Unit 4 - writing a letter

1.

CAE
WRITING PART 2
A LETTER
english.teacher_irina

2.

Why is punctuation important?
Think about…
Clarity &
Coherence
Expressing
Complex
Ideas
Tone &
Emphasis
Grammar
Writing
Standards

3.

Clarity &
Coherence
• Punctuation helps to clarify the intended meaning of a sentence. It ensures that readers can
easily understand the relationships between words, phrases, and clauses.
• Proper punctuation contributes to the overall coherence of the writing, helping to connect ideas
and guide the reader through the text.
Grammar
• Correct punctuation is essential for demonstrating a good command of
English grammar. It indicates an understanding of sentence structure,
including the proper placement of clauses, phrases, and individual
words.
• Advanced writing tasks in the CAE exam often require candidates to
express complex ideas and present arguments. Effective punctuation is
crucial for organizing these ideas in a clear and logical manner.
Expressing
Complex
Ideas
Tone &
Emphasis
• Punctuation is a powerful tool for conveying tone and emphasis. The use of commas, colons, and
semicolons can help control the pace of the writing and highlight key points.
• Misplaced or missing punctuation marks may alter the tone of a sentence, leading to potential
misunderstandings.
Writing
Standards
• The CAE exam is designed to assess candidates' readiness for academic and professional
environments. Proper punctuation is a standard expectation in academic and professional
writing.

4.

Can you punctuate correctly?
Read this extract and add these punctuation devices where appropriate: apostrophe (’), comma(,),
full stop(.), capital letter (T), exclamation mark (!), hyphen(-), speech marks (‘...’).
The place where I spend lots of my time is my bedroom its got all my things there and ive painted it in
my favourite colours which are purple black and red and ive put posters on the walls theres a three
seater sofa too so I can watch tv there with my friends my mother calls it a hamsters nest because
there are lots of cosy throws on the bed there are also piles of clothes all over the floor unfortunately
Im not the worlds tidiest person

5.

Can you punctuate correctly?
Read this extract and add these punctuation devices where appropriate: apostrophe (’), comma(,),
full stop(.), capital letter (T), exclamation mark (!), hyphen(-), speech marks (‘...’).
The place where I spend lots of my time is my bedroom its got all my things there and ive painted it in
my favourite colours which are purple black and red and ive put posters on the walls theres a three
seater sofa too so I can watch tv there with my friends my mother calls it a hamsters nest because
there are lots of cosy throws on the bed there are also piles of clothes all over the floor unfortunately
Im not the worlds tidiest person
The place where I spend lots of my time is my bedroom. It’s got all my things there and I’ve painted it in
my favourite colours, which are purple, black and red, and I’ve put posters on the walls. There’s a threeseater sofa too, so I can watch TV there with my friends. My mother calls it a ‘hamster’s nest’ because
there are lots of cosy throws on the bed. There are also piles of clothes all over the floor. Unfortunately,
I’m not the world’s tidiest person!

6.

Functions
Find examples of the following in the sentences below: apostrophe (’),
comma (,), full stop (.), capital letter (A), colon (:), semi-colon (;), dash (-),
speech marks (‘..’), exclamation mark (!). What are the functions of each?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I love all fruits: pineapple, oranges, mango - fruit's my favourite food!
I'd like to go to Prague; it's famous for its architecture.
My sister's room is on the left and my brothers' room is on the right.
If you allow yourself time to do nothing, inspiration often strikes.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for some people to accept criticism.
Picasso was a painter, sculptor, print-maker, stage-designer and
ceramicist.
7. Michael Morpurgo, whose book War Horse was made into a film,
writes mainly for children.
8. ‘You can't wait for inspiration - you have to go after it with a club.’
(Jack London)
separate items in a list
separate an
introductory word,
phrase or clause
indicate possession
add extra information
to introduce a list
separate two main
clauses that are
closely linked in
meaning

7.

Practice
Add commas and apostrophes to these sentences where necessary.
1. If youre planning to start learning the piano youll need a good teacher a lot of time and a lot of patience.
2. Nureyev was the best dancer there has ever been in my view.
3. The DVDs that I watch the most are Wallace and Gromit.
4. The Artist which won most of the Oscars was a very imaginative movie.
5. Madame Tussauds is one of Londons oldest attractions.
6. My parents dog was looked after by my friends mother.
Add speech marks and appropriate punctuation to the following quotes.
1.
2.
ideas are like rabbits you get a couple and learn how to handle them and pretty soon you have a dozen
(John Steinbeck)
you write your first draft with your heart and you rewrite with your head the first key to writing is to write
not to think (Sean Connery)

8.

Practice
Because Im a singer I spend lots of time on the tour bus we get on board after one of our gigs at about 12 pm once
weve unwound we get into our bunks to sleep while the driver takes us on to the next venue
I sleep really well on the bus in fact when I go home to my flat in manchester i find it too empty very quiet and its
difficult to get to sleep on our current bus we have engineers and managers to go with us it accommodates 12 14
people
when we started out we travelled around in a mates old van we now have a double decker and my mum said yesterday
you could be in a nightclub when youre on your bus its decorated in red and black and has all the necessities a tv
fridge and a microwave