Writing guide

A formal/semi-formal letter/email

Formal expressions
Opening salutation Closing salutation
Dear Sir or Madam Yours faithfully
Dear Mr Rylands Yours sincerely/Best regards
Dear Martin Best wishes
Reason for writing
| to…(request/complain about/inform…)
I am writing | in response to…
| in connection to…
Referring to previous contact
Thank you for your letter/email…
to your letter dated…
Further |

Give good/bad news

I would be delighted to…
We would be happy to…
Unfortunately…
Refer to future contact
I look forward to hearing from you.
|
If you
have any further questions |
please do not hesitate to contact me.
| require any further information, |

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’m writing in response to your advertisement for ‘The Journey of a Lifetime’ in the June edition of the
Student Gazette newspaper.

I have just finished my studies at school and have a place at University. Before I start my degree in Business
Studies and then pursue a career, I would like to take a gap year in order to increase my experience of the
world.

My interests include mountain biking and sailing. This year at school I was involved in raising money for a local
children’s charity and I was also responsible for helping to organise the school drama festival.

I enjoy meeting people and I feel being involved in one of your gap year projects could help me to improve my
communication and teamwork skills.

I would be grateful if you could send me information about your organisation and details of

how to apply. Yours faithfully,

Becky Raven.

2127108 10:18:28
A less formal letter/email

Hi Maria

I’m really sorry about last week. I was really ill so I had to cancel my own party. Anyway, this is
just to let you know that I’m now having my birthday party next Saturday. So the good news is
that I can invite you again! Would you like to come?

I can’t hire the local hall so it will be at my house. It starts at 7 and there’ll be about 20
people there. You can get to my house on the number 60 bus. Ask the driver to stop on Insley
Road. We’re at number 76.

By the way thanks for the birthday present you sent. The shirt was a great fit! I’ll wear it at
the party. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Best wishes

Ritchie.

Less formal or informal expressions

Give reason for writing I’m so happy because...
Just to let you know that... The good/bad news is that...
I’m emailing you to... Unfortunately...
Apologise Say when and where/Give details
I really sorry but... There is/are...
I’m afraid that... It’s at/starts at...
You can get there by....
Offer/Request
Would you like to...? Thank
Can I...?/Could you...? Thanks for...
Would you mind if...? I’m really grateful for...
Recommend and suggest End
You should/ought Look forward to seeing you./See you soon.
to... Why don’t you...? Bye for now.
How about...? All the best/Best wishes.
Give good news/bad news

2127108 10:18:28
A review

My favourite film of the last few months was ‘

Introduce Casino Royale’. It‘ s the latest James Bond film
your subject but it‘s very different from previous films.
for review.
The first thing you notice about the film is that Review some
Bond is younger and more aggressive. The female of the positive
character points.
is also a spy and more than the usual ‘Bond girl’.
In addition, it‘s worth seeing because, it s much
more realistic.

One problem with the film is that it happens in

lots of locations and the plot is a bit too
complicated. It also needs to be about 30 minutes
Mention shorter. Nevertheless, the scenes in the Casino
some have lots of tension and the criminal characters
weaker are particularly evil and interesting.
points.
So overall I‘ d recommend the film as it‘s a new
kind of Bond movie and not the usual predictable Conclude with your
mix of fancy cars and stupid gadgets. It‘ s certainly overall opinion.
a good choice if you want to watch a DVD next
Friday night.

Useful expressions
Introducing your review Describing weaknesses
The aim/purpose of this review is to... One problem is...
My favourite... is... It isn’t very...
The first thing you notice is... One thing that could be improved is...
It also needs more...
Describing positive feature
One thing I really like about it is... Final comments
It’s worth seeing because... Overall, I (strongly) recommend...
A really good part is when... It’s certainly a good...
(Nevertheless) it’s much better than...

20

2127108 10:18:30
A short story

,
Carl s family had an important reason for leaving the house at two in the morning,
and so everyone had gone to bed early. In fact Carl had been so excited about
flying for the first time he could hardly sleep. When he managed to, he dreamt his
saw his mother, the twins and himself all running down the airport runway chasing
the plane as it took off.
He was screaming, ‘Wait! Wait!’ Suddenly, he woke to a voice saying, ‘Wake up
Carl. Get dressed! We‘ re late!’

After a one-hour journey down the motorway they finally arrived at the airport. ‘Your
flight is boarding now,’ said the person at check-in. ‘If you run you might catch it.’ As
they ran through the airport and reached the gate the plane was moving off. Carl
shouted to his family, ‘Quick, follow me!’ He raced ahead out onto the runway.
‘Wait! Wait!’ he shouted.

Just then, he woke. Carl‘ s alarm clock was ringing and his mother smiled at
him. ‘It‘ s time to get up Carl. We don‘ t want to miss the plane.’

Useful expressions
Background and atmosphere At the same time…
It was raining with flashes of lightning While I was…-ing, they were…
outside… Meanwhile…
The house was quiet and I sat all alone… A second later…
It all began on a day when I had been…
The climax/ending
We were very tired and had been
Just then…
travelling all day…
In the end…
Contrasting time and events Eventually…
After… Finally, I realised…
As soon as I… That was the last time I’d ever…
By the time…

2127108 10:18:31
 A report

Always include a
title to explain To: The Principal of the School
the purpose. You From: Class 5
could also say Subject: Ideas for the school ‘eco-day’
who the report is
for. The aim of this report is to present Class 5’s ideas for events Sub-headings are
at the school during ‘eco-week’. a good idea and
help the reader.
Poster competition
Our first idea is to run a poster competition. Each student
State the purpose could design a poster about the environment. For example, it Give examples to
of the report. might show how to recycle or suggest switching the standby help explain.
switch off on the TV.

No cars
We could ask all students to walk or cycle to school during
the week. The only problem would be that some students live
too far from the school. However, they could ask their
parents to share car journeys with others and save petrol.

Contrast and add Display

information where Our final plan is to have a display in the main hall of all the
necessary. objects you can recycle. For example, we could show how
plastic bottles can be made into coats.
Don’t forget to
To sum up, everyone was very enthusiastic about the summarise. You
‘eco-week’. Next we would like to advertise the events during might also want to
the week by sending a letter to all teachers to give to their
students. say what needs to
happen as a result
of the report.

20

23_FCE_WritingGuide.indd 203 2127108 10:18:33

Useful expressions
Introducing the report/Stating the purpose Giving reasons/Recommending
The following reports outlines… As result of…we think…
The aim of this report is to… This is a good idea because…
The report is based on… recommend this because…
Contrasting and alternatives An article
Introducing ideas
On the one hand…on the other…
The first/Another idea is to… One problem is…/However…
One possibility is to… In contrast…
Our final idea/plan/suggestion is to…
Generalising
Proposing and suggesting In general…
We should/could… On the whole...
Concluding and summing up
We would like In conclusion…
to… If possible, To sum up...
we… Our final recommendation is that... Introduce the
It might be a good idea to… subject by
One suggestion is to… restating the
question
Give it a title
THRee WAYS TO SAVe e Ne RGY AROu ND
THe HOMe

In a time when the world is trying to save its

natural resources, it‘s easy for many of us to help
by using less energy in our houses.

Take, for example, standby switches on TVs. Many

Use clear people don‘t realise that when you aren‘t
paragraphs watching it, you might still be using electricity. All
for each you have to do is switch it off at the plug when
part of your you go to bed and you‘ve already reduced your
article. electricity bill.

A second way to use less energy is to fit special

light bulbs which last longer than normal light bulbs Don’t forget
and use less energy. They cost a little more but in a conclusion.
the long run, they save you money. Sometimes you can
include a message
to the reader.
Finally, put a sweater on! When it gets cold, many
people turn up the heating. But if they just put a
sweater on they would quickly get warmer without
using fuel.

So next time you are about to switch it on or

turn it up, ask yourself if you really need to and
save yourself some money at the same time!

2127108 10:18:35
An opinion essay
Read the student’s answer to the following exam question.
Write an article and give your opinion on the following statement: ‘It’s
important that young people should learn to earn money early on in life rather
than being given pocket money.’

From the moment we leave school to the time we retire, most of us will have to work in order to
earn money during our life. So the question is whether we should have to work before this time as
children or wait until we become adults.
In my opinion, children should have to earn pocket money. By that I don‘t mean that they should
have full- time jobs but that there are plenty of things they can do around the house such as the
washing-up or gardening.
In addition to helping at home, working for money gives children a greater sense responsibility.
What‘s more, parents who simply give children money are not preparing them for the adult world. You
could also argue that when children earn their money, when they buy something it will mean so
much more.
So, to sum up, I believe that children learn from the experience of earning money and find out that
nothing in life is for free.

Useful expressions
Introduction Contrasting views for and against
Some people On the one hand/side…on the other
claim/believe/say It is While it’s true that…
sometimes said that… The You could also argue that…
question is… Nevertheless,…/
We often read/hear that… However,…
One advantage/
Stating your opinion
Another disadvantage is that…
In my opinion,
Even though…
As I see it,
From my point of view… Concluding
On balance…
Making extra points
I feel/believe that..
What’s more…
In my opinion…
In addition…
Summarising…
Furthermore…
To sum up, in conclusion,…
Introducing a contradictory point
Although/Even though…
Despite + noun/gerund/
Despite the fact that…
However…

2127108 10:18:36
 A ‘for and against’ essay
There are two ways to structure a ‘for and against’ essay. You can either contrast an argument for
and against in each paragraph OR give all the arguments for in one paragraph and then all the
arguments against in the next paragraph. Notice how these two answers for the same FCE question are
structured:
Some people believe that learning a language is one of the most useful subjects at school and
should be compulsory for all pupils. State the arguments for and against this view.

Version 1

For many children, school is the obvious place to learn another Restate the
language. However, there are so many other important subjects such as question in the
mathematics or history that not all pupils have enough time to study
everything. introduction.
One argument for making language lessons compulsory is that more
and more professions need people with language skills. So schools need
to prepare children for their future careers. On the other hand not
everyone will have an ‘international job’ so it might never be useful
to them.
It’s also true that learning a language introduces you to other
cultures and helps your understanding of other people. Nevertheless,
many other subjects such as geography also provide knowledge of
the world.
Some people also argue that learning a language helps young children
become more intelligent and helps them learn other subjects. However, if Conclude with your
you teach children another language too early, it may also confuse own overall opinion.
them.
So, to sum up, I believe that learning another language at school is
important for a child and will give them an advantage later in life as
well as being more enjoyable than many other subjects.

Version 2

Restate the For many children, school is the obvious place to learn another language.
question However, there are so many other important subjects such as
mathematics or history that not pupils have enough time to study
in the everything.
introduction.
One argument for making language lessons compulsory is that a child’s
future profession may need language skills. Another reason is that Use paragraph
learning a language introduces you to other cultures and helps your two to state
understanding of other people. Thirdly, some people believe that it helps two to three
young children become more intelligent.
arguments for.
Use paragraph On the other hand we also have to remember that not everyone will
have an ‘international job’ so language learning might never be useful to
three to state them. In addition to that, there are many other subjects such as
two to three geography which also provide knowledge of the world. Finally, some
arguments people believe that it may nit be good for children to learn another
language too early in life.
against.
So, on balance, I believe that learning another language at school is Conclude
important for a child and will give them an advantage later in life as with your
well as being more enjoyable than many other subjects.
own
overall

Useful expressions
Giving arguments for… General expressions Extr Writing
On the one hand… Another reason for/against… a Practice
You could argue that… First, secondly, thirdly…
While it is true that… In addition… Some people believe that
I agree that… Finally… many children spend too
much time on the Internet
Giving arguments against… Conclude and pla ying computer games.
On the other hand… So, on balance, I believe 2127108 10:18:38
Write an essay (120–180
BLOG ENTRY

COVER LETTER

[Dear [Hiring manager's name] or Dear Hiring Manager,

Opening paragraph: Explain your purpose for submitting a cover letter and include the specific position. Share how
you learned of the opportunity and mention your contact's name if someone referred you to the role. If there isn't a
specific position you're applying for, indicate why you're interested in working for the company.

Middle paragraphs: Share your qualifications as they relate to the specific open role. Describe what you can
provide to the employer and how your efforts will help the organization succeed. Back up your claims with stories
and evidence of your skills. Include any specialized training or unique interests that can be a benefit to the
employer. Use as many paragraphs as you need in this section of your cover letter to make it more readable for the
hiring manager or recruiter.

Final paragraph: Restate your interest in the role and excitement for the opportunity. Let the hiring manager know
2127108 10:18:38
that you appreciate their consideration. Express that you'd like to schedule an interview with them so you can further
explain what makes you a great fit for the position and their company. Refer the employer to your attached resume
so they can read the two together.

Sincerely,

[Your signature or typed name]

2127108 10:18:38