Writing a letter

Tips for Max:

1. Make it real (think of a similar experience you have had)
2. Always check the questions while writing
3. Use compound nouns
4. Check  Verb tenses
5. Synonyms
6. Paraphrasing
7. Use less to
8. Use gerunds
9. Use fancy vocabulary


Writing a letter

You are studying for a qualification, and you would like some time off work to complete it.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:

• Ask for some time off to complete a qualification.
• Suggest what you will do later at work if you have time off.
• Say how the qualification helps your job or company.

Max

Good afternoon Mona Trevis

I hope I
I am writing this letter to you in order to ask for one time off work to complete a course in selling
at UBC.





Task Achievement  - 4

Haven't answered all tasks.

• Suggest what you will do later at work if you have time off.

Coherence / Cohesion - 8

Coherence - connection of ideas at the idea level

Cohesion - connection of ideas at the sentence level. 

Lexical Recourse - 7 

Grammar - 6 

Total:  5 

Sample Letter

Dear Mr Lee,

I am writing to you about the possibility of taking a fortnight off work in order to complete my Master’s degree in Engineering. I am almost finished writing my thesis, which must be submitted to my university by June 30th. Unfortunately, all my annual leave has been used up. Any time I took off, would naturally be unpaid; I would also check my email daily, and be available for emergency phone calls. On return, I would endeavour to come into the office earlier than usual and work Saturdays in order to catch up on anything I had missed. I have already spoken about my situation to my colleagues Mr Grunewald and Ms Tak, who are both willing to assume my responsibilities for two weeks.

I realise my temporary absence could be an inconvenience to you and the rest of the team, but in the long term, our company will benefit from my research. As you may be aware, I have been investigating 3-D printing for some time, and my thesis compares three printers already on the market with two designs pending patent and production. Since our company is considering developing software for these printers, my expertise will help give us a competitive edge.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Alexander Aksyonov

(219 words)

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Your neighbours have a dog that is noisy at night. You can’t sleep. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter:
– describe the problem with the dog
– explain why it is important for you to sleep
– outline what your neighbours could do about the situation.

Max

Dear Mr.Brown and Mrs.Brown,
I am writing this letter to bring to your attention about the problems that we are facing due to your pet.

By now, you may have noticed that, the dog continuously barks and howls during late nights. Furthermore, it has even begun to make irritating noise by scratching its claws against the common wall between our houses. Consequently, this has affected the serene atmosphere and has disturbed my sleep many times.

This would not have been a major concern, if i have not been working in the morning shifts. Unfortunately, my job demands me to wake up early in the morning, but I am unable to do that, as I never have deep sleep due to this problem. Moreover, it becomes impossible for me to concentrate in my work without a proper sleep cycle.

I hope you take the issue in your hands by training your dog appropriately, so that slowly it breaks the habit. For this I would suggest you to take the pet to the blue cross training center across the road.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,
Janani.

New Task:

You play a team sport with some friends. Last week a member of the team had an accident and wasn't able to play with you at the weekend. You decide to write to him in hospital, telling him about the match.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,

• tell him which team won
• describe the conditions on the day
• say how you felt about the match

You do not have time to write a detailed plan for your letter so think about drafting (writing in rough) the opening line of each of the sections:

1) Opening
2) Main paragraphs
3) Closing

with notes on one or two main points. This will give your writing a sense of direction.

Dear Frank,

I was so sorry to hear about your accident! I hope you're feeling a lot better today and that it's not too boring in hospital.
(Expresses sympathy and asks about the reader's health.)

The match on Saturday was disappointing. The score was 2 all, probably because you weren't there to score that extra goal! The awful thing was that we were winning until 10 minutes before the end, when suddenly they scored another goal. I was so shocked when I saw the ball hit the back of the net.
(Tells him the score and briefly describes how you felt about the match.)

I think the weather was to blame. It was a really wet day and the pitch was very muddy. By the end of the game you could hardly see the grass and we were sliding around in the mud. Everyone was exhausted.
(Mentions the weather and conditions.)

Let us know when you're going home and we'll arrange for someone to bring you to watch the next game. The rest of the team send their regards and we all wish you a speedy recovery.
(Finishes with good wishes.)

Best wishes,
Charlie

(161 words)