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A Complete Guide to the Aptis Writing Exam

Part 1: Basic Personal Information. Form filling: 3 minutes

Remember:

   Your Name: First letter of your First and Last Name are written with a CAPITAL LETTER: John Doe

·        Months: are written with a CAPITAL LETTER: June, September

·        Languages: are written with a CAPITAL Letter: Arabic, Korean

·        Hobbies and Interests: should be related to the general topic of your writing task.  Example: If you are
enrolling for a travel club, you wouldn’t list hobbies and interest about playing football. Would you?

Part 2: Short Informal Texts, 20-30 words each; 7 minutes total

These questions are simple to answer, but you should try to not just only use simple sentences.

Note: Use complex sentences and interesting vocabulary, but don’t go over the word limit.

Examples: of how to answer these questions

Q: Why did you decide to join the ____ club?

·        I decided to join because a friend of mine recommended it to me and I badly want to improve my
photography skills.

·        I’ve only just joined but I already like it a lot. I hope I can learn one or two useful things here.

·        I decided to join for a number of reasons. First of all, I need to lose a little weight before summer. I also
want to find activities which would help me relax at the end of a busy day.

Q: How often do you plan on attending the club?

·      I’d like to take part in ______ classes once or twice a week.

Q: Why did you join ____club?

·        I’m looking forward to meeting like-minded people.

·        I’m looking forward to trying out new things and meeting new people.

Part 3: Social Network Conversation. Texts, 30-40 words per answer; 10 minutes total

Again, these questions are pretty simple but here as well as part two you should try to use a range of
interesting grammar, vocabulary, and stay within the word and time limits.

Example:
Q: Hello. I see you’re new to our club. I’ve been a member for nearly a year now. Why did you decide to join?

A: Hi, I decided to join because I love cooking and I would love to meet new people. Learn to cook new
dishes, and improve my overall cooking skills.

Q: So what dishes do you enjoy cooking?

A: I love cooking all kinds of dishes, but my absolute favorite kind of food to cook is Korean food.

Q: Apparently the club is going to start posting members’ favorite dishes on the website. What do you think
of this idea?

A:  I think that’s a great idea. I hope they post recipes as well. I look forward to finding out what others in the
club like to eat, and hopefully I can learn how to cook some new dishes at the same time.

Part 4: Informal email. About 50 words; 10 minutes

(Salutation)

Hi Tom,

(Opening)

·         Just to let you know that I read the letter from our sports club.

·         Have you heard about the price rise and change in the hours of operations?

·         I am emailing you to tell you that I got a letter from the club, saying that the next week’s conference
has been canceled.

(Message body)  – (note: Showing emotion) 

·         What an inconvenience!

·         How frustrating!

·         What a rip-off!

·          It’s ridiculous!

·         I was so frustrated when I read it.

·         It’s a shame they didn’t talk to us first.

·         What a nuisance!

·         I was so furious when I read it!

·         Why can’t they change the date?

·         Why don’t they hire a new ________?

·         I really don’t understand why they didn’t tell us about it earlier.

·         How do they expect us to pay so much?

·         They could have called off the _____ and set a new date.
·         On top of that, they are planning on charging us for using the place.

·         And another thing is, they will __________________.

·         Really, I wouldn’t have joined this club if I had known it was going to be like that.

·         Actually, I’m thinking of finding a new place.

·         Why don’t we write them a letter?

·         Anyway, do you think we can go and talk to them?

(Closing)

·         All the best,

·         Speak to you soon,

·         Regards,
Greg

Part 4: Formal email/ Complaint Letter. 120-150 words; 20 minutes

Formal, Impersonal, polite but assertive. One Paragraph = One Idea. Clear Division of Paragraphs

PARAGRAPH ONE – REASON FOR WRITING AND THE BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM

§  I am writing to complain about a defective toaster I purchased at your store on …..

§  I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the service I received …..

§  I am writing inform you about the error in the bill …..

§  I am writing with reference to the invoice number …….

PARAGRAPH TWO – Describe the problem in detail

example

The toaster is defective and stopped functioning two days after I purchased it.

The box reads guaranteed to work for 10 years with no problems. This is misleading.

Words to help describe your situation

§  Information: incorrect, misleading, inaccurate, outdated, insufficient

§  Food: a limited choice on offer, undercooked, served cold, inedible, tasteless, insipid, rancid, expired.

§  Behavior: rude, aggressive, impatient, inappropriate, unreasonable,  negative attitude of the staff

§  Clothing: shrank after washing, the color faded, ripped, tore,

§  Equipment: damaged, faulty, defective, stopped functioning, the battery does not charge, does not turn
on.

§  Situation: it didn’t meet the required standard, unacceptable, unreasonable, unsatisfactory, unpleasant,
frustrating

PARAGRAPH THREE (OPTIONAL)– More Details

§  I purchased the____ on (date)

§  It only worked for_____.

§  I must also point out that the information on your website is inaccurate.

§  I spent several wasted hours reading the manual.

§  Furthermore, I was disappointed with the negative attitude of your staff.

PARAGRAPH FOUR – Action!

§  I would like_____

§  I think_______

§  I would suggest updating the website.

§  I suggest you look into this problem very seriously.

§  I believe this attitude will deter potential customers from using your service

§  I expect to be fully compensated …….

§  I would recommend that you retrain your staff …..

CLOSING

§  I hope you will take action and  resolve this issue.

§  I hope that my suggestions are taken into consideration.

§  Do not hesitate to contact me again if you require any further information.

§  I look forward to receiving your response to my suggestions.

§  I look forward to your prompt reply.

A loyal customer, (or A concerned customer,)

Kind Regards, (or Respectfully,)

Ms. Jen Zepol