Writing Practice (Exams)

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

I hope you had a good break.....

So....we have exams coming soon.

Some of you will be doing the reading and writing exams in February and some in June

Here is a practice that will help everyone understand what they need to do.

PART 1

There is a 70% chance that there will be a formal letter in the exam.

1. Copy and paste this letter into word



A Dear Sir or Madame


B We are writing to complain about the train journey which we made on 1st July.

C We bought train tickets from Peterborough 17.30 to Newcastle 20.15. Firstly, our train was late half an hour. We arrived after 10 pm (about 2 hours late) so we could not stay in guesthouse because door was locked. Finally, we had to pay extra money -£120 per night to stay somewhere else. For us students it was too expensive.

D We would like compensation for the problems we had as a result the very poor train service.


E Yours sincerely

Anna Sadhev

2. Decide what happens in each section A, B, C, D, E discuss with a partner.

3. Correct the mistakes in the letter.

4. Last week you went on holiday, somewhere in Britain. You stayed in a hotel. Unfortunately you left something of yours in the hotel. Write a letter to the hotel.

In the letter explain when you stayed in the hotel, which hotel it was, the room number, what the item was and where you think you lost it. Tell them how you discovered you lost it. Explain that it is a very important thing and how much it means to you. Ask the hotel to return it if they find it. Tell them you are happy to pay for posting it.

Use a real hotel. Write the letter by hand or in word.

180 words




PART 2

You may also have to write an informal letter/email.

1. Discuss with a partner what differences there may be in informal letters and formal letters.

2. Next month you are planning a trip somewhere in Britain with a friend.(Use the information you have found this week)

3. Write a letter to a friend telling them where you plan to go. Where you plan to stay, how you are getting there. What things you plan to do when you get there. Include how you feel about the trip, and how much it will cost for each part of the trip.

150 words

Write it by hand or in word





Here is the weblink so that you can access past exam papers.

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/resources/teacher/sfl.html