Exercise 5: The Informal Email

British & IGCSE › Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510)

Exercise 5 is the first writing task in Paper 1, and it is the one where well-prepared students can be most confident: it is always an informal email. You write to someone you know well — a friend, a cousin, an older brother — about something that has happened in your life. This pack follows a simple method: first the step-by-step structure, then the phrases and clauses that make it sound natural and advanced, then full-mark samples with examiner-style comments.

1. The task: purpose and audience

Every task has the same shape: a short situation (one or two sentences), the instruction to write an email to a friend or relative, and three bullet points that tell you exactly what to include. The bullets are your paragraphs. If you cover and develop all three in a friendly voice, you have already secured most of the Content marks.

2. How the email is marked

3. The three bullets: cover and develop all three

Each bullet begins with a verb. The verb tells you what kind of paragraph to write. Answer the bullet directly in your first sentence, then develop it.

4. Tone: how to sound informal (but still skilful)

• Contractions: I've, it's, you'll, we'd, didn't, couldn't.
• Phrasal verbs: catch up, look forward to, turn down, get on with, put off, run out of, end up.
• Idioms — one or two, used correctly: over the moon, a piece of cake, up to my eyes in, rushed off our feet, in your shoes.
• Talk to your friend: questions (Can you believe it?), shared memories (Remember when we…?), direct address (You'd have loved it!).
• Show feelings: I was thrilled / gutted / relieved / a bag of nerves.
• Informal linkers: Anyway, By the way, Guess what, Even so, To be honest, In the end.
• Avoid formal phrases: not 'I am writing to inform you', 'Furthermore', 'Yours faithfully'. Informal does not mean careless: still use full sentences, correct grammar and no text-speak (u, gr8, lol).

5. Step-by-step structure

Most full-mark emails follow this shape. The word guide in the last column adds up to about 150.

6. How to start: 8 openings

Keep the opening short (2–3 sentences) and then move into the topic. Choose an opening that fits the situation — an apology works when you have been out of touch, excitement works when you have big news.

7. How to end: 8 endings

8. Commonly used phrases and clauses by function

Idioms and phrasal verbs make an email sound natural, and they count as less common vocabulary — but only when they are used correctly. Learn them inside a full example sentence, not as single words.

9. Common mistakes

10. Timing for Exercise 5

11. Full-mark checklist

12. Model email 1: telling a friend about an event

13. Model email 2: explaining a problem and asking for advice

14. Practice tasks with plans

Write each email in about 22 minutes, then open the plan and compare. The plans show one good way to organise the ideas — your details can be different.

1. Task 1: You recently moved to a new home in a different area. Write an email to a friend. In your email you should: • explain why your family moved • describe your new home and neighbourhood • invite your friend to visit. Write about 120 to 160 words.

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   Plan — Greeting: Hi Ziad, | Opening: How are you? hope exams went well, sorry for the silence, boxes everywhere since the move. | Bullet 1: Dad's new job in New Cairo → long drive every day → so we moved closer, sad to leave old street. | Bullet 2: third-floor flat, balcony overlooking a park, my own room at last, quiet streets, bakery a stone's throw away. | Bullet 3: Why don't you come next Friday? play football in the park, my mum's famous koshary. | Closing: Let me know if you can make it! | Sign-off: See you soon, / Adam | Target language: a stone's throw, which means that…, If you come, we could…, at last.

2. Task 2: You took part in a school trip where something went wrong. Write an email to a cousin. In your email you should: • say where you went and why • describe what went wrong • explain how the problem was solved. Write about 120 to 160 words.

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   Plan — Opening: How are you? sorry I haven't written, catching up on schoolwork after the trip. | Bullet 1: Alexandria, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, history project. | Bullet 2: bus broke down on the desert road, out of the blue, stuck for two hours in the heat, ran out of water. | Bullet 3: our teacher phoned the company → second bus, a farmer nearby brought us cold drinks, ended up singing songs. | Closing: You'd have loved the chaos! Write back soon. | Sign-off: Cheers, / Hamza | Target language: out of the blue, run out of, Having waited for two hours…, ended up singing.

3. Task 3: You have decided to learn a new skill in your free time. Write an email to a friend. In your email you should: • say what skill you are learning and why you chose it • describe how your learning is going • suggest that your friend tries it too. Write about 120 to 160 words.

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   Plan — Opening: How are you? hope the new term is going well, sorry for the slow reply, busy with my new hobby. | Bullet 1: learning to code apps, want to study computer science, free online course. | Bullet 2: first week a piece of cake, now stuck on harder lessons but finished a simple quiz app, felt proud. | Bullet 3: Why don't you join me? we could build a game together, only 30 minutes a day. | Closing: Let me know what you think! | Sign-off: All the best, / Mostafa | Target language: a piece of cake, I've been -ing, Not only… but also…, If we worked together, we could…

4. Task 4: You recently had an argument with a close friend. Write an email to another friend. In your email you should: • explain what the argument was about • describe how you feel about it now • ask for advice about what to do. Write about 120 to 160 words.

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   Plan — Opening: How are you? sorry I've been quiet, something's been bothering me. | Bullet 1: Karim borrowed my headphones, broke them, laughed it off, I lost my temper in front of the class. | Bullet 2: guilty, I shouldn't have shouted, miss our walks home, he's been giving me the cold shoulder. | Bullet 3: you know us both — should I apologise first or wait for him? would a message be enough? | Closing: Thanks for listening. Write back soon. | Sign-off: Take care, / Seif | Target language: lose my temper, give someone the cold shoulder, I shouldn't have…, What would you do in my shoes?

5. Quick check: Find the three layout errors. 'Hi, Ahmed, How are you? … Yours sincerely, Omar Khaled'

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   (1) No comma after 'Hi' — write 'Hi Ahmed,'. (2) 'Yours sincerely' is formal — use 'Take care,' / 'Love,' / 'Cheers,'. (3) The name should be the first name only, on the line below the sign-off: 'Omar'.