Unit 7: Organising your writing

Unit 7: Organising your writing

Make your emails clear and easy to understand by properly organising them.

Organising your writing

The people you write to will understand well-organised emails much more easily.

Writer purpose

When you write an email, you need to make clear why you are writing. You can do this by using the phrase 'I am writing to (+ verb)' at the start of your email. Here are some examples:

I am writing to ask for further details about ...
inform you that my new address is …
complain about your customer service. 
say thank you very much for all your hard work. 
apply for the job as Teacher of Maths at your school.

Paragraphs

  • Emails are easier to read if the writer uses paragraphs.
  • A paragraph in an email is often two or three sentences long.
  • Each paragraph starts on a new line.
  • When you start writing about a new topic, you can start a new paragraph.

Look at this example email to a friend.

Paragraph 1
Greeting
Hello Dmitri, 
How is life? I haven't seen you for a long time. How are your children?
Paragraph 2
Reason for writing
I'm writing with some good news – my wife is having a baby next month. We think it's going to be a girl, and we're very excited. But I also wanted to ask you something!
Paragraph 3
Request
You told me you have lots of baby clothes. Do you think I could borrow some for my baby? I've looked in the shops, and new baby clothes are so expensive … Could you let me know if this is OK?
Paragraph 4
Other news
By the way, I've also started a new job. It's going really well!
Paragraph 5
'look forward to' and ending
Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you soon. Give my best wishes to your wife and family. Regards, 
George

 

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Download

Language level

Average: 4.3 (10 votes)
Do you need to speak better English at work?
Learn to speak, read, write and understand English in a variety of work situations. Join thousands of learners from around the world who are making great progress with their English level with our online courses.

Submitted by EvgeniyKulikov on Tue, 08/12/2020 - 15:10

Permalink
The tasks were not difficult, I completed everything without mistakes

Submitted by margarita.draganchuk on Mon, 07/12/2020 - 17:51

Permalink
Very good tasks, I was able to correct my mistakes in letters

Submitted by Pavel_Kharchenko on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 12:22

Permalink
The task was interesting and useful, I did it quickly.

Submitted by Nikita Maslov on Fri, 27/11/2020 - 13:37

Permalink
I have done it very quick, hope I will remember this lesson

Submitted by vika_belan on Fri, 27/11/2020 - 13:37

Permalink
I did everything from the first time, it was quite easy and interesting

Submitted by Ruffle on Fri, 27/11/2020 - 07:32

Permalink
That was easy and good unit! Kolovorotniy copmleted this one on November, 27th

Submitted by Dilnoza Sulaymonova on Fri, 12/06/2020 - 12:21

Permalink
thanks for organizators
Profile picture for user OlaIELTS

Submitted by OlaIELTS on Sat, 06/06/2020 - 03:24

Permalink
It's really helpful.

Submitted by Nancy Nguyen on Fri, 07/12/2018 - 14:16

Permalink
Hello, In task 4, I see " we're getting married next February", is it the continuous present tense?. So could I write " we're going to marry next Feb" or " we will be married next Feb? Which correct? Could you please explain it to me? Thanks so much.
Profile picture for user Kirk Moore

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Fri, 07/12/2018 - 17:05

In reply to by Nancy Nguyen

Permalink

Hi Nancy,

The present continuous is often used to speak about arrange events in the future. Saying it this way implies that the wedding date has already been set, the place and reception already planned, etc.

'to marry' exists as a verb, but we don't use it as often and it's usually used transitively, for example, 'I married her when I was very young'. 'we will be married' is also possible, but when we use 'married' as an adjective, it tends to describe a state rather than a process. Instead of 'we're going to marry' or 'we will be married', most people would say 'we are getting married' to talk about the event. If the important thing was the fact that you will be a married couple in February, then 'we will be married' would be more appropriate.

If you follow the link above, you can see several example sentences which can help figure out how these words are used. If you have any more questions, please let us know.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team