C1 Advanced · Writing · Part 2
C1 Letter / Email Practice (Free)
Adapt your correspondence to a clear purpose and audience. Practise a consistent register, developed explanations and a response that covers the whole brief.
This exercise, its explanations and the downloadable PDF are in English.
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Requesting a constructive change to the weekend market
You attend language classes at a community centre which also holds a weekend market. The market supports local businesses, but amplified announcements repeatedly interrupt lessons in nearby rooms. Write an email to the centre manager explaining the effects on your classes, acknowledging the value of the market, and suggesting practical changes that would allow both activities to continue. Ask for an appropriate follow-up before the next event. Write 220–260 words.
Write 220–260 words.
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One possible response
243 words · Original teaching example. Other responses can also work.
Dear Ms Patel,
I am writing on behalf of several members of the Saturday language class about the amplified announcements made during the weekend market. We appreciate the centre’s support for local businesses and would like the market to continue. However, the current arrangement is making it difficult for us to benefit fully from our lessons.
The announcements can be heard clearly in our classroom, particularly during listening activities. When they interrupt a recording or spoken instruction, learners miss information which the teacher then has to repeat. This breaks the flow of the lesson and reduces the time available for practice. Closing the door has not resolved the problem, so an adjustment to the market arrangements would be helpful.
Could announcements be scheduled during the breaks between classes wherever possible? Our teacher could provide the timetable in advance. It may also be possible to lower the volume of speakers nearest the teaching rooms or direct them away from those windows. These measures would preserve the market’s ability to communicate with visitors while reducing disruption to classes.
I would be grateful if you could discuss these suggestions with the market organiser before the next event. We would be happy to help test the sound level from inside the classroom and report whether the changes make a difference. Please let us know whether a short meeting could be arranged this week.
Thank you for considering a solution that supports both activities.
Yours sincerely, Alex Morgan
What to notice
Task, reader and register
This is a formal request to a named manager. The writer acknowledges the market, explains effects, suggests changes and requests a follow-up before the next event. Dear Ms Patel and Yours sincerely form a consistent greeting and closing; the tone remains courteous and firm.
Plan
The opening establishes purpose and common ground. The next paragraph describes the concrete teaching problem. Two practical adjustments follow, and the final main paragraph proposes a meeting and sound check. This order lets the manager understand why action is needed before considering solutions.
Content: show the consequence
“Learners miss information which the teacher then has to repeat” connects noise to lost learning time. This is more useful than saying the market is annoying. The statement about closing the door is a plausible detail added to the fictional situation, explaining why the request goes beyond action the class can take alone.
Communicative achievement
“We would like the market to continue” avoids presenting the two activities as enemies. “Could announcements be scheduled...” asks for a practical adjustment, while “wherever possible” recognises that some urgent announcements may be unavoidable. Courtesy does not make the requested action vague.
Language and follow-up
The conditional requests “I would be grateful” and “Could...” suit the relationship. Offering the timetable and a classroom sound test makes the solution cooperative. The closing asks for a meeting this week and action before the next event, rather than ending with a general hope.
Alternatives and pitfalls
A response could propose moving speakers or changing classroom allocation if feasible. It should not demand cancellation after being asked to let both activities continue. Avoid threats, unsupported accusations about the organisers’ motives, or a friendly greeting that conflicts with an otherwise formal email.
Review your own choices
- Have I acknowledged the market’s value?
- Have I explained the effect on learning with concrete detail?
- Do my suggestions allow both activities to continue?
- Have I requested a clear and timely follow-up?
- Are my greeting, tone and closing consistent?
- Is the full email 220–260 words?
Choose one improvement to make in your draft. Matching the model's wording is not the aim; compare how clearly each response does the task.
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