Upper-intermediate Writing Skills
Upper-intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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To introduce and provide practice of writing a (short) formal email to complain about something.
Subsidiary Aims
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To identify formal expressions used in emails.
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To provide practice for gist reading in the context of emails.
Procedure (40-41 minutes)
Screenshare G-Slides #1. Have Ss look at the photos and questions. Have Ss share their answer to the questions in BORs: "How often do you use services like restaurants, hotels, or gyms? Do you think customers always receive good service? Why or why not? What are some common problems people might have when using these services?" Share the questions in the chat and confirm that Ss can access them. Put Ss in BORs. Monitor Ss. After 2 minutes, return Ss to the main room and discuss the answers in OCFB. Demo: "I often go to the movie theater and find that the service is okay. A common problem is that the popcorn is dry or the staff is rude." ICQs: Are we discussing all the questions? (Yes). How long do we have? (2 minutes). Tell Ss: "Today, we are going to look at an email I wrote to the movie theater to complain about the dry popcorn and unfriendly staff."
Gist Screenshare G-Form #1. Tell Ss they will quickly read an email. Ss should identify the problem and the solution that the writer suggests. Share the link in the chat and confirm that Ss can access it. After 2 minutes, ask Ss to submit their answers and discuss the answers in OCFB. ICQs: Do we need to know all the details? (No). Are we reading for the general problem and solution? (Yes). How long do we have? (2 minutes). Answers: 1. The popcorn is very dry, and some staff members speak to the customers in an unfriendly way. 2. Improve the quality of the snacks and provide better customer-service training for the staff. CCQs: Is the writer happy about the popcorn and the staff? (No). Does the writer want the snacks to get worse? (No). Does the staff need more training? (Yes). Layout Screenshare G-Form #2. Tell Ss they will quickly read the email again. Ss should match each section of the email with the name of the section. Share the link in the chat and confirm that Ss can access it. After 2 minutes, put Ss in BORs to compare answers. Monitor Ss. After 1 minute, return Ss to the main room and discuss the answers in OCFB. ICQs: Do we need to add more sections? (No). Do we need to move them into columns or match them? (Match). How long do we have? (2 minutes). Answers: 1. D, 2. F, 3. B, 4. E, 5. A, 6. C CCQs: Does the salutation go at the beginning or end? (Beginning). Does the introduction tell the reader the solution? (No, it states the purpose of the complaint). Is the manager writing the email? (No, it is Ali Jimenez). Ask Ss: "Do you think the complaint is reasonable? Why or why not?"
Meaning Screenshare G-Slides #1. Tell Ss they will match the expressions with their meaning. After 2 minutes, discuss the answers in OCFB. Demo: "The first expression is "I am writing to complain about..." Would we use this expression to ask for an action? (No). Correct because we use it to state the purpose of the complaint." ICQs: Do we need to add more phrases? (No). Are we matching the expressions with their meaning? (Yes). How long do we have? (2 minutes). CCQs: Does "I am writing to complain about..." mean that you are happy with the service? (No). Does "While the general service is usually good, the popcorn is very dry" mean that the service is always bad? (No). When I say "I would appreciate it if you could...," am I asking for something to change? (Yes). Appropriacy: Screenshare G-Slides #1. Tell Ss they will identify the appropriacy of the expressions: formal or informal. After 1 minute, discuss the answers in OCFB. ICQs: Do we need to include more phrases? (No). Are we identifying the appropriacy? (Yes). How long do we have? (1 minute). CCQs: Is "I am writing to complain about..." suitable for a complaint email? (Yes). Is "While the general service is usually good, the popcorn is very dry" rude or polite? (Yes). Is "I would appreciate it if you could..." an inappropriate way to ask for something? (No). Form: Screenshare G-Slides #1. Ask Ss to identify the fixed parts of the expressions. Tell Ss they will match the unfixed part of the expressions with their form. After 2 minutes, discuss the answers in OCFB. For sentence #1, ask: Which part is fixed? (I am writing to complain about…). What is the form of the unfixed part? (Noun phrase (reason for the complaint)). What is "the service"? (Noun phrase). What is "I have experienced"? (Relative clause: subject + verb phrase). What is "at your movie theater"? (Prepositional Phrase: place). What is "recently"? (Adverb: time). For sentence #2, ask: Which part is fixed? (While the general service is usually good, ...). What is the form of the unfixed part? (Main clause (contrasting idea)). What is "the popcorn"? (Subject: noun phrase). What is "is"? (Verb). What is "at your movie theater"? (Subject complement: adjective phrase: adverb + adjective). For sentence #3, ask: Which part is fixed? (I would appreciate it if you could...). What is the form of the unfixed part? (Verb phrase (base form)). What is "improve"? (Verb). What is "the quality"? (Noun phrase). What is "of the snacks"? (Prepositional phrase: modifying "quality").
Screenshare G-Slides #2. Tell Ss to use the model as an example of how to write their own email to complain about a service. Share the link in the chat and confirm that Ss can access it. Assign a slide to each Ss. Give Ss 12 minutes. Demo: Show the model. ICQs: Are we working individually? (Yes). Do we use the formal expressions? (Yes). Do we include all sections of an email? (Yes). How long do we have? (12 minutes).
Screenshare G-Slides #2. Tell Ss to use the checklist to give feedback to their partner. Share the link in the chat and confirm that Ss can access it. Put Ss in pairs in BORs. Monitor Ss. After 3 minutes, Ss switch partners. Demo: "Ali, you included all the sections of an email. You also used all three expressions." ICQs: Are we working with partners? (Yes). Do we use the checklist? (Yes). How long do we have? (3 minutes). Write down examples of how the formal expressions/sections of an email were used. OCFB on content and language.
