Informal Recommendation Letter

A possible letter task in the CAE is an informal letter to a friend recommending (or not) a
course/activity/holiday you have been on. Below is an example:

You have recently been on a two week adventure holiday in a foreign country. A good friend writes
to you because they are thinking about booking a holiday with the same company. You should
describe the highlights of the holiday and any problems you encountered and state if you would
recommend the experience to your friend.

Informal greetings
Hello mate! How’s it going?
What’re you up to nowadays? Lovely to hear from you.
It’s been ages since we last saw each other. I hope all’s well.

Mixing good with bad

In the task you have to tell your friend about both the positive and negative sides of the activity.
What I don’t want you to do is write one paragraph of good points and one of bad because who
writes a letter like that? I want you to mix the good with the bad.

Despite/In spite of + noun Despite/In spite of + the fact that + clause

In spite of the dreadful weather (bad), we had a
wonderful time. (good)
Although/Even though + clause
Even though the instructor didn’t speak English
(bad), we still managed to pick up the basics.
(good)
Despite the fact that it poured with rain all
week (bad), we had a wonderful time. (good)
Apart from + noun + relative clause
Apart from the first day when it poured, we had
clear blue skies every day.
Apart from the taxi driver who tried to rip us
off, all the people were lovely.

2nd Conditionals
If you did decide to go, I could lend you…../I If I were you, I’d………..
might come with you.
If I were in your shoes, I’d………………

3rd Conditionals
It would have been better if there had I would have been better if I
been………… had/hadn’t………………
If I had/hadn’t……………., we could have………….

Not only
Not only did we ….(do 1 activity), but also ……. Not only did we learn how to ……….., but also
(another activity) ……………
Not only did we see lions and elephants, but
also giraffes and monkeys.
Phrasal verbs
To take up a hobby – to start doing a hobby
I have just taken up snowboarding.
To pick up new skills – to acquire
I picked up some useful skills, such as……..
To catch up with someone – to share the latest
news about your life with someone.
We should meet for a coffee and catch up.
To get on/along with someone – to like and be
friendly with someone.
We got along with everyone in our group.
Look/watch out for – be vigilant for
Look out for pickpockets on the metro system.
To make up for – to compensate
The excellent food more than made up for the
awful weather.
To get a lot out of something – to take benefit
from something. (enjoyment, knowledge, etc.)
I got a lot out of the training sessions.
To come across – to find unexpectedly (not
people)
We were walking through the jungle when we
came across some old ruined buildings.
To keep/carry on doing something – to
continue
We kept on walking all night.
Sort out a problem – resolve a problem
The manager came and sorted out the problem.