Make the reader's next step clear
For this ESOL Level 1 writing practice, organise a formal message around four things: your purpose, the relevant facts, their effect and the action you are requesting. Formal writing can be direct and polite without using complicated vocabulary.
Try the email task before reading the model. Then use the same planning method for a different letter. These are original practice activities, not official assessment questions, a complete Level 1 course or a test that awards a qualification. If you need help choosing suitable work, read ESOL levels explained.
Task 1: ask about a printing problem
Everything in this situation is fictional. Write as Amina Rahman, a learner at Mill Lane Learning Centre.
- You attend the Tuesday evening English class.
- The public printer was out of service on your last two Tuesday visits.
- You normally print your practice worksheets before class. You have had to use your phone instead, which makes writing answers more difficult.
- Reception has asked you to email the centre coordinator, Ms Ali. You do not know the cause of the fault or when the printer will work again.
- You want to know whether printing will be available before your next Tuesday class. If not, ask about a temporary printing option.
- Ask for a reply by Friday, if possible, so that you can plan.
Write an email that explains the problem and its effect, asks both questions and gives your preferred reply date. Do not invent a repair date or blame someone for a cause you do not know.
Plan before you write
| Part | Information your reader needs |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Who you are and why you are contacting Ms Ali |
| Facts | Which printer, which visits and what happened |
| Effect | How the problem affects your worksheets |
| Request | Printing next Tuesday, or a temporary option |
| Next step | A reply by Friday, if possible |
Write a few notes in each row, then draft your email. Keep information about the same point together. There is no word limit for this practice task; include what the reader needs without repeating yourself.
One possible email
Subject: Printing before Tuesday's English class
Dear Ms Ali,
I attend the Tuesday evening English class at Mill Lane Learning Centre. I am writing about the public printer, which was out of service on my last two Tuesday visits.
I normally print my practice worksheets before class. I have had to use my phone instead, which makes it more difficult for me to write the answers. Reception asked me to contact you about this.
Could you let me know whether printing will be available before our next Tuesday class? If the printer will still be unavailable, is there a temporary option for learners who need to print their worksheets?
If possible, could you reply by Friday so that I can plan my printing? Thank you for your help.
Yours sincerely,
Amina Rahman
Why this model works
The first paragraph identifies the learner, the printer and the two visits. Ms Ali does not have to guess which class or problem the email concerns.
The second paragraph explains the effect. It gives a reason for the request without claiming that every learner has the same difficulty.
The third paragraph asks about the next class and a possible alternative. It does not assume that a repair has been arranged.
The final paragraph makes the preferred reply date clear while acknowledging that the reader may need time to check. The greeting and closing suit a message to a named coordinator whom the learner does not know well. The British Council's email openings and endings lesson gives further examples of formal and informal choices.
Your sentences can differ. The important check is whether your email communicates all the required information accurately.
Improve the wording without changing the facts
Compare each first attempt with the more precise alternative.
| First attempt | More precise alternative | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Your printer never works. | The public printer was out of service on my last two Tuesday visits. | Reports the known occasions instead of making an unsupported claim about every day. |
| You must fix it by Tuesday. | Could you let me know whether printing will be available before our next Tuesday class? | Asks for information without pretending that a repair date is agreed. |
| Reply quickly. | If possible, could you reply by Friday so that I can plan my printing? | Gives a useful date and a reason. |
Now change one vague or repetitive sentence in your own email. Check that your revision preserves the meaning. More formal wording should not make the request harder to understand.
Task 2: write an independent letter
Use this different fictional situation. Harbour Street Community Library closes at 5 pm on weekdays. You finish work at 5:30 pm, so you cannot use it after work. You would like the library to consider opening until 7 pm on one weekday evening.
Write a letter to the library manager. Use an invented name; you do not need to provide your real address or workplace.
Include these four points:
- Explain why the current weekday closing time does not suit you.
- Suggest opening until 7 pm on one weekday evening and explain who else it could help.
- Propose a four-week trial followed by feedback from library users.
- Ask whether the manager could consider the idea and tell you what the next step would be.
You do not know the library's staffing or costs. Present your idea as a proposal, not a change the manager has promised to make. For example, distinguish “It could help people who finish work after 5 pm” from a claim that a survey has proved what everyone wants.
Plan the paragraphs yourself
Use one paragraph for your purpose and current difficulty, another for the proposed change and its possible benefit, and another for the trial and requested next step. You may organise the points differently if the reader can follow them.
Choose an appropriate greeting and closing. Put each paragraph on a separate line and sign with your invented name. Try writing the letter without looking back at the email model: the audience, purpose and facts have changed.
Check content before small errors
Read your letter as if you were the manager.
- Can I identify the exact change being suggested?
- Are all four task points included?
- Does the writer explain a possible benefit without inventing evidence?
- Is the four-week trial clearly a suggestion?
- Do I know what response the writer wants?
Then check complete sentences, verb forms, capital letters and punctuation. Remove any information copied from the printer email: Ms Ali, Tuesday's class and the Friday reply request do not belong in this letter.
For a shorter starting activity, try messages, emails and corrections. The Entry 3 guide also includes a brief message task. Return to your own letter afterwards and ask a tutor or trusted learning partner which point is least clear.
Continue practising
Choose another ordinary request, such as asking a community group for information. Write a new plan with facts, effect and requested action before drafting.
For general vocabulary and sentence practice, explore ESOL English and its official downloads. The app is an additional learning resource; this page does not promise personal marking or a matching formal-writing course inside it.
Official writing resources
For an assessed course, ask your tutor which awarding organisation and instructions apply. Trinity's Level 1 writing resources and Pearson's ESOL resources hub provide official materials. Our scenarios, model and checks above are independent practice, not copied papers or official marking criteria.
