Unit 6. Past Lives — Teacher’s Copy

Teacher notes – Unit 6

Learning aim: Students write a thank-you message. They choose the right language — formal or informal — depending on who they write to.

Before writing: Put two columns on the board: FORMAL (to a teacher/professor) and INFORMAL (to a friend). Elicit examples together for greeting / thanking / reason / future contact / closing. Write them on the board so students can see both columns at the same time.

During writing: Before writing, ask students to decide: ‘Who are you writing to? A friend or a teacher?’ This decision must guide every sentence they write.

Common errors: (1) Mixing formal and informal in the same message: ‘Hi Professor Thanks so much…’ (2) Forgetting to say WHY they are saying thank you. (3) Using an informal closing (‘Cheers!’) in a formal message.

After writing: Students read a partner’s message and identify: (a) formal or informal? (b) the greeting, (c) the reason for thanks, (d) the closing.

Model messages

Read and compare

Read both models. Compare the greeting, the thanks, and the closing in each one.

Model A – Informal (to a friend)

Greeting

Hi Rafael,

Thanks and message

Thanks so much for dinner last night! The food was incredible, and I had a great time. You are such a good cook! I hope we can do it again soon.

Closing

Take care,
Amara

GreetingThanks and messageClosing

Model B – Formal (to a teacher)

Greeting

Dear Dr Chen,

Thanks and message

Thank you very much for your help with my project this term. Your advice was very useful, and I learned a lot. I look forward to hearing from you.

Closing

Yours sincerely,
Linh Nguyen

GreetingThanks and messageClosing

Compare

Same structure — different register.

	Informal (to a friend)	Formal (to a teacher)
Greeting	Hi Rafael,	Dear Dr Chen,
Thanks	Thanks so much for…	Thank you very much for…
Closing	Take care,	Yours sincerely,

Extra practice

Build the skill

Exercise 1

Formal or informal?

Read each expression. Choose F (formal) or I (informal). Formal = to a teacher or professor. Informal = to a friend.

1‘Hi Tom’

I — informal greeting

2‘Thank you very much’

F — formal thanks

3‘See you!’

I — informal closing

4‘Dear Dr Smith’

F — formal greeting

5‘Yours sincerely’

F — formal closing

6‘Thanks so much!’

I — informal thanks

Assignment A – informal

Minimum 50 words

A friend helped you move into your new flat. Write an informal thank-you message to them. Say thank you, say what you liked most about their help, and say when you want to meet again.

Minimum 50 words.

0 / 50 words

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Sample answer · 66 words

Hi Isabelle,

Thanks so much for your help on Saturday! I am really happy in my new flat now. You were so kind and helpful. I loved the way you organised everything — you even put my books on the shelves! The flat looks great. You must come for dinner — I want to cook for you. Are you free next Saturday evening? Let me know!

Love,
Mei

Assignment B – formal

Minimum 50 words

You attended a writing workshop at your university. Write a formal thank-you email to the organiser, Dr Harrison. Thank him for the workshop, say one thing you found useful, and say you want to come to future events.

Minimum 50 words.

0 / 50 words

Nothing is saved automatically. Copy or save your text before you close this tab — only your own writing is saved, not the exercises.

Sample answer · 54 words

Dear Dr Harrison,

Thank you very much for the writing workshop last Thursday. It was very helpful, and I learned a lot. The session on paragraph structure was especially useful for my assignments. I would like to attend future workshops. Could you please send me information about the next one?

Yours sincerely,
Omar Al-Rashid

✓

Answer key at a glance

Prints with the page

Exercise 1 — Answers

1 I · 2 F · 3 I · 4 F · 5 F · 6 I