Chapter 7: Interpersonal Writing: The Email Reply
Exam Section II, Task 1
- The email reply involves reading, comprehending and writing
- It takes 15 minutes
- Doing this in time will require training
- In conclusion- the email reply requires you to read and comprehend a simulated email, and then write a response—all within a 15-minute time limit.
Strategies and Tips
- Show What You Know- if you have a good vocab, show it off, if you can construct complex sentences, do that.
- Quality Over Quantity- don’t make the reply too long
- Use a Formal Business-Style Tone:
- Use formal salutations and closings;
- closings
| Les lettres personnelles | Personal letters |
|---|
| ^^Je vous envoie mes amicales pensées^^ | Works like "Best wishes" but literally means "sending my friendly thoughts to you' |
| ^^Recevez, je vous prie, mes meilleures amitiés.^^ | Yours sincerely |
| ^^Je vous adresse mon très amical souvenir^^ | Kindest regards |
| ^^Cordialement (à vous)^^ | Cordially (yours) |
| ^^Votre ami dévoué(e)^^ | Your devoted friend |
| ^^Chaleureusement^^ | With warm regards; Warmly |
| ^^Bien amicalement^^ | Sincerely |
| ^^Amitiés^^ | Best wishes |
| ^^Bien à vous, Bien à toi^^ | Best wishes |
| ^^A bientôt!^^ | See you soon! |
| ^^Affectueusement^^ | Fondly |
| ^^Affectueuses pensées^^ | With fond thoughts |
| Les lettres formelles | Formal letters |
|---|
| ^^Meilleures salutations^^ | Best regards |
| ^^Salutations distinguées^^ | Sincerely |
| ^^Je vous prie d'agréer, 'expression de mes sentiments distingués.^^ | Please accept, , the expression of my highest consideration. |
| ^^Je vous prie d'agréer, 'expression de mes meilleures salutations.^^ | Please accept, , the expression of my best regards. |
[[Reminder*- Take note of proper spacing when writing punctuations in French. When writing a sentence with a question mark or an exclamation point, there should be a space before and after it. For example: Bonjour ! Ça va ?*[[
- ^^Detect the Questions That You’ll Need to Answer^^- the email you get will contain questions you need to respond to (maybe questions will be indirect and the request for information will not be followed by a question mark)
- ^^Ask Questions Back to the Sender^^- What questions would follow naturally and pertain directly to the information you’ve been given in the email? You can ask for more information, for specifics, for clarification, etc.
- Read through the checklist on page 208 in the textbook and memorise it
