The exam-style question
This is an ESL email question, in the style of the English as a Second Language papers. Read it as you would in the exam, then compare your plan with the model.
Write an email to your teacher, Mr Chan, apologising for missing a lesson, explaining why, and asking how to catch up. Use a suitable polite register. This is our own practice prompt.
Notes: Missed Lesson
Situation for your email. You are a student who missed an important English lesson last Thursday. Reason: you were unwell with a throat infection and the doctor told you to rest at home for two days.
You feel bad about missing it because the class began a new topic (writing reports) and a task was set for homework. You want to: apologise politely, briefly explain why you were absent, ask what you missed, ask how to get the homework task, and offer to catch up in your own time. Your teacher, Mr Chan, is friendly but expects proper manners in writing.
Think about how an email to a teacher differs from a message to a friend: it needs a greeting, a clear reason for writing, organised points, a polite request and a proper sign-off. Keep the tone respectful and the message clear and not too long.
Model response: ESL email
An email to a teacher needs a clear purpose, a polite register and well-organised points. It can be warmer than a formal letter but must stay respectful.
Reading a model answer helps. In a paid one-hour trial, a teacher helps your child write one like it on ESL email.
Common errors we see
- Too casual a register (texting style, no capitals) for a teacher
- Missing greeting or sign-off
- No clear reason for the email, or a rambling one
- Requests that are blunt or unclear ('send homework')
- Forgetting one part of the task (apology, reason, request or catch-up)
How this maps to the mark scheme
Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.
For ESL email, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510) on our qualification page.
- Communicate information, ideas and opinions clearly.
- Organise ideas into coherent, well-linked text.
- Use an appropriate range of grammatical structures and vocabulary accurately.
- Use register and style suited to the purpose and audience.
Cover every point in the task, organise the message clearly, use accurate grammar and choose a register that fits the reader.
Other boards word their objectives differently, but the same skills earn the marks. Your board's official syllabus gives the exact weighting.
Where to go next
Learn the method in our guide to ESL email, then try the ESL email practice tasks. You can browse every annotated model response or see how we teach this in our English as a Second Language tuition.
When you have written your own answer, take it to a paid one-hour trial lesson and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.