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Aptis Advanced · Writing · Part 2 · B2→C1

Writing Part 2: the formal email to an authority (C1)

Aptis Advanced Writing Part 2: a formal email of 120 to 150 words. Using the notes, formal tone, structure, a C1 model, and what separates a 6 from a 5.

5 min video (Spanish narration)6 mini-quizzesB2→C1

1/6What you are asked to do

Part 2 of the Advanced Writing is a formal reply email of 120 to 150 words. According to the exam it targets B2 level, but its scoring reaches C1 and C2.

In the practice tasks we use, you receive an email from an authority or an organisation, plus notes with the points you have to cover.

  • You receive an email from the council announcing reduced library hours. Reply (120-150 words) expressing how you feel, using the notes: (a) many people use it, (b) suggest alternatives, (c) request a public meeting.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How many words does the Part 2 email of the Advanced have?
2.What level does it target according to the exam?
3.What are you given in the practice tasks?

2/6Using the notes without copying them

Each note is a point you have to cover, but in your own words and with a different structure. Note (a), many people use it, becomes the library is used by a great many residents. Note (b), suggesting alternatives, becomes concrete proposals. And note (c), requesting a meeting, becomes I would be grateful if you could arrange a public meeting.

Copying the task wording earns nothing: rewriting it does.

  • (a) the library is used by a great many residents
  • (c) I would be grateful if you could arrange a public meeting

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.What do you do with each note?
2.Which option rewrites “many people use it” well?
3.How do you ask for a public meeting in a formal tone?

3/6Expressing how you feel in a formal tone

The task asks you to say how you feel, and in a formal email that is not said with I'm very angry. It is said with phrases like I was dismayed to learn that…, I am deeply concerned that… or It is with regret that I read…. And remember: no contractions, always I am and do not.

  • I was dismayed to learn that…
  • I am deeply concerned that…

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which option expresses a feeling in a formal tone?
2.What do you do with contractions in the formal email?
3.Which is another formal phrase for expressing concern?

4/6The structure

Five short blocks: 1) the reason for the email and how you feel; 2) note (a), with a reason; 3) note (b), with your alternatives; 4) note (c), with your request; and 5) a closing sentence and the sign-off. If you do not know the person's name, you close with Yours faithfully. With about thirty words per block you reach one hundred and forty.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How many blocks does the suggested structure have?
2.Roughly how many words does each block have?
3.What do you close with if you do not know the recipient's name?

5/6C1 model email

The model email opens with the reason and the feeling, covers each note in its own words and closes with the sign-off. It proposes closing only the quietest weekday mornings or recruiting volunteers, and asks for a public meeting before the final decision.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.What alternatives does the model email propose?
2.What does it ask for at the end?
3.What phrase opens the reason for the email?

6/6What separates a 6 from a 5: tidiness

According to the Advanced descriptors, the only thing that separates a 6 (C2) from a 5 (C1) is tidiness: for a 6, no grammar errors and, at most, two minor slips in punctuation or spelling. A 5 allows minor errors.

That is why it is worth keeping the last two minutes to reread: agreement, articles, prepositions, commas, and that the word count is between 120 and 150.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.What separates a 6 from a 5 in this email?
2.What does a 5, which is C1, allow?
3.What do you do with the last minutes?

·Practice

To practise: take a new task with three notes, write the email in the exam time and check three things: whether each note is covered in your own words, whether there are no contractions, and whether you reread at the end.

Put it all together

Now, practise

Take a new task with three notes and write the email in the exam time. Check that each note is covered in your own words, that there are no contractions and that you reread at the end.

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