an ending.
 Finish your story in a surprising or funny
way so the reader is happy
 Make sure that the ending is connected to
the topic
 Don’t introduce new characters
 Don’t let the story move in a completely
different direction
 Just write one or two last sentences
 Example
 There was the woman from the plane! They
started to talk and became very good friends.

 surprising element (the woman from the

plane)
 to make the examiner happy
 to get great marks
 Past verb forms
 Past simple describes the main events of your
story.
 Past continuous describes what was happening
at the same time as the main events.
 Past perfect describes what happened before
the main events.
 Time Expressions
 Time expressions put the events of your story
in a sequence
 To make the reader understands what happened
first and the sequence of events
 Some examples of time expressions

 when
 as soon as
 immediately
 before
 earlier
 until
 while
 after that
 next (day/morning etc.)
 x minutes/days/years later