Writing a Formal Email in English — B1 Writing Lesson
I have written hundreds of formal emails — complaints, appeals, job applications. Here's what I wish someone had taught me first.
Tag: writing
ELT365 · Day 201 — Linking words and discourse markers
Linking words (however, therefore, in addition) signal logical relationships between ideas. Discourse markers (right, anyway, so) organise speech. Both are often memorised incorrectly — learners need meaning, not just a word list.
ELT365 · Day 211 — Staging a productive skills lesson end-to-end
A complete productive skills lesson has four stages: lead-in, model and analyse, prepare, produce, feedback. Rushing the prepare stage collapses the quality of production.
ELT365 · Day 210 — Integrating skills: the natural approach
Real communication always integrates skills. Reading sparks speaking; listening generates writing; speaking leads to reading. Design tasks that mirror this rather than isolating skills artificially.
ELT365 · Day 209 — The dictogloss: where listening meets writing
Text (read twice at natural speed): 'Migration has always shaped cities. London, Paris, and Sydney grew because people moved there looking for work.' Learners compare their reconstructions in pairs.
ELT365 · Day 207 — Writing to a real reader: the motivation fix
Writing for a teacher-examiner is motivationally thin. Writing for a real or imagined audience gives learners a reason to make the text work.
ELT365 · Day 206 — Editing vs proofreading: a distinction that matters
Editing is improving content and structure — does the paragraph make sense, is the argument clear? Proofreading is checking form — spelling, punctuation, grammar. Teach them as separate stages.
ELT365 · Day 200 — Analysing a model: form before function
When analysing a model text, look at the form first — what the text does in each section — before asking learners what they think of it. Jumping to opinion skips the language focus entirely.
ELT365 · Day 199 — The model text: what it is and how to use it
A model text shows learners what a good version of the target text looks like before they write their own. It sets the standard and provides language they can adapt — not copy.
ELT365 · Day 198 — Process writing vs product writing
Process writing focuses on how a text is built — planning, drafting, revising. It mirrors how real writers work and raises awareness of writing as a recursive skill.