Who, and where
Say who you are writing to and where you are proposing. Then say the one thing about the trip that you think will persuade them.
One decision before you write.
1. An email proposing a trip. What makes somebody say yes?
A model, and the rubric
Model — 148 words
Hi Marta,
I am free on the 12th and 13th and I am not going to get another free weekend until March, so I wanted to ask before it goes.
What about Nazaré? There is a bus from Sete Rios at 6.40 on the Friday, about two and a half hours, and I have found a guesthouse near the beach for €45 a night each. I have not booked anything yet.
I am going to be honest: it is going to rain on the Saturday afternoon. But there is a museum, and the whole point is the walking on Sunday morning anyway.
We would need to be on the ten o'clock bus back on the Sunday, which gets in at half past twelve.
Shall I book it? Let me know by Thursday and I will sort the guesthouse.
Nadia
The rubric — four criteria
| Criterion | What it means | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Answerability | They could say yes without asking a single question back | 30% |
| Future forms | All three used, each for the right meaning | 30% |
| Tone | Warm, and it does not assume the answer is yes | 20% |
| Length | 140–160 words, counted and written at the bottom | 20% |
Work from the model.
1. How many specific facts does it give — times, prices, places?
2. She writes I have not booked anything yet. Why say that?
3. She admits it is going to rain. Why include a negative?
4. The last two lines are Shall I book it? Let me know by Thursday. What do they do?
The shape of a proposal email
Six moves, in this order
| Move | Looks like | Future form |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Why now | I am free on the 12th and I am not going to get another weekend until March. | going to |
| 2 · The proposal | What about Nazaré? | — |
| 3 · The facts | There is a bus at 6.40… €45 a night. | present simple |
| 4 · The honest drawback | It is going to rain on Saturday. But there is a museum. | going to, prediction |
| 5 · The constraint | We would need to be on the ten o'clock bus. | conditional |
| 6 · The next step | Shall I book it? Let me know by Thursday and I will sort it. | will |
All three futures, doing three different jobs. Going to for the intention and the prediction, the present continuous for anything already fixed, and will for what you are offering to do once they answer.
If your email only uses one form, either the trip is entirely booked or entirely imaginary — and neither of those is a proposal.
Put the six moves in the order the model uses them.
Make it answerable
Four vague sentences from proposal emails. Rewrite each so the reader could say yes without asking anything.
1. There is a bus, I think.
2. It is not expensive.
3. We would be back on Sunday.
4. Let me know what you think.
One or two words per gap. This is the model, gapped — all future forms.
I am free on the 12th and I (going to / not get) another free weekend until March. There is a bus at 6.40 and I have found a guesthouse for €45. I (not / book) anything yet. I (going to / be) honest: it (going to / rain) on the Saturday. We (need) to be on the ten o'clock bus back. Shall I book it? Let me know by Thursday and I (sort) the guesthouse.
Write it, swap it, answer it
Task card · Writing
A 150-word email proposing a trip. Then somebody reads it and replies for real.
Six moves, 140–160 words, all three future forms. Then your reader replies — yes, no, or a question — and the question is the feedback.
- Write (12 min). Why now, the proposal, the facts, the honest drawback, the constraint, the next step.
- Proofread (3 min). Start with the one error you chose at the end of Lesson 6. Then count the words and write the number at the bottom.
- Swap (2 min). Read your partner's email once, as the friend it is addressed to.
- Reply (3 min). Say yes, no, or ask the one question you still need answered. Then find out whether they expected it.
Proofreading checklist. Answer about your own page.
1. Have you used all three future forms?
2. Every will — is the verb after it bare?
3. Is there a date by which they must reply?
What they had to ask
Your reader's reply is the feedback. If they said yes with no question, the email was answerable. If they asked something, that is the fact you left out.
Write their question at the bottom of your page. Next lesson you write the final version, and answering it is how it gets better.
Answer from the reply you got.
1. Could they answer without asking anything?
2. What was the question about?
3. Did you include an honest drawback?
Before the unit task
One question.
1. What makes a proposal email answerable?
Before Lesson 8. Keep your draft and your reader's question. Do not rewrite it tonight.
Next lesson you also do the whole thing out loud, as a role-play, with somebody who disagrees with half of it.