B1 Preliminary · Writing Part 1: the responsive email
A2 Key and B1 Preliminary (KET, PET) · Cambridge English · B1 Preliminary (PET) נושא 4 4:07 קריאת קול באנגלית · תרגום אנגלי + סינית שרוף בתוך הסרטון
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Writing part one is the responsive email: about one hundred words, replying to a friend's email that carries four cues — two questions plus things to react to: an invitation, news, an apology, a suggestion. The marks reward content, tone, organisation and language. The memory hook: the incoming email is a baton with four ribbons on it, and your reply must touch every ribbon. Twenty minutes of the forty-five.
The anatomy of the reply. Greeting: hi Sam. React first: thanks for your email; great news about the competition! Then answer each cue in the email's order, one short paragraph or two sentences each. Close: write soon, see you Friday, plus your name. The reaction comes before the answers, because that is what makes it a reply and not a form.
Read the full model. Hi Alex, thanks for the invite, I'd love to come! A weekend at the lake sounds brilliant. You asked what to bring: I'll pack my sleeping bag and some snacks for the journey, because the village shop is always closed; tell me if we need anything else. Leaving at eight on Saturday is fine with me; I'm an early bird anyway, so I'll meet you at the station ten minutes before. And don't worry about the rain! Last time it rained we just played cards in the tent, and it was the best part of the trip. See you soon, Lin. Four ribbons touched — the reaction, the packing, the time, the weather — at one hundred and one words, the length the task actually asks for.
Pause and choose. Don't worry at all — we'll miss you! A reaction, in friendship register. The reaction bank: great news; I'd love to come; don't worry about it; good idea, how about we also. The reaction sentence is the cheapest mark on the paper, and students who skip it write correct, cold robot emails. Robots score lower.
Pause and choose. Sunday is better for me, because Monday is football day. Answer the cue directly and add a detail; don't copy the question into the reply. You asked which day is better reports the question instead of answering it, and the last two options are furniture.
The wardrobe of closings is small and friendly: write soon, see you Friday, best, take care. Chinese letter habits don't travel; no fixed closing wishes, no business register. And leave two minutes for the three classics: articles, third-person s, past-tense verbs. Remember the hierarchy: a plain four-cue email beats a beautiful three-cue one, because the mark scheme counts the ribbons.
Try it. Ana can't come to your party: an apology, a new plan, a day question, and tell me how the party goes. Four ribbons. The model, at ninety-eight words: hi Ana, don't worry at all, we'll miss you, but these things happen! Next weekend works well for me; how about Sunday afternoon? I could come at about three. Saturday is harder, because I have football practice until six. Don't be sad about missing the party: I'm planning some really silly games, and my mum is baking a huge chocolate cake. I'll take lots of photos and tell you all the gossip when I see you on Sunday. Write soon! Bo. Four ribbons, warm tone, ninety-eight words — a full-length model, not an outline.
Pause for four checks. Four cues: touch every ribbon. Open with a reaction: replies react, forms don't. Answer, don't report: Sunday is better for me. And about one hundred words in twenty minutes, then part two. Next topic: the article or the story, your choice of genre.