Ah! He's so hot! Oh! Hi guys! I was just uh
checking my comments to see if i've got any more messages or emails from my fans and... Ah!? "I
know it's been a long time since we've met up and I miss you more than ever. I know you're an
internet celebrity now but I'll be in town for a few days next week. Maybe we can get together?
Are there any restaurants you recommend? What else is there to do in the evenings where you live?
Always yours, Johnny.". Oh my God! It's Johnny! I thought things were over between us! Seriously,
guys I thought he was done with me but obviously not! Obviously Monica is irresistible! I knew
it. For part two of the B2 First Writing exam you could choose to write an email, an informal email!
But how do we know if an email is informal and what must we do to get the highest marks possible?
My name is Toby this is SMASH English and here is everything you need to know about writing an
informal email for the B2 First Cambridge exam! I can't believe Johnny sent me an email! Oh my
god! I'm having a panic attack! I'm having a panic attack! Guys! I'm having a panic attack! Someone
please help me! The first thing to do is stay calm. We need to write between 140 and 190 words.
The first thing we must ask ourselves is who is our target reader? Who are we writing our email
to? In this situation we are writing our email to an old friend. Now we must identify the tone of
the email. Is the email formal or informal? If the email is formal then we must write formally,
if the email is informal then we must write in informally. So how do we know if an email
is informal? Well let's take a look! Yes... yes. The first question we must ask ourselves
is does the writer use contractions? If the answer is yes this suggests the letter is
informal. Well, I can see four contractions. Next, can we identify any informal
language like phrasal verbs or idioms? We have the phrasal verbs "meet up" and "get
together" so we can say that this letter is informal. So we also need to respond with
informal language. OK, so I need to be cool and informal! Yeah actually that's a great
idea! Johnny would really like that! Next we need to identify what we need to do! Remember the
examiner should be able to understand everything that was written in the original email without
reading the original email. Your email should make it very clear that you have understood the
original email and responded to all of the points. If you don't do that then you will score less
marks in CONTENT and if you don't know what CONTENT is then watch my video all about the
marking scheme for the writing exam that B2 First examiners use because it's really good,
useful, fantastic... and I need more views so please watch it! Bye! Because of this it is vital
that we understand everything that we must include in our email. So we should read the original
email and underline all of these things and in our head we will call them TASKS. TASKS
are the things that the original email asks us to do and we must do them or we will die a
death of bad Cambridge marks! Which is worse than death! Seriously if you fail the B2 First exam you
will wish you were dead! wW should mention that it's been a long time and acknowledge that Johnny
misses us. Yeah, he needs to understand that I miss him too! Yeah okay then. We should
say that we want to get together with him. Yes! Oh my god! Absolutely! I want nothing more!
Oh my god! What am I gonna wear!? I don't even... Can you shut up please? Now, Johnny has asked two
questions. The first is about whether there are any restaurants we recommend and the second
is what else there is to do in the evenings. So that gives us four tasks. ONE: it's been
a long time and we miss him obviously. TWO: do we want to meet up with him? THREE: are
there any restaurants we recommend? And FOUR: what is there to do in the evenings? Johnny! I
love you and I want to meet up now! Okay! Bye! What was that? Well I was so nervous so decided
to call him instead but then I got scared and... Oh I've ruined everything! Oh Jesus
Christ.... Our email must follow a structure... like everything. Let's have a look at our tasks
then. I think we can put tasks one and two in our first paragraph - in our introduction
to our email. I think in paragraph two we can talk about restaurants and in paragraph
three we can talk about things to do in the evenings. Then I think we need a paragraph
four to say goodbye, a nice informal way to say goodbye... not like Monica's phone call
just now, that was that was embarrassing. Hey! Yeah ignore the call from before it wasn't me
it was my my mom! Yeah she called you pretending to be me because she's just horrible! I hate her
so much! I wish she were dead! Actually no I don't but uh... I just love you okay!? I love you so
much but but not too much I'm not obsessed or anything like that um... Another one!?Johnny is
a lucky man! Yes he is! Here is our structure. Let's start with our introduction then. I think
we should open our email with something cool, hip and informal like "Hey Johnny!". Okay, yeah,
sure, um what about the exclamation mark? Is that a bit too much? This is informal. Exclamation
marks are a fantastic way to appear happy, relaxed and casual and you Monica, are a very
casual girl. Yeah, I'm a casual girl but I'm looking for a serious relationship, you know? I'm
really tired of going from guy to guy to guy to... Okay. Next we need to ask an informal question.
Um... Do you still love me? No... no... That's too heavy! What about "how's it going?", "how have
you been?", or "how are you doing?". Remember to use contractions! These are all informal ways of
saying "how are you?". Okay! Let's say "how's it going". I like that one a lot. Next we need to
say how we are doing so we can follow this with "I'm doing great" or "I'm doing okay, I can't
complain". I want to be super positive and happy because I've really found myself since
breaking up with him so "I'm doing great". Johnny! I miss you so bad!!! Now let's say
how happy we are that Johnny has contacted us. So we can say "it's great to hear from you"
or "I'm so happy that you've got in touch". Well I'm super happy so "I'm so happy you've
got in touch". So this is our introduction for an informal email and it will always always
stay the same! Hey Johnny. How's it going? I'm doing great! I'm so happy you've got in touch!
Now we need to be more specific to the email. Our first task is "it's been a long time and we
miss him" so we should definitely mention that and our second task is to say that "yes of course I
would love to get together with you, Johnny!". So let's look at an example. You're right it's been
far too long. I miss you too! It'd be wonderful to catch up! yeah... uh... What day are you
coming? Notice here we have used the phrasal verb to CATCH UP. This means to meet someone and
update each other about our lives. Remember this is an informal email so we need to
use informal phrasal verbs like this. We are also directly acknowledging what Johnny
said. You're right it's been far too long. This indicates to the examiner that we have understood
the email and are responding directly to it. Again the examiner must be able to understand
what the original email said without needing to read it. We have also asked a question which
extends the interaction. Remember this is an email so asking questions to the recipient,
the person who receives it, is important and we have our introduction. Next we need to work on
paragraph two which is about task 3 which is about restaurants. All we need to do in this paragraph
is recommend some restaurants to Johnny, so let's give him some options. As for restaurants,
it really depends what you feel like. AS FOR plus NOUN is a good informal way to introduce
a topic. We have also used the expression to FEEL LIKE SOMETHING. This just means "want" but it's
informal and will make the examiner feel excited and wow! We love exciting the examiners! Now let's
use conditional structures for suggestions! I love conditional structures! They're amazing! Also,
Toby has a whole playlist about conditionals! A whole playlist about conditionals? Yes a whole
playlist about conditionals! Right here! Click it! Learn! Enjoy the magic! The magic! If you're
into spicy food there's a great Indian restaurant near me but it's a bit pricey and we'd need to
book so let me know. Here is a zero conditional. Notice how we have used TO BE INTO instead of
LIKE. Yeah I love that! Okay good! We have also used the word PRICEY instead of expensive. If
that's not your thing we could grab a bite at the pub instead. There are loads to choose from
and they're really cozy. Instead of saying "if you don't like that" we have said "if that's not
your thing". Instead of saying "we could eat" we have said "we could grab a bIte". We have also
used the modal verb COULD for suggestions and the adjective COSY. I think that's enough for
restaurants so paragraph two is finished and so is task three "recommending restaurants". So now we
need to move on to paragraph three and task four: talking about what there is to do in the evenings
where Monica lives. So, Monica... What is there to do in the evenings where you live? Yeah um we
could go to the cinema, we could go for a walk, or we could go back to my house and have s...
Okay that's three things! Cinema, walk, house. Let's see what we can do with that information.
Oh god disgusting! I'm such a naughty girl! After dinner why don't we catch a movie? I'll
check to see if there are any good films on or if you wanted to we could take a stroll around
the park. It could end up raining though so in that case my house isn't far. We could hang out
there! Yeah this is perfect. We've said "catch a movie" instead of "watch a movie". It's a
suggestion so we have used "why don't we". We've also used a second conditional for another
suggestion and used the expression "take a stroll" which is an informal way of saying "go for a
walk". We have then used COULD for possibility with END UP raining. The phrasal verb
END UP refers to an unexpected result and we have used this in a concessive clause
with THOUGH. Finally we have the phrasal verb HANG OUT which just means to spend time with
friends informally. So, in total we have this. That's around 150 words so we're doing great! Now
we just need to conclude the email. We don't want to seem like we have too much free time, do we?
Otherwise we could look desperate and pathetic. No way! I'm a really busy girl and I don't have
a lot of time! Netflix is not gonna watch itself! Okay so let's say: anyway I've got a
dash! Write me back as soon as you can, OK? I can't wait to hear back from
you! "I've got to" means "I must". DASH here means "run". So "I've got to dash"
means "I need to go" because I have lots to do. This closing formula can be used for all
informal emails. Okay so how do I say goodbye? Shall I say "Love Monica" or... You can if
you want... But I think again that's a bit heavy. Don't say LOVE unless you are writing
an email to a boyfriend or girlfriend or a family member. Yeah, you're totally right!
He's not even my boyfriend yet! So what about "yours sincerely"?. That's too formal. Instead try
"take care", "all the best", "best wishes", "see you soon". Or you can just write your name. It's
a bit cold but it depends who you're talking to. Considering that we, well you, are going to
see Johnny next week, I think "see you soon" is appropriate here. Okay then so, "see you soon,
Monica". I like it! Sexy! So this is our email. It's the right number of words, it's informal,
we have included all the information necessary and used a variety of relevant vocabulary and
grammar to fulfill the requirements of the task. Perfect! Just look at it! Fantastic! I cannot wait
for Johnny to receive this beautiful, fantastic, wonderful email written with the
help of SMASH English and I am sure your examiners will feel the same. So that is how
you write an informal email! Step one: identify the tone. Is it formal or informal? Informal
email yeah... Who are you writing your email to? Step two: identify the tasks! How can you write
your email If you don't know what you must include in your email? It's very difficult to do that!
Have you ever tried? I haven't because I always plan. Great guy, great guy. Step three:
organize your paragraphs. Where in your email are you going to do the tasks? Are you
going to do all of them in one big paragraph? Don't do that... That's a really stupid idea...
Or are you going to dedicate one paragraph to each task? Maybe you want to have one paragraph
for two tasks if they're both very similar. You decide! Just make sure you do the tasks
and you have some organization. Step four: write it! Make sure you're using vocabulary
specific to the task and make sure that the grammar that you're using has the correct
function to adequately do the task. And of course there will be more all about that
in another video. If that video already exists it will be here! If it doesn't, it won't be here...
and then you will cry and subscribe and wait. Oh my god it's Johnny! Hi, Johnny it's Monica!
Well, you know that don't you? Yeah.... yeah... uh-huh oh oh okay..yeah. yeah.... okay... bye... Well like my life I guess this was a complete
waste of time. If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button, subscribe if
you haven't already, leave a comment down below! My name is Toby and this was SMASH English...
