LearnEnglish Hub
In our new Learning hub, you can put your language into practice. Take part in the activities and practise your English skills by writing comments, recording yourself speaking and sharing photos with descriptions.
An email to a friend
Instructions
Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.
Reading text
Hi Rebecca,
How ARE you?! It's been ages!! I thought I'd drop you a line seeing as I'm stuck in the airport with nothing to do but make use of the free Wi-Fi.
Not that writing to you isn't top of my list of things to do, of course ;) but I've been totally snowed under at work, plus all the family stuff that's been going on ... Anyway, I'm just about to go on a much-needed holiday so I really can't complain!
Anyhoo … what have you been up to? I saw Carol a couple of months ago – don't know if you heard what happened with her job but it made me feel grateful I only slightly hate mine – and she was saying your book is going to be published?! GREAT news!!! Send me a link and I'll definitely buy it and leave a five-star review :)
As for me, same old, same old re: job. Maggie and I broke up a while ago, as you know, but we're getting on much better now and it's working out far better for the kids. No-one new on the horizon but I'm off to Canada travelling for a month (if this plane ever leaves!) so who knows?!
Actually, I'll be flying over your house in a few hours. I'll wave! Let's make a plan to see each other when I get back, OK?
Hope life's treating you well!
Lots of love,
Sarah
Tips
- It's common to start with a reason for writing and refer to how long it's been since you saw or wrote to each other.
- Use phrasal verbs (e.g. going on, been up to) and informal expressions (e.g. drop you a line, same old, same old) to give it a friendly, informal tone.
- Use emoticons or multiple exclamation marks (!!!) or question marks (???) to add extra excitement and feeling. You can also use capital letters for emphasis (How ARE you? GREAT news!!).
- Before signing off you can finish with closing phrases like Hope all's well! / Looking forward to seeing you! / Best of luck with ... !
- Sign off with Lots of love for close friends or family or Take care if you are not so close.
Discussion
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Hello Hawi Abdalla,
To improve your writing, it's important to read and write extensively. If possible, you should get feedback from a teacher or knowledgable friend on your writing. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to give users individualized feedback on their writing, but even if you can't find anyone to give you feedback, you can still use LearnEnglish to do some work on your own.
If you're on this page, you've obviously found our Writing skills section and this is where I'd start. After you work through the pages here, you might also want to look at the Writing section on LearnEnglish Teens, where there are some typical exam-style texts. If the exam you're referring to is the IELTS, I'd suggest you have a look at TakeIELTS.
Good writers learn from reading other writers' texts, so you could learn a lot about writing from reading the content on the site. The Magazine might be a good place to start if this interests you. You can respond to other users in the comment sections to carry on a written conversation, just as I am responding to you now.
Whatever you do, try to spend at least 15 minutes a day (or at least several days per week) reading and/or writing. When you have specific questions, ask a friend or teacher, or you're also welcome to ask us periodically here.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team