Tips
General Training Writing Task 1 should be written in the style appropriate to the task: if it is a letter to a friend, it should be written in a friendly, informal style; if it is a letter to a company or institution, it should be written in a formal style.
The following are the basic features of formal style:
- All verbs forms must be written in full: do not write contractions such as can’t, don’t, etc.
- Do not use abbreviations such as info for information or ads for advertisements.
- Avoid using the active voice and the first person singular; in a formal letter you should write: ‘A copy of the receipt will be forwarded to you as soon as possible’ instead of ‘I will send you a copy of the receipt ASAP.’
- Avoid using informal intensifiers such as really, so, absolutely; use extremely, highly, entirely, fully instead.
- Avoid using phrasal verbs which tend to be used in informal writing and conversation; for example, use seek a job instead of look for a job; most phrasal verbs are idiomatic in nature, that is, their meaning cannot usually be inferred from their individual parts.
- Avoid using informal discourse markers and link words such as besides or by the way and use incidentally instead.
- Do not use set phrases and idioms, for example, ‘I am not going to pay you a penny’ instead of ‘Your fee will not be paid.’
- Avoid ellipsis (leaving out words), for example, leaving out the subject I in ‘Hope to hear from you soon.’
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You have seen an advertisement for a community college that needs teachers for night classes.
Write a letter to the community college. In your letter:
- say which advertisement you are answering
- describe which course(s) you want to teach, and what it/they would be about
- explain why you would be a suitable teacher
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer
I am writing to City Evening College in reference to an advertisement I saw in The Vancouver Sun on May 14th for language teachers at your college.
I am interested in teaching Korean and Korean Cookery. I have seen that your guide for last term does not include these courses, but I understand there are now large numbers of second and third-generation Koreans living in this part of the city who may be keen to learn more about their language and culture.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree and a teaching diploma. I hold special qualifications in language teaching and cookery. I was a science teacher in Korea, but moved to San Francisco in 2010. There, I taught Korean for Beginners and Korean Cookery at two community colleges. The language course assumed students had no prior knowledge of Korean. It gave them simple everyday language, as well as recognition of the alphabet. The cookery course focused on easy meal preparation and the art of pickling, or kim chi.
In Vancouver, I could teach the same courses as previously, or we could devise new ones, depending on what the college considered its market to be.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Kim Stevenson
(206 words)