How to Write a Formal Email or Letter - C1 English Writing — Exercise 2
Read the task and sample email. Choose the best answer about its content, organisation and development.
Task: You recently completed a six-week evening course in sustainable design at a local college. The principal has requested feedback. Write an email explaining why you enrolled, evaluating the teaching and facilities, describing a problem and proposing action.
To: Professor Nadia Clarke
Subject: Feedback on the Sustainable Design Evening Course
A Dear Professor Clarke,
I am writing to provide feedback on the Sustainable Design course that concluded on 18 May. As I am preparing to move into environmental consultancy, I enrolled to strengthen my understanding of life-cycle assessment and gain experience with industry software.
B The teaching was consistently engaging. In particular, Ms Okafor translated complex principles into practical design decisions, while the weekly case studies encouraged us to justify our choices rather than simply memorise terminology.
C The computer facilities, however, did not fully support the practical element. Several machines ran an outdated version of the modelling program, so files created during demonstrations could not always be opened. Consequently, pairs often shared one workstation and some participants could not complete the assigned analysis.
D A further concern was the late cancellation of two laboratory sessions. Although replacement videos were provided, these did not offer the supervised practice promised in the course description.
E I would recommend updating the software before the next course and reserving an additional laboratory for practical classes. It would also be reasonable to offer current participants a complimentary workshop so that the cancelled activities can be completed.
F I trust that these proposals will be considered, and I would appreciate information about any follow-up session that may be arranged.
Yours sincerely,
Amelia Grant
1What does paragraph A achieve?
2Why is the final clause of paragraph B effective?
3What is the function of ‘however’ in paragraph C?
4Why does the writer mention participants sharing workstations?
5How does paragraph D develop the complaint?
6Which task point is mainly addressed in paragraph E?
7Why is ‘It would also be reasonable to offer...’ appropriately phrased?
8What makes paragraph F an effective conclusion?
