Write an Email — reader, purpose, register · 写邮件——读者、目的、语域
A replacement room must meet the workshop’s needs
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A booking office can act on a clear request for tables and step-free access. It cannot infer those requirements from “we have a problem”.
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Decide two things before you type: who you are writing to and what you want to happen. Keep the message focused on the situation. Length alone cannot make a request clear.
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Answer each part of the situation. If it asks you to explain a problem and propose a solution, do both.
An email should tell the reader why you wrote before their second coffee.
An email that answers only one of the situation's two requests has fully addressed the purpose. · 一封只回应情境中两个请求之一的邮件，已经完整回应了写作目的。
Clear sentences cannot supply a missing request. Check the scenario for every action it requires. · 句子写得再清楚，也不能替代遗漏的要求。请对照情境逐项检查。
Four useful moves
- Why you are writing — in the first sentence, not the third.
- The detail — the facts the reader needs to act.
- The request — what you want, specifically.
- A close — appropriate to the reader. Use as many sentences as the situation needs; four is a planning aid, not a rule.
What belongs in the first sentence of the email? · 邮件第一句应该写什么？
A reader who knows the purpose reads everything after it correctly. Background before purpose makes them guess. · 读者一开始就知道目的，后面的内容才读得对。先写背景会让他们猜。
Match the reader
- To a tutor or an office: polite, with a clear request. Indirect forms are options: I was wondering whether, would it be possible to, I would be grateful if.
- To a classmate: direct and warm. Dear Sir or Madam is impersonal for a named classmate; it is a mismatch of reader and tone, not an ungrammatical salutation. Choose a level of formality that fits the reader and keep it consistent. A polite message can still make a direct request.
The situation names your classmate Sara. How should the email open? · 情境里写明收件人是同学 Sara，邮件该怎么开头？
You were given her name and she is a peer. 'Hi Sara' matches that reader; a generic formal salutation does not. · 题目已给出她的名字，她也是同学。Hi Sara 符合这个读者；泛泛的正式称呼不合适。
Two habits to drop
- A "maybe" that hides a definite no. If you already know you cannot attend, decline clearly and courteously.
- Burying the action. If you need a replacement room or a reply by Friday, state that request where the reader can find it.
You cannot join a classmate's project. Which reply is clearest in English? · 你无法参加同学的项目，哪种回复在英语中最清楚？
If you already know you cannot join, a vague maybe leaves your classmate unable to plan. Decline clearly, give a reason and stay warm. · 如果你已经确定无法参加，含糊的“也许”会让同学没法安排。请明确谢绝、说明原因，同时保持友好。
How to practise
- Write one email a day to a specified reader: a tutor, an office, a classmate. Then reread it as that person. Ask: can the reader tell what happened, what I need and how to respond? Then check accuracy and tone.
- Task description checked on 24 September 2026 against the ETS Writing overview. The example below is original practice material, not an ETS response or a guaranteed score.
Worked example: a room that disappeared
Situation. Your student club booked Room 204 for a Saturday poster workshop. The booking office now says that a maintenance inspection will close the room. Write to the office: explain the workshop, request a room with tables and step-free access, and ask when the replacement can be confirmed.
Subject: Replacement room for Saturday workshop
Hello Booking Team,
Our student club's poster workshop is scheduled for Saturday in Room 204, but I understand the room will be closed for an inspection. We expect twelve participants and need tables for their materials as well as step-free access.
Could you suggest another available room with those features? If possible, please confirm it by Thursday afternoon so we can update the invitation.
Thank you for your help.
Best wishes,
Lin
The first sentence gives the purpose and the change. The second supplies the constraints; the next two sentences ask for a usable alternative and a reply time. The tone is polite without hiding the action. A room full of posters is a workshop; a room without tables is a very long-standing meeting.
In the workshop model, why does Lin mention twelve participants and step-free access? · 工作坊范例中，Lin 为什么提到十二名参加者和无障碍通道？
A replacement must hold the group and be accessible. Those details let the reader act on the request. · 替代教室要容得下参加者，也要方便进入。这些细节使收件人能真正处理请求。
An actionable request includes the missing constraint
- The booking-office email already asks for tables, step-free access and confirmation by Thursday. If the office offers a room upstairs with no lift, that offer does not meet the access requirement.
- A useful follow-up says: “Thank you. We need step-free access because one participant cannot use stairs. Is a suitable ground-floor room available?” It names the unmet need without repeating the entire first email.
- Politeness does not require hiding a definite requirement behind maybe. A direct constraint and a courteous request can appear together.
- Give purpose, necessary details and the requested action; check the message from the reader’s position.
- Try the transfer checks below before returning to the explanation. These are original self-checks, with no official score conversion.
Match the three distinctions from the worked case.
A useful follow-up says: “Thank you. We need step-free access because one participant cannot use stairs. Is a suitable ground-floor room available?” It names the unmet need without repeating the entire first email.
The office offers an inaccessible room. What should the follow-up clarify?
The booking-office email already asks for tables, step-free access and confirmation by Thursday. If the office offers a room upstairs with no lift, that offer does not meet the access requirement. A useful follow-up says: “Thank you. We need step-free access because one participant cannot use stairs. Is a suitable ground-floor room available?” It names the unmet need without repeating the entire first email.
Complete the worked-case label: Tables → ____. Use the phrase in the diagram.
Give purpose, necessary details and the requested action; check the message from the reader’s position.