Letter

Band 6+: You were supposed to attend a friend's birthday party last weekend, but you didn't show up without any notice. Write a letter to your friend apologizing for your absence. You should include details about: - why you couldn't attend the party - why you didn't inform them beforehand - how you plan to make it up to them.

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Dear Mark,

I’m writing to you to apologize for my absense without having told you. Thank you for the invitation, but I had some university problems that I had to solve. Let me explain everything.

Our professor gave us 3 days to make a group project. However, I and my groupmates had realized that we didn’t even start thinking about it. That’s why we decided to have a meeting and perform the task as soon as possible. But, at first I was planning to go to your party, ’cause I had made a special present for you. Unfortunately, the deadline was on your birthday, we were rushing and everything slipped out of my mind as I was busy.

I wanna apologize for this incident again and hope you’re not offended. How about going to the bar next weekend? We could have fun together indeed. I will be waiting for your response.

Cheers, Lina

Word Count: 153

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Overall Band Score

6.5

(+/- 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 appropriately addresses the task by apologizing for the absence, explaining the reason (university group project deadline), and offering a plan to make up for it (going to a bar next weekend). However, the explanation for not informing beforehand is somewhat implied rather than clearly stated ('everything slipped out of my mind as I was busy'). To improve, explicitly state why you didn't notify your friend in advance, such as being too focused on the project or forgetting due to stress. Additionally, consider using more formal or polite language (e.g., 'I would like to apologize' instead of 'I wanna apologize') and proofread for minor errors like 'absense' (absence) and 'I and my groupmates' (my groupmates and I).

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter is generally well-organized and the message is clear. The apology, explanation, and plan to make amends are presented in a logical order. However, the flow could be improved by using more cohesive devices to link ideas smoothly. For example, the transition from explaining the group project to why you didn't inform your friend could be smoother. Consider using phrases like 'As a result' or 'This meant that' to connect sentences more effectively. Paragraphing is adequate but could be more distinct to separate the apology, explanation, and future plans.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary used is appropriate for the context, with some good choices like 'absense' (though misspelled) and 'slipped out of my mind'. However, there is room for improvement in range and precision. Phrases like 'I wanna apologize' are too informal for a letter of apology; 'I would like to apologize' would be more suitable. Also, 'make a group project' could be 'complete a group project' or 'work on a group project'. Using more varied and formal vocabulary would enhance the letter's tone and effectiveness.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter contains several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings that affect clarity. For example, 'absense' should be 'absence', 'I and my groupmates' should be 'my groupmates and I', and 'we had realized' is unnecessary past perfect; 'we realized' is sufficient. The sentence 'we were rushing and everything slipped out of my mind as I was busy' is a bit run-on and could be rephrased for better clarity. Punctuation is mostly correct, but there are minor issues like missing commas. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct use of tenses, and sentence structure variety.

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Task Response

Coherence & Cohesion

Lexical Resource

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

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Task Response

Coherence & Cohesion

Lexical Resource

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

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