W.1 · Preliminary writing: responsive email

B1 Preliminary Writing Part 1: a responsive email 回信 — about 100 words, replying to a friend's email. The friend's email contains four cues 提示点, marked or unmarked: two questions, plus things to react to — an invitation, news, an apology, a suggestion.

• The marks: content (all four cues answered), communicative tone (friendly, natural), organisation (paragraphs, greeting, closing), and language (correct and varied).
• Memory hook: the incoming email is a baton 接力棒 with four ribbons on it. Your reply must touch every ribbon.
• 45 minutes for two writing parts; give the email about 20.

A reply has four parts, and the anatomy 结构 never changes:

1. Greeting: Hi Sam, / Dear Mia,
2. React first: Thanks for your email! Great news about the competition! — react before answering; it's what makes it a reply, not a form.
3. Answer each cue, one short paragraph or two sentences each, in the email's order.
4. Close: Write soon. / See you Friday! / Best, + your name.

Model (cue: invited to a weekend trip; asked what to bring, when to leave, and about the weather):

Hi Alex, Thanks for the invite — I'd love to come! A weekend at the lake sounds brilliant. You asked what to bring: I'll pack my sleeping bag and some snacks for the journey, because the village shop is always closed. Tell me if we need anything else. Leaving at eight on Saturday is fine with me; I'm an early bird anyway, so I'll meet you at the station ten minutes before. And don't worry about the rain! Last time it rained we just played cards in the tent, and it was the best part of the trip. See you soon, Lin

Four ribbons touched, 101 words, warm tone. Read it and find the four cues: the reaction, the bringing, the leaving time, the rain.

• ⚠ The reaction sentence is the cheapest mark on the paper. Students who skip it write a correct, cold robot 机器人 email. Robots score lower.

• ⚠ Answer all four cues. The mark scheme counts them. A beautiful email answering three cues loses to a plain one answering four.
• ⚠ Tone: warm and personal. I am writing to inform you ✗ — that's a business letter. Thanks for your email! ✅. The register is friendship.
• ⚠ Chinese letter habits don't travel: no 「祝学习进步」-style fixed closing wishes. Write soon / See you / Best is the whole wardrobe.
• ⚠ Don't copy the question sentences into your answer. "You asked what I will bring." ✗ — just bring it: I'll bring…. Reported speech is for B1 grammar, not for B1 emails.
• ⚠ Leave two minutes to check: articles, third-person -s, past-tense verbs. The same three classics as A2, worth the same marks.