Perfecting English Exam Writing and Speaking Tasks

Part 2: Personal Interests and Background

Are you interested in X?

My mother (or my father) used to like sports (or do the cooking), and I loved watching (or helping) her (or him). I also love traveling, reading, or cooking, and I am really into trying new activities related to this.

Part 3: Detailed Experiences and Preferences

What type of X do you like?

I really enjoy trying to follow my family member's steps. He (or she) is a really interesting person. For example, she really loves traveling and visiting new places, or she is really good at cooking and loves making new recipes. Recently, I have also been trying new sub-activities within that field.

Is this the first time...?

This is the first time I have been to... It has been something that I wanted to try for a long time because I love... Last year, I tried to join a club; however, I got too lazy and ended up not doing it.

What is the best X you have visited?

I would have to say [Name of the place], a restaurant (or a shop, a workshop, etc.) in [City name]. The decor makes you feel as if you are really in [Country].

Part 4: Informal and Formal Correspondence

Informal Email Template

Hi [Name],

I have just read the email from [Name of the person/Club Secretary] and I am a bit annoyed. I am not keen on putting off the meeting (or paying a membership/not having someone with us), as I won't be satisfied with that. I think they should stick to the date (or look for a different person/give old members a free membership). What do you reckon?

Cheers,
Lorenzo

Formal Letter Template

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my real disappointment at hearing the news that [the situation/someone] will not be able to attend our annual meeting (or be able to continue being for free). I am afraid I do not find your proposed solution acceptable, and I will explain why.

• If the meeting is postponed to the following week, I will not be able to attend, as I will already have left for my holiday.
• If [the person] is not able to come, I do not think that the talk will be as interesting and fewer people would turn up.

Therefore, I would like to put forward an alternative suggestion. In my opinion, you should write to [the person] to ask him/her to cancel his/her other engagement. If I remember correctly, he confirmed this date with us nearly a year ago. If he refuses, perhaps we should consider approaching another candidate. Alternatively, if I remember correctly, when we signed up, the contract stated that this was a free activity.

I look forward to hearing your reply.

Yours sincerely,
Lorenzo Alcalde