Writing Part 2
Writing a Formal Email

B2 First Exam

Formal Email

It’s very common to have the option to write a letter or an email in part 2 of the B2 First Exam.

Emails and letters are essentially the same thing, except that one is digital and the other is on paper. 

We use the same techniques for both styles.

Time Management

Both texts are the same amount of words, and worth the same amount of points. Spend 40 minutes per text. Give time to both plan and check your work:

Length: 140-190 words 

Most people want to skip planning and start writing immediately. However, this often leads to disorganized essays. Since you’re being marked on organization, you should plan. You’ll have fewer problems while writing and your work will be easier to read.

Planning

Here's an example question:

Here is part of an email you have received from a language school in the UK where you once took an English course.

The school has had an excellent year, and has some additional money to spend on giving students a better experience. That's why we are now writing to our former students to ask for advice. This money could be spent on one of these things: 

Which option would you recommend and why?

What to write about

Know your Audience

In the example above, it states that we are writing to a UK language school. We don’t have a personal relationship with these people, and therefore we have to use a formal tone.

Know the Topic

This task is a little bit different from the other styles of emails and letters I’ve covered so far. In this task, we need to choose one of the options, and defend our choice.

We have to let the school know how we think they should spend the extra money. The options are between these two choices: 

Even if we don’t really have an opinion, it’s always best to pick one and defend it. Our work will be clearer to the examiner, which will help us get a higher score for organization.

I’m going to choose this option: “taking class trips to special places around the UK”.

Another different thing about this task is that we have to choose by ourselves what to talk about. Since I usually use a 3-paragraph layout, I need to brainstorm three reasons and each paragraph will defend a reason.

Three benefits to taking trips around the UK:

Outline

Since this is a formal letter, we are going to use a formal greeting and sign-off. Here’s the format that I use:

Format:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Yours faithfully,

[Your Full Name]

Here are many ways you could organize your paragraphs. I suggest this way:

Each supporting paragraph should have:

Remember, we need to use logical paragraphs to make sure we get good marks for organization.

190 words actually aren’t a lot. You will not be able to write about too many things for each point. Use this to your advantage, because writing less actually means less chance for mistakes.

Plan your Paragraphs

I take the three points and quickly brainstorm the benefits:

wider impact 

knowledge of the UK 

hear different accents

Writing the Email

Here's the question again for reference:

Here is part of an email you have received from a language school in the UK where you once took an English course.

The school has had an excellent year, and has some additional money to spend on giving students a better experience. That's why we are now writing to our former students to ask for advice. This money could be spent on one of these things: 

Which option would you recommend and why?

Opening Paragraph

The best way to write an opening paragraph is by making reference to the original letter. I also am not addressing it to anyone in particular, so I’ll use a generic greeting. Lastly, I’ll state which side I agree with, and what’s coming in the letter.

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thanks for this email seeking opinions from former students about how to spend funds to create better opportunities for current pupils. I think that the school should use the funds to create class trips for students around the UK, and I’ll explain three reasons why.

You can see I haven’t added any other details. The details will come in the body of the letter. 

Body Paragraphs

The easiest way to organize the letter is by dedicating one paragraph per point. Remember to not go off topic or you will lose points.

Wider impact - more students will benefit

I think using the funds for class trips will allow more students to benefit from the money. Why spend the money on one person when hundreds could benefit? Also, a lot of the students who attend the English school are young and young people often struggle financially. They may not have other opportunities to visit these regions. 

Increased knowledge of the region

Since students at the language school are mostly foreigners, it would give them an opportunity to know more of the UK. Creating trips is also a great way to give a boost to those local economies, since students will want to spend money in shops and on food while they are out.

Opportunities for networking

These trips will enable students to meet more real native speakers and practice their English. They will be able to hear new accents, different dialects and ways of speaking, which they would otherwise miss at school.

Conclusion

We don’t need to add much for a conclusion. It’s usually easiest to just thank them for reading, say you are available to answer questions, and that you look forward to hearing from them.

As you can see, I think creating trips is the best way to use these resources. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

We’ve gone over the word limit. However, remember that that’s okay. You will never lose points for writing too much as long as what you say is on topic and relevant. You will lose marks if you add too many unimportant details. Also, writing more increases the chances for mistakes so try to stay near the word count.

Example

Let’s put it all together with some sequencing words and some editing:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thanks for this email seeking opinions about how to spend funds to create better opportunities for current pupils. I think that the school should use the money to create class trips for students to places around the UK, and I will explain three reasons why.

Firstly, I think using the funds for trips will allow more students to benefit from the money. Why spend it all on one person when hundreds could benefit? Also, a lot of the students at the English school are young and young people often struggle financially. They may not have other opportunities to visit these attractions. 

Secondly, creating trips is a great way to boost those local economies. Students will want to spend money in shops and on food while they are out, which benefits the wider community.

Finally, these trips will let students meet more native English speakers and practice their skills. They will be able to hear new accents, different dialects, and ways of speaking. They would never get this experience if they always stayed at the school.

As you can see, I think creating trips is the best way to use these resources. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully,

- Axl

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