ZNO-WRITING
( Collection
of Tasks)
In this post you can find the writing tasks which were
suggested in ZNO (External Independent Testing) in the previous years in
Ukraine. Here there is also some advice how to write informal letters and succeed
in it. Some useful phrases could help you to write your composition. Good
luck!!!
Layout
of letters/emails
Informal letters/emails are sent to
people you know well (friends, relatives, etc) about your recent news,
personal problems, information you need, etc. They are written in an informal style with a chatty, personal
tone.
• An
informal letter/email should consist of:
a)
An
informal greeting
-
Dear Sharon / Aunt Joan / Hi Jack / Hallo Amanda
b)
An
introduction in which you write your
opening remarks (i.e. asking about your friend’s health, questions/wishes about
recent events, a thank you to the person for their last letter/email, comments
about their news, an apology for a delay in writing/ replying.
-
How are you? / How are you doing? / How’s
it going?/How’s everything going?
-
Thank you for/ Many thanks for your
recent letter.
-
It was great to hear from you./ It was a
nice surprise to hear from you / to receive your letter.
-
Sorry I’ve taken so long to write/ Sorry
I’ve taken so long to put pen to paper, but I’ve been busy …/ I’m sorry I haven’t
been in touch recently but …
-
I was sorry to hear that you aren’t going
to …I’m sorry I haven’t written for such a long time/ for ages/for so long.
-
I hope you are having a great summer and
that all your exams are over.
-
I hope you / you and your family are
well/fine./ It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. / It was good/nice to hear
from you recently/
-
What are you up to this summer?
c)
A
main body in which you write the
main subject(s) of the letter / email in detail, the reason why you are
writing, starting a new paragraph for
each topic;
-
The reason I’m writing is to ask/ to
tell you/see how …/ I’m writing to tell you
d)
A
conclusion in which you write your
closing remarks
-
Well, that’s all for now. Write back and
tell me what you’ve been up to./ Well, that’s all my news (for now). I’d better
end now, because …/Well, I’d better go and do some work!/ I ‘d better sign off
now.
-
What do you think I should do? Please
write back soon and tell me.
-
Once again, well done!/ thank you for
all your help./ Can’t wait to hear from you
-
I’ll write as soon as I can and let you
know about …/Please write soon and tell me all your news./
e)
An
informal ending
-
Give my best wishes to your parents./ Give
your sister a big hug from me / Say “hi” to …
-
See you soon./ Write soon./ Hope to hear
from you soon./ Take care/ Drop me a line./ Looking forward to hearing from /
seeing you.
-
Give my regards/ love to …/ Regards, /
All the best, / (Lots of) Love,/ Best wishes/ xxx
Informal
letter (samples)
Mind the following things:
• when writing
an informal letter you can use informal language.
• you can also
use contractions
• you can use phrasal verbs
• use
abbreviations and appropriate punctuation (e.g.
exclamation marks (!), dashes (--)
• if you want
to put extra information or something you have forgotten at the end of the
letter, use
PS
(postscript) after your name
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dear John,
Thanks for your letter. It was great to hear from you and to
hear about your skiing trip. I’m glad
you had a good time!
I’ve
taken so long to write back because I’ve been busy studying
for my exams. They've over now, and I think I’ve
passed everything, except physics, of course.
How about you? Have you finished your exams yet? Perhaps we can get together when school finishes. If you
want to come down to Bristol for a
weekend in July, it would be great to see you.
Tell me what you think.
The only other news is that my brother Andrew has got
a new girlfriend. She’s quite nice actually, and I think we’re
going to get on really well.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Please write me soon and
tell me when you can come and visit.
Best wishes,
Jane
PS If you can’t come to Bristol, I don’t mind
travelling up to Manchester.
(Solution
interm/WB/Writing Bank p.114)
________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Greg!
How are you doing? I wonder if you’re ready and
packed? By
the way, I hope you remember about the packet from Aunt Anna – she’d be
really mad if you forgot to take it.
Oh, and a friend of mine has just asked if you
could bring On the Road by Jack
Kerouc. I hope you don’t
mind.
Well, I’m also getting ready for your
stay. Plans for the first day include a quick tour of my town and a party with
all my friends. And as
for lunch, my mother wants to know whether you prefer fish or
chicken. Let me know!
Oh, and another thing! In case you’ve forgotten where we meet at the airport, it’s
Terminal A, next to the newspaper stand. If I’m late, you can check what’s
making headlines in Slovakia!
Have a nice journey,
Viktor
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Daniel
Thanks a lot for the dictionary you sent me. It’s
going to be a great help in my exams!
How are you? I hope you’re well and that you’re
looking forward to your holiday. What are your plans for the summer?
As for me, in August I’m going to spend a week at my
grandmother’s house at Lake Balaton in Hungary. Can’t wait to see her, she’s my
favourite member of the family! And she makes delicious cakes, too. And Anke,
my German friend from the language course, is coming to visit me before that,
in July.
Anyway, the real reason I’m writing is that I had a
great idea. You mentioned that you’d never been to Austria, and I was thinking,
how would you like to come and visit Vienna next month? I just saw this special
deal at a small hotel near the Westbahnhof, and if you give me your email
address, I can send you the link to the website.
Let me know what you think! It would be great to see
you again, and I could show you all the beautiful things in my hometown.
Write soon.
Take care,
Karin
(Exam
Excellence/p.132)
________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Grace,
I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch recently but my
email isn’t working properly. I’ve lost my mobile – and life has been too busy!
I hope you are having a great summer and that all your
exams are over. I’ve been doing exams for ever but the last one was this
afternoon. Fantastic! I’m now free and can start to relax. While I was doing my
exams I was either in an exam room or at home trying to revise. Let’s hope that
all this hard work is rewarded with incredible results!
Guess what! I’m going camping in Spain with two
friends from school. Do you want to come with us? It’ll be better if there are
four of us and I’m sure you’ll like Amy and Ryan. We’re leaving on the first
Saturday in August and we’ll be away until our money runs out. Please say yes!
Got to go now – mum’s calling me for dinner and I’m
going out with all the other lucky people who have finished their exams!
Let me know about the trip to Spain!
Look after yourself.
Daniel xxx
(Success
/upper/WB/)
________________________________________________________________________________
EXAM TASKS
(2009)
1. You’ve
received a letter from your English pen-friend. He/she wrote that he/she had
problems with the study of French at school and thought that French lessons
were tiresome and not interesting. He/she likes Maths and History better than
French. Write a letter to your pen-friend in which you write
• why studying foreign languages
is important
• about the foreign language
lessons in your school
• about your foreign language
teacher/teachers
• advise him/her how to make the
study of foreign languages easier and more interesting.
Write
an informal letter of at least 100 words.
___________________________________________________________________________________
(2010-пробное)
2.You were going to visit your friend in London
at the beginning of June. But unfortunately the schedule of the independent
testing has been changed. Write a letter to your friend and
•
apologize for breaking your plans
•
state the reason of your not coming
•
express your regret about postponing your meeting
•
ask if it is possible to come later in the summer
Write
an informal letter of at least 100 words. Do not write any dates and addresses. Start your
letter with
Dear
_________________ ,
________________________________________________________________________________
(2010)
3. You have found out that the local council is
planning to build a new supermarket not far from your school instead of a
sports centre. You have decided with your friends to write about this plan to
the major newspapers published in your city/region. Write a letter to the
editor of an English language newspaper in which you:
• say why you are writing
• explain why sport is important to people
• explain why a supermarket should not be built
in your area
• give your reasons why a sports centre would
serve your city/region well
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not
write any dates and addresses. Start your letter with
Dear Sir or Madam,
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(2011)
4. Last month you took an active part in the TV quiz show “Around the
World”. And you’ve won a
prize – two tickets for a tour of Ukraine. Write a
letter to your friend in which you
• invite him/her to join you
• describe the means of travel and
accommodations
• describe two special places you are going to
visit
• give suggestions what he/she will need to take
with him/her
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other
personal information. Start your letter in an
appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2012)
5. You’ve got a letter from your
English pen-friend in which he/she wrote you about his/her future plans. He/she
wants to become an actor. And your friend is sure that this profession will
give him/her the opportunity to become
famous and make a lot of money. Write a letter to your pen- friend in which say
• about your thoughts regarding his/her career
plans
• what you are going to do after leaving school
• how
you prepare yourself for your future profession
• what
you think is necessary to be successful in your future job
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2013-пробное)
6. You would
like to work in Great Britain this summer. And you have read this advertisement
in a newspaper
|
Write a
letter of application. In your letter write about:
•
why you are writing
•
your personal qualities, language skills and experience with children
•
why you think this work experience would be important for your future
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
________________________________________________________________________________
(2013)
7. Listening to a radio programme you heard different
people discussing the topic of friendship between teens. You have decided to
write a letter to the editor of the programme. In your letter
• describe what kind of friend you prefer and
why
• say
what can cause a friendship to go wrong
• argue
whether it is better to have a wide circle of friends or a few close friends
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
________________________________________________________________________________
(2014- пробное)
8. You and your friends went on a two-day walking tour
to a beautiful lake not far from your city/village last weekend. Write a letter
to your English pen-friend about this trip. Don’t forget the things you need to
write about in your letter:
• who went on a walking tour together with you
and why
• what equipment you took with and why
• how you got to the place where you stayed (your
means of transport and route)
• how your spent the weekend near the lake
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(2014)
9. You have received a letter from your pen-friend in
which he/she complains that his/her parents want him/her to read classical
authors, while he/she is fond of fantasy. Write a letter to your pen-friend in
which you tell him/her
• whether your parents influence your choice of books
to read
• what is your favorite literary genre and why
• where you usually get books you’d like to read
Write a
letter of at least 100 words. Do not use any personal information (e. g.,
names, dates, addresses, etc.). Start your letter in an appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2014-дополнительная сессия)
10. You’ve got
a letter from your English pen-friend in which he/she complains that there has
been a lot of rain in his/her region lately, so he/she can’t spend much time
outdoors and feels bored at home. Write a letter to your pen-friend in which
you tell him/her
•
whether you have a lot of spare time at present and why or why not
• how you usually spend your free time indoors
• your
advice on how to make his/her stay at home more exciting
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(2015-пробное)
11. You’ve got
a letter from your English pen-friend. In his /her letter he/she describes
his/her impressions of visiting the festival of modern pop-music. Write a
letter to your pen-friend and say
•
what kind of music you like best
•
how your favourite kind of music makes you feel
•
what your parents think about your musical preferences
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2015)
12. You have
received a letter from your pen-friend in which he/she writes that he/she has been
playing basketball for years. Now he/she has decided to start judo. Write
him/her a letter in which you explain
• whether
you support his/her decision to take up one more kind of sport and why
• what
kinds of sport are popular with your friends
• whether
you do any sports or watch sports competitions on TV
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write
your own name, any dates, addresses or other personal information. Start your
letter in an appropriate way.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(2016-пробное)
13. You’ve got a letter from your English pen-friend in
which he/she complains that there has been a lot of rain in his/her region
lately, so he/she can’t spend much time outdoors and feels bored at home. Write
a letter to your pen-friend in which you tell him/her
• whether you have a lot of spare time at
present and why or why not
• how you usually spend your free time indoors
• your advice on how to make his/her stay at
home more exciting
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not use your
real name or any personal information. Start your letter in an appropriate way.
________________________________________________________________________________
(2016)
14. You are going to spend a week in London. You are
planning to travel on a tiny budget and don’t have many connections in Britain.
Your English pen-friend has agreed to meet you at the airport and help with
getting around London. Write a letter to your pen-friend in which you
• give the details of your arrival in Britain
• say what you look like to be recognized
• explain what you would like to do and see in
London
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not use your
real name or any personal information. Start your letter in an appropriate way.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(2017-пробное)
15. You have received a letter from your pen-friend in
which he/she tells you that he/she has been admitted to a university and will
have to move to another city and live in a students’ hostel. He/she is anxious
about the situation because he/she can’t cook. Write a letter in which you say
• whether you often cook and why (or why not)
• how you share household duties in your family
• give a recipe for a simple dish (ingredients
and preparation)
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not use your
real name or any personal information. Start your letter in an appropriate way.
________________________________________________________________________________
(2017)
16. You and your family have recently moved into a new
house. Write a letter to your pen-friend in which
• tell him/her about your moving in and briefly
describe your house (exterior and interior)
• invite him/her to your house-warming party
and write about the date, guests, entertainment
• explain how to get to your place (location
and means of transport)
Write a letter
of at least 100 words. Do not use your real name or any personal information.
Start your letter in an appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2017-дополнительная сессия)
17. You have received
letter from your English pen-friend in which he/she is complaining that his/her
parents’ taste in clothes and his/her own preferences are different. So they
sometimes argue when buying new things for him/her
•
whether you have the same problem
•
what everyday and holiday clothes you prefer
•
give him/her advice on how to reach a compromise with his/her parents
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not use your
real name or any personal information. Start your letter in an appropriate way.
_____________________________________________________________________________
(2018-демоверсия)
18. You have received
letter from your English pen-friend in which he/she describes his/her visit to
a concert of his/her favourite rock band. Write a letter to your pen-friend in
which you tell him/her
•
whether you enjoy attending concerts and why or why not
•
when you last visited a concert and share your impressions of it
•
what your favourite pastimes are
Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not use your
real name or any personal information. Start your letter in an appropriate way.
______________________________________________________________________________
(2018-пробное)
19. Your English friend is preparing for his/her school
leaving examinations and feels very nervous as the exam dates are approaching
fast. Не/she wants your advice on how to deal with exam
stress.
Write him/her a letter in which you
• express your understanding of his/her problem
and support him/her
• share several ways of preparing for exams
• give some tips on how to reduce stress and
calm down before and during exams
Write a letter of at least 100 words.
Do not write your own name, any dates, addresses or
other personal information.
Start your letter in an appropriate way.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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