Notes To Worksheet 1 Formal and Informal Correspondence: Request Can Be Used As A Noun or Verb With No
Notes To Worksheet 1 Formal and Informal Correspondence: Request Can Be Used As A Noun or Verb With No
Notes To Worksheet 1 Formal and Informal Correspondence: Request Can Be Used As A Noun or Verb With No
1 Ask students what social media they use in their 5 Students underline the verbs and identify each
private life. Put students into groups to discuss the tense. Draw attention to the tense change in the
questions. Take feedback from the class and find out second sentence in review B: I travel all the time, so I
how important online reviews are for the students’ knew I needed something built to last but portable.
business. Travel is in the present because it is a continuing
routine, but knew and needed are in the past
2 Ask students to read the three reviews quickly to because they are past, completed actions.
answer the questions. As this is a gist-reading
exercise, dictionary use should be avoided. In Answers
feedback, ask students to tell you what clues they Six tenses and two modals are used:
used to decide their answers. Question 2 is asking Present simple: A are, is, have; B travel, makes, is, is;
for students’ personal opinions. Ask them to give C make
reasons, which will encourage critical thinking. Past simple: A signed up with; B died, knew, needed,
Answers liked, bought; C went
1 A: a service (the company offers a service which Past continuous: B was telling; C were looking
links customers to hotels); B: a product (a Present perfect: A have seen; B hasn’t disappointed,
computer); C: a person (the reviewer have noticed, hasn’t crashed; C has proved
recommends Mark as a consultant) Present perfect continuous: C have been working
2 A positive; the language suggests that the Past perfect continuous: A had been trying; B had
reviewer is very happy with the service (perfect only been working
partner, maximum exposure, remarkable growth, Modal: B can be, would say
etc); there are no negative comments. Suggested answer: to give evidence from their past
B quite positive; the reviewer lists several experiences for their positive review.
positive features, but also gives a negative. 6 Students should read the text first to get the gist,
C positive; the reviewer uses language that then put the verbs into the correct tense. Ask
emphasises Mark’s positive attributes and ways students to say which tense is used.
he has helped the company.
Answers
3 The adjective + noun combinations are common 1 recommend 2 didn’t offer 3 was 4 were
collocations. Give students some time to complete starting to / started 5 haven’t had 6 like
the task, either in pairs or on their own. As a follow- 7 provide 8 have been / are 9 are gaining
up, ask students to name something or someone
from their company that exemplifies each 7 Students should write a review or
collocation, e.g. The Internet is important for the recommendation similar to the ones on the
day-to-day running of my company. worksheet. First, ask them to brainstorm what is
good about their company’s products or services,
Answers then think of adjective + noun combinations. After
1 day-to-day running 2 insightful opinions they have written their reviews, you might want to
3 important asset 4 maximum exposure ask students to swap papers to read and evaluate
5 trusted friend 6 remarkable growth each other’s review.
2 Students should evaluate the advice and discuss 5 Students now match the formal phrases in the
it in pairs. Encourage them to say why they think the letter to the meanings.
advice is good or bad. There are no right or wrong Answers
answers, but suggested answers are listed below.
1 Further to your letter regarding …
Suggested answers 2 please accept my apology for …
a Good advice. Listening or reading the complaint 3 I sincerely regret the inconvenience …
carefully can ensure understanding of the 4 strive to ensure
problem. 5 failed in that responsibility
b Good advice. Customers need to know that their 6 investigated your concerns / talked to the staff
complaint will be dealt with in a timely manner. 7 a gesture of goodwill
c Bad advice. Waiting will only make the customer 8 I look forward to welcoming you in the future
angry. It’s important to deal with complaints
6 This exercise prepares students for writing the
immediately.
letter of complaint. Students can brainstorm ideas in
d Good advice. It is important to establish what
pairs or work alone. Ask them to think about the
actually happened – whether the fault of the details of the imagined situation and what the letter
company or something outside its control. of complaint might include. For further letter writing
Discussing the issue with others involved will practice, you could ask students to write the letter
provide different perspectives. of complaint, then ‘send’ it to another student who
e It depends. Most of the time an apology and would then use it as the basis for the letter of
compensation are expected, but there may be apology in Exercise 7.
times when admitting responsibility is inadvisable 7 Ask students to follow the structure of the letter
for legal reasons. in the worksheet and use appropriate phrases when
f It depends. The threat of legal action is serious they write their letter. As an alternative, you could
and ideally problems will have been dealt with ask students to write a response to the letter of
before getting to this stage. If the company is not complaint that they wrote in Unit 6 of the Student’s
at fault, then there is nothing to fear from legal Book.
1 As a lead-in, ask students what kinds of reports 5 This exercise reviews passive verbs by asking
they write or receive. Brainstorm their ideas on the students to recognise them within the text, then
board and then ask how these reports can vary in identify the agent and reason for using passive.
tone, style and formality. Before students do this in pairs, brainstorm some of
the main reasons for using the passive.
Ask students to discuss the questions in Exercise 1 in
groups. Note that the answers can also depend on Paragraph A: is spent
the purpose of the report and who the audience is. a known (the sales and marketing department)
b to be impersonal and objective
Possible answers
Paragraph A: was concluded
Very formal: 2 (a board meeting is usually treated
a unknown
formally) and 4 (this is a serious issue)
b The agent probably included several people.
Semi-formal: 1 and 5 (they refer to routine activities
Paragraph C: are recouped
but may be read by a range of people)
a unknown (we can infer the company)
Less formal: 3 (it’s an existing client so it is a more
b The agent is understood.
routine report) and 6 ( it refers to leisure activities).
Extract D: was requested
2 Make sure students understand what each of the a unknown b to make the request impersonal
headings means, then ask them to match them to Paragraph D: was provided
the extracts (note that these are not in order). Once a known (the heads of department and accounts)
students have matched the headings, find out if the b The emphasis is on the data.
report is similar to ones they are used to. Paragraph E: is expected
Answers (in paragraph order) a unknown
1 D 2 A, C 3 E 4 B b The agent includes several people.
Paragraph E: is needed
3 In this exercise, students are asked to note useful
phrases used in reports. Note the sentence structure a known (the employees using the equipment).
in the phrases for recommending: b The agent is understood.
Paragraph E: to be allocated
I recommend / propose + -ing, or I recommend / that
a unknown b The agent is not important.
(we) should …
Answers 6 Put students into pairs to think of some ideas.
You could group students together who work for the
1 The aim of this report is to assess …
same company. You may need to give them time to
2 It was requested as a result of …
collect or invent data for the Findings section. Ask
3 In summary, the following points should be them to think about: who requested the report;
noted: areas that cost the company a lot of money; what
4/5 I recommend purchasing … / I also propose that ideas different departments might have; how much
managers should … money could be saved; recommendations.
4 Exercise 4 requires that students consider the Ask students to write up the report using the
different voices within the report. It also reviews headings listed. They should also use some of the
reported speech from Student’s Book Unit 8. expressions from Exercise 3 and reported speech
and the passive where appropriate.