Semi-Formal Letters

B1 · Intermediate57 minIELTS Test PreparationLesson 3 of 8 · Outline

Aims

Goal: write a polite, natural semi-formal letter to someone you know slightly — the register candidates most often get wrong.

The lesson, stage by stage

  1. Warm up5 min

    Warm-up: The in-between register

    2 warm-up questions

  1. Reading10 min

    Reading: Why semi-formal is the hardest register

    Read a 209-word text about Why semi-formal is the hardest register

  2. Vocabulary8 min

    Vocabulary: Semi-Formal Phrases

    6 items

  3. Reading10 min

    Reading: The finished Band 7 letter

    Read a 260-word text about The finished Band 7 letter

  4. Practice7 min

    Practice: Semi-Formal Practice

    Gap-fill exercise, 5 items

  5. Practice7 min

    Practice: Build Semi-Formal Sentences

    Word-ordering exercise, 5 items

  6. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Polite pressure, in writing

    3 discussion questions

Open the full lesson

The remaining 6 stages of this lesson, with the procedure, the examples and the exercises, are included with Starter, along with the interactive version you can teach from. Lesson 1 of this course is free: the full plan is on this site, and a free account opens it in the interactive player.

Target vocabulary

In a Tuton account these words become your student's vocabulary deck, so they come back in practice between lessons.

get in touchat your earliest convenienceI was wondering ifI appreciatewould you minddo let me know

This plan comes from the Task 1 General: Letter Writing course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.