Formal transactional letter (complaint)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to complain about the holiday that my family went on with your company, Sunny Holidays, to Canary Islands after reading your brochure.

First of all, there were problems with the accommodation. Your brochure stated that in each apartment there was a fridge. In our room the fridge was not working and we wanted to put in some drinks in order to chill them, but we could not. Furthermore, on our TV, there were only two local channels available and not in English. So, we could not enjoy ourselves when we stayed in.

In addition, the beach near the hotel was not suitable for swimming, because it was very rocky and we had to go to another beach two miles away. Finally, the town centre was minutes away by car and not on foot so it cost us more.

We think that the brochure was misleading which is why we would like a partial refund.

We look forward to receiving a prompt replay.

Yours faithfully,

Mavradonaki Christina

Article on an unsual sport

Extreme ironing

Have you ever imagined taking an ironing board to a remote place and ironing your clothes? Well, that’s what an Englishman did in 1997. He liked the idea of an evening out rock climbing and decided to combine it with ironing. So he started a new extreme sport. He also travelled to the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and South Africa to promote the sport.

Two years ago I went to England and I had the chance to watch a team of 72 divers who ironed underwater. They stayed in the water for more than an hour and tried to break the previous record. They finally managed it.

However, quite often people doing this extreme sport get seriously injured. So others who are against it organise campaigns to inform people about the dangers and try to turn them to safer sports.

To sum up, I believe that extreme ironing will get more popular. Although, I personally find this sport exciting, I wouldn’t like to try it and I recommend to everyone to think twice before starting it.  

Essay

Many people think it would be perfect if they were rich and successful. At first glance, it looks ideal. However, the life of rich and successful people is not always easy and fun.

Of course, being rich and successful has its advantages. For instance, you can help people if you want by participating in charities. In addition, they may gain more respect from society. People would care for them and do everything they can, so that they are happy. Furthermore, they can live a happy life, because they can afford to buy everything they want and they can provide a nice future for their children.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages in being rich and famous too. Because of their hard work, they usually do not spend enough quality time with their families. Another problem is that, when you are rich and successful, people make friends with you, just to benefit from your money. In other words, you do not know who are your real friends. Rich and successful people cannot enjoy and spend their money either. Their job, which might be stressful, may require time.

It would be nice if I were rich and successful, because I would like to use my money in good ways. However, I think that our family, our happiness and our health are more important than money. On balance, I do not think I would like to be rich and successful.

Formal transactional letter(complaint)

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are writing to complain about the holiday we booked with your agency after seeing the brochure.

First of all, the brochure claimed that there was a fridge in every apartment. However, the one which was in ours did not work, so we could not keep food or drink cold and fresh. In addition, it was said in the brochure that there was a TV with satellite TV channels, although the TV that was in our room had only two local channels which were not even in English.

Another problem was that the beach which was near the hotel was not suitable for swimming because there was rubbish everywhere and the water was very polluted. The brochure also stated that the hotel was minutes away from the town centre, but the truth is that it is a longer trip on foot. These problems forced us to hire a car to get around, which was a huge expense.

It is clear that the brochure was misleading and therefore we would like a partial refund.

We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Markos and Sofia Tournakis

Report

To: Mr Brown

From: Athanasia Tournaki

Subject: Making library more attractive to young people

Introduction:

In this report, I will make some recommendations to make the library more attractive to young people.

The library:

The library now is a really old building with old-fashioned decoration. However, it is very convenient because it is beside a school, so it attracts some people. The real problem is that it does not attract teenagers.

What teenagers would like

Teenagers do not really like studying, so a library is not their favourite place. they like connecting to the internet and chatting with their friends online. They also like watching films and listening to good music.

Recommendations:

I strongly believe the library would attract more young people if some things were different. First of all, we should stock the library with more interesting books teenagers would like. A new section especially for teenagers would also be made. In addition to that, I suggest that we add a section from whish young people can borrow classic films and documentaries as well as music. Creating special reading rooms with different colour scheme and decoration from the rest of the library would also improve its popularity with young people.

Most people nowadays know how to use computers and use them daily. Computers and the Internet have affected our lives a lot. They have made it easier, but much more dangerous, too.

Using computers has some good points. First of all, they are very informative. We can use the Internet to look up things that interest us and find information quite quickly. Computers can also be very educational. We can use them to do research for school or to learn about many different things. Another good point of computers is that they are entertaining. People can use computers to watch movies, as well as to play computer games.

Although there are many reasons why we should use computers, there are some reasons not to. Firstly, the Internet is very dangerous for people who do not know how to use it properly. They can catch a virus which could destroy their computer or even hurt themselves when they meet bad people online that trick them into meeting them. Computers are not suitable for all ages either. Young children must not be allowed to use computers, as they can see some things they are not supposed to see.

In conclusion, I believe that the use of computers can be very useful and fun, but we must not use them too often because that might lead to serious problems.

PET writing

Dear Eve,

Thanks for your last letter! I loved the photos you sent me!

You said you wanted to know more about music in Greece. Well, there aren’t many talented Greek singers. The good ones are the ones that have been famous for many years now. Nobody is really talented nowadays.

There aren’t many live concerts either. However, there are some huge clubs where famous or unknown singers appear on stage and sing. You can enjoy them while eating or drinking and you can even throw flowers at them. It’s quite amusing!

I love music since I play the keyboards, but I don’t have a favourite singer or group. I like pop and rock music, but I hate rap.

I hope the information I gave you was helpful.

Love,

Nassia

PET writing

Carla looked at the car in surprise. It was her mum’s gift for her 21^st birthday. It was the best present she had ever received.

“Thanks mum! You’re the best!”, she said.

“I hope you like the colour.”, her mum told her.

“Oh yes! It’s my favourite colour!”, she answered.

Carla’s mum went inside the house and started baking a birthday cake. Carla decided to try out her new car. She got in and started driving. She started whistling happily. She was so excited. She returned to her house, opened the door and turned on the lights. Suddenly, she heard:

“SURPRISE!”.

At the end, she felt so lucky all of her friends had thought of her. It was the best birthday she had ever had!

PET writing

Dear Eve,

Thanks for your last e-mail. I loved the photo you sent me! You asked me to give you some advice on how to keep fit and healthy. First of all, you should eat healthier meals and have a balanced diet. You should always have a good breakfast to keep you active all day long. You also ought to eat all kinds of food

Although your diet is very important to stay healthy and fit, exercising is quite important, too. You should exercise at least twice a week. Find a sport you like, tell your friends to join you and have fun!

I hope my advice was helpful!

Love,

Nassia

Formal letter(to a newspaper)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I read your article about traffic three days ago. I could not agree more with you. Traffic is, indeed, one of the biggest problems modern cities face, nowadays.

Unfortunately, mothers and fathers picking up their children are not the only ones causing problems. The main problem is the number of cars each family uses. Some families may even have three cars. Another problem is that people are getting lazier and lazier, so they use their cars more that they use their feet.

However, the council and the citizens could do something to reduce traffic. For example, we could use our bikes more. Many countries in Europe have already tried to encourage people to use their bikes and they were successful. Another good idea is to reduce the price of public transport, so that more people use it.

I think we must all try to reduce traffic.

Yours sincerely,

Athanasia Tournaki