In the writing part of the B1 (PET) Cambridge exam there are two parts. In part one you are always given the same type of text: a letter or an email, often to a friend, family member or colleague. In this post we will take a look at an example writing and go through how to correctly structure and get top marks in this part of the exam.
Here is an example of a B1 writing task:
You receive this email from your English speaking friend, Jamie:
From: Jamie
Subject: Birthday Party
Hi,
I hope you're doing well! I’ve been so busy with school and other activities lately that I haven’t had time to plan anything for my birthday yet. How about you? What have you been up to? (1)
I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me for a small celebration this Saturday. I’m planning to have a party at my place, and it would be great if you could come! Let me know if you’re free and what time works best for you. (2)
I’m thinking of ordering pizza and setting up some games for everyone. What do you think? (3) Is there anything else you’d like to do? (4) Maybe we could also watch a movie or play some music. If you have any ideas, feel free to share!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Bye for now,
Jamie
- Tell Jamie
- Yes, say what time would be best.
- Give opinion
- Suggest activities
Write your reply using all of the notes.
Now that you’ve read the exercise remember the following points:
- The text is an email, so write in the style of an email and not an article, essay or any other text type.
- You are writing to your friend so use informal language (contractions, slang and phrasal verbs).
- Your friend is called Jamie so write to Jamie (not Juan, Georgia or Alan- always keep the name the same as it is in the question!).
- You have 4 notes, you need to reply to all of these points.
- Don’t write more than 100 words.
Let’s go through the writing part by part:
Part 1: Greetings and introduction.
Don’t forget that this is an informal text so avoid expressions like “Dear” and instead consider using expressions like Hey, Hello or Hi to Jamie- these expressions are much more personal and appropriate for when speaking with friends.
Also consider using one of the following expressions to start off the introduction:
- How’s it going?
- How are you?
- How’s it hanging?
- What’s up?
In addition, try to avoid repeating Jamie’s name too many times so feel free to use terms like mate/bro/dude/pal to substitute it.
After this you could wish your friend a happy birthday and respond to his first question.
Part 2: Body
After getting the greetings out of the way, you can now focus on responding to the rest of the points. Try to use a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures here.
Part 3: Goodbyes and signing off.
Once you’ve addressed all of the notes, it’s important to end the email appropriately. Here are a list of expressions that you could at the end of the email:
- I can’t wait to see you
- Let me know if I can help you
- Have a great week and see you soon
After this, you can close the email with one of these expressions:
- Speak soon
- See you later/soon
- Catch you later
- Bye
- Hugs and kisses
- Take care
- Bye for now
And of course don’t forget to sign off with your name at the end of the email.
Example:
Here is an example response to the question above:
Hey Jamie!
What’s up? It’s great to hear from you! I’m good thanks, I’m studying hard for my English exam at the moment.
That sounds awesome! I can’t believe it’s nearly your birthday. I’m free this Saturday after 5 if that works for you mate?
That’s a fantastic idea, I can also bring some pop and crisps if you like? I could bring my Xbox if you want to play games like Fifa or Fortnite, what do you think?
I can’t wait to see you! Let me know if I can help.
Speak soon,
Jack
As you can see in the reply, all of the points have been addressed, a range of grammar and vocabulary have been used and the reply is within the 100 word limit.
Do you want to put your learning into practice? Write your own reply to the question above and use my example response as inspiration if you want. Happy studying!
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