Emails versus letters

Rules

In recent posts I've covered the rules for writing formal and informal letters. And there are a number of rules, especially for formal ones.

Emails, however, are a different matter.

(Public domain jpeg from wpclipart.com)

People have been writing letters for many years and the rules are clearly defined. Emails are a new method of communication and the rules are more relaxed to say the least. Generally speaking, people treat emails as a more informal method of communication than letters.

Informal emails

Most people don't start an informal email with Dear (name). Hello (name) or Hi (name) are more common. How you finish depends on your relationship with the person named in the exam question. Best wishes or All the best are always fine, even Lots of love is okay if the exam question asks you to write to someone in your family, for example.

Formal emails

It's best to look at formal emails with an example. Let's say there's an exam question asking you to send a job application by email to:

johnsmith@email.com

You can start your email with Dear Mr Smith or Hello Mr Smith or even just Mr Smith. I'd say, however, that Hi Mr Smith is too informal for a serious email. To finish this email, you can use Yours sincerely if you want, but something polite but neutral, like Best wishes, is acceptable.

In a recent post called Names, I gave the rules for what to write when starting and finishing letters. These rules are quite complicated, but they don't really apply to emails. You still have to think about register when you write an email, but you don't have to follow so many rules.

A Good Title

How newspapers work

In Part 2 of the FCE Writing exam you may be asked to write an article. In real life, newspapers and magazines know that they need to grab their readers' attention. A couple of the ways they do this with are with an attractive picture and an interesting title. The first paragraph is very important too. If someone reads the first paragraph and thinks, This is boring, he or she won't read the rest of the article.

(Public image jpeg from wpclipart.com)

What can you do?

You're not a journalist. You can't print a photograph next to your text. Also, it doesn't matter if your first paragraph is fascinating or dull, your reader (the examiner) will read your article to the end.

But you can help the examiner. You can make your article more interesting. First, give your article an interesting title, something that makes your reader think, Hey, I want to read this text. So if you're asked to write an article about a city you enjoyed visiting, don't write a text without a title, or give your text a boring title like London. Think of a lively title, something that makes your reader think, for example Old and New, or Palaces and Parks. Make your first paragraph interesting; rhetorical questions are a good idea (I covered them in another post).

When you write an article, a good title and first paragraph aren't the most important things. Writing a text which answers the question and is full of good grammar and correctly spelt vocabulary is the best idea. But a good title and strong first paragraph help. They show the examiner that you know how the rules of how to write an article and, most importantly, they make a good impression.

Names

Start and finish

Names are important in letters. They're not hugely important - you won't pass or fail an exam because you use a name incorrectly - but they're part of the overall impression of your writing that you give the examiner.

(Public domain jpeg from wpclipart.com)

Names affect the start and finish or your letter (or the opening and closing formulae, as Cambridge documents call them).

Informal letters

Informal letters are easy. Start with Dear (name) and finish with Best wishes or Love or something similar. And that's it. Easy, eh?

Formal letters

Formal letters are trickier, but, as I wrote in an earlier post, if you know the rules of formal letter writing you won't have a problem.

First of all, the thing to look for is if the question gives you a name. Let's take a job application question as an example.

If the question gives you this information:

Send your letter of application to:
XYZ Company,
Cambridge

then you have to start your letter with Dear Sir / Madam because there's no name. Don't write Dear Sir because it's sexist and you don't know if you're writing to a man or a woman.

On the other hand, if the question gives you this information:

Send your letter of application to:
Mrs Anna Adams,
XYZ Company,
Cambridge

then you start your letter with Dear Mrs Adams. In other words, if you have a name, use it.

Names and titles

If you're writing to a man, write Dear Mr (surname). Don't write Dear Mr (first name) or Dear Mr (first name) (surname).

The rules for women's titles are Miss=unmarried woman, Mrs=married woman and Ms=married or unmarried woman. If the question gives a woman a title then use it, as in the example above of Mrs Anna Adams, where you write Dear Mrs Adams. If there isn't a title - for example if the question looks like this:

Send your letter of application to:
Anna Adams,
XYZ Company,
Cambridge

then it's safest to write Dear Ms Adams.

Closing a letter

There's a rule - do you now understand that there are a lot of rules in formal letter writing? - but it's easy to remember. If you write a formal letter to Dear Sir / Madam then it always finishes Yours faithfully. If you write a letter to a named person then it always finishes Yours sincerely.

Many years ago when I was at college, a wise and inspirational teacher called Mr Sibley taught me a way to remember this:

The Ss never meet

If you don't understand that, think about this: if the letter starts Dear Sir / Madam, it never finishes Yours sincerely. In other words, the Ss never meet.

Is it important?

As I wrote at the start of this post, writing Dear Mr Smith and not Dear Mr John Smith isn't the difference between pass and fail. However, if you use names correctly and start and finish your letters in the proper way, it shows that you understand English. It connects to register too. If you get it horribly wrong and start a formal letter to a person you don't know with Dear Anna or (even worse) Hi Anna then it creates a very bad impression. So learn the rules of names in letters and use them.

Why writing is like dancing

Slow slow quick quick slow

Imagine someone asked you to dance. I don't mean in a nightclub, where people get on the dancefloor and dance in any way they want.

(Public domain jpeg from wpclipart.com)

I mean a formal dance. A dance that has steps. A dance that needs lots of practice. A formal dance like the ones you see on TV in programmes like 'Strictly Come Dancing' / 'Dance With The Stars'. Imagine that someone invited you to dance and you didn't know the steps. You couldn't dance, could you? If you tried, you'd look stupid.

Many forms of formal writing are like formal dancing. You need to know the steps. If you know the steps, it's easy (or easier). If you don't know the steps, it's horrible.

An example

In the FCE Writing exam, you're often asked to produce a letter of application. All letters of application have the same structure. It looks like this:

Dear ...,

I am writing to apply for the job of ... which I saw advertised ...

...

...

I am available for interview at any time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely, / faithfully,

The first paragraph of a letter of application should always contain information about the job you're applying for and where you saw the job advert (e.g. in which newspaper or on which website). The second and third paragraphs will be different every time, because that's where you answer the question. The final paragraph should contain the two sentences listed above. If you remember these phrases then you don't have to worry about the first or final paragraph, they won't contain any errors, and the examiner will be impressed by the structure of your work.

Another example

A letter of complaint is another text that is often required. Again, there's a template you should memorise for such a situation:

Dear ...,

I am writing to complain about ...

I am disappointed because ...

...

To resolve the problem, I want you to ... If you do not do this then I will ... I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely, / faithfully,

In the first paragraph of a letter of complaint, you always need to explain why you're complaining, for example I'm writing to complain about a holiday which I booked with your travel agency or I'm writing to complain about a television which I recently bought in your shop. Then in the second and third paragraphs you explain exactly what the problem is, which depends on the question. Finally, in the fourth paragraph, you explain how the problem can be resolved, for example, To resolve the problem, I want you to give me my money back or To resolve the problem, I want you to give me $2,000 compensation, or something similar. After that, you should state what action you'll take if your demands are not met, for instance If you do not do this then I will call my lawyer / write to my local newspaper. Finish with the standard final line I look forward to hearing from you and the letter is complete.

Again, remembering fixed phrases allows you to write the first and final paragraphs quickly and accurately, and gives your text a strong structure.

No templates

Not all texts have a template you can memorise and use in an exam. Informal letters are generally a free and relaxed form of writing, so it's difficult to use fixed phrases. Similarly, the content of a newspaper or magazine article depends on the question, so there's no template.

Structure

Although some text types have no template, there are still words you can use to give your work structure and cohesion (cohesion describes how your ideas and sentences connect). If you're giving a list of things, for example, it's good use to use words like firstly, secondly, finally, or also, in addition, moreover, after that. It's certainly better than writing then, then, then, then.

Learn fixed phrases. FCE textbooks often have a writing section which has lists of them. Then, in the exam, if you have to write a text that uses them, you can smile and think, That's not too difficult, I know the steps.

FCE Writing Part 2 - Task Specific Mark Scheme

Documents

As I explained in earlier posts, examiners refer to two documents when they mark exams. The first is the General Information Mark Scheme (GIMS), which describes in very general terms what candidates need to do to achieve different bands (or grades). The other document is a Task Specific Mark Scheme (TSMS). There's a different TSMS for each question of each exam. A TSMS explains very specifically how the candidates have to answer the question.

What's the difference between Part 1 and Part 2 of the FCE Writing Exam?

There are a number of differences. For example, Part 1 has only one question and it's compulsory. In Part 2 candidates have a choice. In Part 1 there's a question and something the candidate has to read, for example an email or a letter. In Part 2, there's just a short question. The biggest difference, however, is that Part 1 always has four points to cover, and Part 2 does't.

Control

What this means is that Part 1 writing is very controlled. It's all about covering the four points. Part 2 writing is more relaxed.

(Public domain jpeg from wpclipart.com)

It's free writing. There are no specific points to cover. It's a chance for you to show the examiner what you can do when you write in English.

A Part 2 TSMS

A typical Part 2 TSMS reflects all this. Have a look at Question 2 on page 20 of the FCE Handbook and the TSMS for this question on page 23:

FCE Handbook

The question asks you to write about your favourite teacher and what you remember about him or her. And that's all you have to do. There's no list of four points to cover. The TSMS is very short and simply tells examiners to check that:

- candidates organise their ideas and use paragraphs,
- write in the same register from start to finish (but the register can be formal, informal or neutral),
- and use the language of describing, explaining and opinion.

Similar and different

Part 1 answers are all fairly similar because the candidates have to write about the same situation and cover the same four points. Part 2 answers, however, are all completely different. Each candidate writing about his or her favourite teacher, for example, is going to write about a different teacher and remember different things.

Documents

In Part 1, the TSMS and GIMS are both very important. In Part 2, the TSMS isn't as important, because there isn't a list of four points to cover, so examiners pay more attention to the GIMS. In other words, you need to focus on ideas, linking words, grammar, vocabulary, and things like that.

How informal is too informal?

As I explained in an earlier post, register is an important part of exam writing.

(Public domain jpeg from wpclipart.com)

When you write, you always need to think about the situation and your reader, and decide whether informal or formal register is required.

What's too informal?

Let's say an exam question asks you to write a letter or email to your best friend. In real life, you may include smileys / emoticons such as :) or ;). Don't use them in the FCE exam. Also, mobile phone text message abbreviations such as LOL (Lots Of Love / Laugh Out Loud) or AFAIK (As Far As I Know) or a thousand others are acceptable in a real-life email, but don't look attractive in an exam. In addition, misspellings such as wanna or gonna (instead of want to or going to) are fine in the real world, but count as a spelling error in FCE, and spelling errors really aren't good. By the way, I have seen examples of all of these when marking Cambridge exams.

It's an English exam

Remember, it's an English exam. The examiner wants to see that you can spell correctly and use register accurately. Smileys, mobile phone text abbreviations and misspellings are too informal, and create a negative impression (especially misspellings).

If you need to write an informal letter or email, be informal, but don't be too informal.

Paragraphs

In my last post I wrote how important it is to plan carefully before you start writing.

Paragraphs are important

When planning, you must decide how you're going to divide your work into paragraphs. Writing in paragraphs is an essential part of examination writing. When I'm marking exams, I sometimes have to read a text from a candidate which contains just one long paragraph. It's horrible. It looks bad, it's hard to read, and it's difficult to see how the candidate has organised his or her ideas.

How many paragraphs?

When I'm teaching my students, I always tell them that in Part 1 or Part 2 of the FCE Writing exam, a text with four paragraphs is ideal. Sometimes three or five paragraphs are okay - obviously it depends on the question - but aim for four.

A Part 1 question has four points to deal with, so a paragraph plan usually looks like this:

1. Introduction
2. Cover two of the four points
3. Cover the other two points
4. Conclusion

The writing in Part 2 is less controlled, but you should still aim for three to five paragraphs.

Too many paragraphs

Anything more than five paragraphs is too much. It doesn't hurt the eyes as much as one long paragraph, but it doesn't look good. A candidates who starts a new paragraph every two or three sentences is doing something wrong.

In conclusion, four is the magic number.