A2 WRITING ASSESSMENT 3

My party disaster

Communicative goals:
 Write very simple personal emails/letters expressing gratitude and apology.
 Write a basic informal email/letter of invitation with simple, key details.
 Write a basic description of experiences, feelings and reactions, using the given
model.

1. Think about…

a. What is the worst experience that

you have had at a party?
b. Have you sent a letter
apologizing for something you
did wrong?
c. Do you think that accepting a
mistake means that you are
weak?
Apologizing: To tell someone that
you are sorry
Mistake: An action that is wrong

2. Words matter!
To do well in this lesson it is necessary to learn a number of words. Please complete
the following exercise. At the end you will learn more vocabulary.

2.1. Underline the expression that best matches the idea of the boldfaced word or
phrase. Have a dictionary at hand!

a. My sister is getting married next week and the dress code for the party is formal.

- Clothing rules that a person has to respect - secret code for parties

b. I got in trouble at a club once for fighting. The police had to be called.

-A Surprise -A problem

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c. I like to wear casual attire when parties take place outdoors.

- Everyday, not special clothing - accessories

d. I fell last night while I was dancing, I was so ashamed. Everyone was looking at me.

- When a person feels bad about something they did - when a person feels angry

e. My graduation date came. I am ready! I bought a great outfit for the party.

- A set of party hats - a set of clothes

2.2. Match the word on the left with the meaning on the right. Write in the parenthesis
the corresponding letter.

Word
1 Best regards ( )
2 All the best ( )
3 Passed out ( )
4 Hoping to meet you (
Meaning
A When someone wishes to see you
B Become unconscious
C Closure of an email to show respect
) D Wishing good things at the end of a letter

3. Read a bit!
Read the following text called “Family gathering”, a story of a 16-year-old boy, Pete,
who lives with his parents, grandmother and his sister’s husband.

My name is Nick and I am a sales representative at Blue Store. I received an email with a party
invitation from a consultant who works at Footprint Company. Things at the party went
wrong, so I decided to send a letter apologizing for the incidents.

To: Nickconnor@gmail.com
From: Richthom@footprintcompany.com
Dear Nick.
With great honor, we would like to request your presence this coming Sunday the 28th at 7:00PM for
the opening of our new store. It will be a magnificent event.
The venue for the said event will be at the Victoria’s garden building and the dress code will be casual
attire.
Footprint Company wishes that you will find time to attend the party. Please, let us know whether you
can or cannot join us for whatever reason. Contact me at my phone number as soon as possible.
Hoping to see you at the venue.
Best Regards,
Richard Thomson
Footprint Consultant

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 As soon as I received the email, I confirmed my
attendance and I organized my outfit for the
party. In the invitation email that I received, it said
7:00pm and casual attire. I decided to have an
appearance they would never forget. I prepared a
cape, an exotic pair of pants, a pair of boots and a
magician hat; I thought people at the party would
love it. But I was wrong. When I arrived, I looked
like a total fool. Everyone was looking at me and
laughing. I felt really bad, anxious and ashamed.
That was the start of my unpleasant party. After
receiving the judgmental looks, I started to drink
like crazy, yelling at everyone and running all over
the place until I passed out. It was a disaster! The
next day I decided to write a letter to Footprint
Company:

Footprint Company,

I owe you all an apology. When I planned my attire for the opening
party, I clearly wasn’t thinking. Now, I realize that what I wore
was offensive to some of you, as well as to the heads of the company.

It was never my intention to cause problems or any trouble. Looking

back, however, I can see now that I did not make the right decision
about my attire. Next time, I will be sure to wear proper clothes and
avoid drinking that much.

I hope you will forgive me for making you feel uncomfortable.

All the best,

Nick

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 4. Tips for composition:

In this session you will find grammar elements and composition strategies that help
you with your writing production. Read the explanation; this is important for the next
step!

Take into account that writing an email for an invitation is a fast way of communication,
however, you should be very specific with important information like place, date, time etc.
Pay attention to the structure that you can follow. Look at this example:

Taken from https://www.letters.org/invitation-letter

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 Taken from: https://www.saratoga.com/things-to-do/dress-codes/

4.1. Think about 3 invitations. Write places, events and dress codes for each event.

- ____________________________________________________________________________

- ____________________________________________________________________________

- ____________________________________________________________________________

Remember that not only online communication is effective, sometimes a physical letter has
more meaning to the other person, even more if you are apologizing for something you
did wrong. Pay attention to these tips for writing a good apology letter:

Own the mistake. It’s Have a plan. Let the

important to show the wronged person know
wronged person that how you intend to fix the
you’re willing to take situation
responsibility for your
actions

Describe what  Ask for forgiveness. A

happened. The
wronged person needs little vulnerability goes a
to know that you long way toward proving
understand what
happened and why you that you mean what you
are saying sorry.
say.

4.2. Imagine you were invited to a party and you arrived late wearing inappropriate
attire. Describe what happened and how you and the other people felt. (Use the tips
given above).

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4.3 According to what you wrote, describe how you fixed the situation. Let other
people know that you are sorry.

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