IGCSE ESL 0510 / 0511 · Formal email · B2 lesson pack

Use the model to notice purpose, organisation and language choices.

Read like a writer · B2

Model for science centre education team

Task: B2: formal email with a clear request, relevant details and a coherent follow-up.

Dear Education Team,

I am contacting you to enquire about arranging a visit for our Year 10 class on 18 May. The group comprises 22 students and two teachers, and our current unit focuses on energy transfers. A guided activity linked to this topic would therefore be particularly useful.

Could you confirm whether the date is available, including the cost per student? Please also advise whether you can accommodate a learner who uses a wheelchair and whether lunch space can be reserved.

I would appreciate a reply by 20 March so that we can finalise transport.

Yours faithfully,
Amina Rahman

1Orient the reader

2Develop the key point

3Close with purpose

Purposeful lexis

comprises · linked to · therefore · Could you confirm · I would appreciate

Grammar and register

Precise request, cohesive reason, respectful accessibility enquiry, deadline with purpose

Teach the lesson

Notice, rehearse, write and review

Notice · 8 minAnnotate audience, purpose and the three moves. Highlight the linkers and explain what each one connects.

Rehearse · 8 minDiscuss the prompt with a partner. Add one concrete detail and one reason or example.

Plan · 8 minUse three notes to map the moves. Choose a linker because it expresses the relationship you mean.

Write · 18 minDraft a response for the stated reader. Check that each paragraph adds a new purpose or point.

Review · 8 minUnderline the clearest evidence, circle the linking phrases and revise one sentence for precision.

Try it tomorrow

B2: formal email with a clear request, relevant details and a coherent follow-up.

Students mark who will read the text and what that reader needs.
They select two useful linkers from the model and explain their job.
They write a new response with original details, then use the checklist to revise.

Success criteria

Purpose and audience are clear from the opening.
Each requested point is developed with a specific example or reason.
Linkers express a real relationship between ideas.
The ending suits the text type and reader.

Teacher language

Useful language choices

comprises · linked to · therefore · Could you confirm · I would appreciate

Questions that draw out detail

What does your reader need to know first?
Which example makes this point convincing?
What relationship does this linker show: contrast, cause, sequence or addition?
Does the register fit the reader and purpose?

Feedback focus

Give one response on task coverage, one on organisation and one on a language choice that the learner can use again. Avoid treating a memorised phrase as evidence of control.

Adapt it by level

More support

Rehearse the ideas orally, use a three-box planning frame and offer two optional sentence openings. Keep the model visible while the learner plans.

Greater independence

Remove the frame, change the audience or purpose and ask learners to justify their choices of structure and register.

Course fit

B2: formal email with a clear request, relevant details and a coherent follow-up. Follow the current course task, audience, word guidance and assessment criteria. This teaching model is not an official examination response or awarded grade.

Check transfer

Use a fresh prompt and look for the same purposeful decisions expressed in the learner’s own words.

Proposing a curriculum-linked class visit