Letter

Band 4+: You recently adopted a puppy and want to share the news with a cousin who loves animals. Write a letter to your cousin telling them about your new pet. You should include details about: the puppy's appearance and personality; how you are managing the new responsibilities; when you can visit them so they can meet the puppy.

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Dear Cousin,

i hope you are doing well, guess what, i just adopted a puppy, i’m very happy with him, i’m writing to you to share with you my happiness scine you love animals, i named him Don, you may be wondering why i adopted him! well, your enjoyment with dogs affects me, and actually i found out that having a dog as friend sometimes is better.

Don’t worry, i have a neighbor helping me with the training and daily care, also, i’m watching many videos about dogs, and actually, Don becomes my daily routine.

Of course, you are welcome to give us a visit whenever you are free, don’t foreget to bring with you Sally, we will enjoy the four of us together.

Take care of yourself and hope to see you soon.

best regards

Word Count: 136

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Overall Band Score

4.5

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B1 - Intermediate
Using more sophisticated words could be beneficial.

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:
No noticeable repetition! Great job!

Task Response

The letter addresses all three required points: the reason for getting the puppy and its breed (though the breed is not specified), training and daily care, and an invitation to visit. However, there are some lapses: the breed is not mentioned, and the reason for getting the puppy is somewhat vague. The tone is appropriate and the letter is generally relevant, but some details are underdeveloped. To improve, specify the breed and provide more concrete details about training and care. Also, ensure the letter is well-organized and free of minor errors in grammar and spelling. The letter falls short of the required 150 words.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter has a clear structure with an introduction, body, and closing, and the ideas are presented in a logical order. However, the flow is sometimes disrupted by abrupt transitions and informal phrasing (e.g., 'guess what', 'well, your enjoyment with dogs affects me'). The use of paragraphs is minimal, and the letter could benefit from clearer separation of ideas. To improve, consider using more cohesive devices (e.g., 'Firstly', 'In addition', 'Moreover') and ensuring each paragraph focuses on a single main idea.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for the context, with some good attempts at informal language (e.g., 'share with you my happiness', 'Don becomes my daily routine'). However, there are several errors in word choice and collocation (e.g., 'scine' for 'since', 'foreget' for 'forget', 'your enjoyment with dogs affects me' is awkward). The range of vocabulary is limited, and the letter would benefit from more varied and precise expressions. To improve, expand your vocabulary related to pets and daily routines, and pay attention to correct word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter contains numerous grammatical errors, including incorrect verb tenses (e.g., 'i just adopted' should be 'I have just adopted'), missing capitalization (e.g., 'i' should be 'I'), and punctuation issues (e.g., missing commas and periods). There are also errors in sentence structure (e.g., 'well, your enjoyment with dogs affects me' is unclear). The range of grammatical structures is limited, with mostly simple sentences. To improve, focus on using a variety of sentence structures, correct punctuation, and ensure subject-verb agreement. Proofreading the letter before submission would help catch these errors.

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