Words have a life of their own...

You will work collaboratively during this first part. The steps to follow are the following ones:

1. LOOKING THROUGH AN E-MAIL 8 *

1. First, I�ll invite you to read part of the e-mail Bob received from his cousins (see the attached file provided in the �Resources� section below). Which are the things Chris and Sarah have asked Bob about?
2. Now, read Bob�s reply to his cousins (see attached file below). Ignore the missing words. Is this e-mail formal or informal in style? Provide reasons for your answers. Look for evidence in the e-mail. Use the following information as guidance:

-         Interactants: who?

-         Topic: what?

-         Purpose: why?

-         Mode: how? ----> written? spoken?

-    Language used: vocabulary, grammar, contractions or full forms, greetings, names.

So, what�s the difference between a formal and an informal e-mail? When would you write one or the other?

3. The e-mail you�ve just read has some missing words. Choose the correct word, a, b, c or d, to complete gaps 1-12 in Bob�s e-mail (see attached file below). Let�s see how good you�re doing in Grammar!!!

2. LOOKING THROUGH WRITTEN NOTES  �

4. When do you write notes? To whom? (your parents, your friends, maybe)

        Which are the characteristics of written notes?

        Have a look at the following websites and point out which the main features of notes are.

Note-taking

Writing brief notes

Now, let�s read the note Bob left for his cousins about their trip to Scotland (see attached file below). Then, extract the same pieces of information from Bob�s e-mail.

5. As we have been analyzing, notes should always be brief and informative. They don�t have to be written in correct grammatical forms.

Your task now consists of rewriting some sentences in note form, leaving out any unnecessary information (see attached file below).

Do the exercise in pairs first, and then check with the rest of the class that you have included all the important details.

3. LOOKING THROUGH LEVELS OF FORMALITY   4

6. So far we have been discussing some differences between formal and informal e-mails.

   Have a look at the following website to acquire more concepts about formal and informal language:

     Formal and informal language

    Now, let�s check your understanding and decide which phrase, a or b, in 1-6 is formal or informal. (see attached file below)

4. WRITING YOUR E-MAIL AND NOTES     : + !

Now it�s your turn to write!!!

7. Imagine you have cousins who live abroad and are coming to visit you. You have never met them but they have asked you to make all the arrangements (travel, accommodation and visits) for them to go on a five-day trip to visit a popular tourist area in your country. You are going to write a reply (200-250 words) to their mail and tell them what you have arranged.

In order to do this, follow the subsequent steps:

Step 1: Using notes to plan an e-mail

Step 2: Writing your e-mail

Step 3: Checking (organization - content - expression - style)

Step 4: Submitting your work

          This time, instead of handing in your work in handwriting, I propose you to share your e-mails in a 'wiki' I�ve created with that purpose. Click on the link and you�ll be able to create a new page and post your masterpiece. Let�s start working! You can do it!!!!! J