PET

WRITING GUIDE
Structure
Tips
Writing useful phrases: letter/email and story
Samples & activities (with answer key)
Assessment scale
Punctuation rules

PET WRITING TIPS

Part 1
Remember you need to write no more than three words.
Look at the words before and after the gap to help with the meaning.
Look for structures you recognise in the first sentence. Underline them and think
of a different way of writing the same thing.
Be careful with verbs. Make sure that the tense or form you write is correct.
Check your answer has exactly the same meaning as the first sentence. Don't
leave anything out.
Part 2
Read the instructions carefully and underline the most important words.
Look at the verbs thank, suggest, tell, offer, invite, etc. Don't just repeat these
verbs in your answer - think about what to write that has the meaning of these
verbs.
Make some notes before you start writing. Decide on the best order. It is
probably the same as the order of the three points in the question.
Remember to include all three parts of the question. Don't put in too many of
your ideas.
Read you answer carefully. Check the number of words and your spelling and
grammar.
Part 3
Remember to choose only one of the questions in this Part. Read them both
carefully and underline the most important words. Decide which one you can
do best, but don't spend too long deciding.
Write suitable sentences to open and close your letter e.g. 'Than you for your
letter', 'How are you?' and 'See you soon', 'Write to me soon'.
Remember you must write about 100 words.
Make sure you have a beginning, middle and in your plan before you start
writing.
Remember to use past tenses when telling a story.
Check your answer carefully for spelling and grammar.
There are usually two or three parts to the question. Answer all of them and
don't write too many of your own ideas.

Useful Phrases for Informal

Letters/emails
On this page we will look at some useful phrases for informal letters (PET Writing Part
3).

Phrases
The words and expressions below are often used by native speakers when writing to
friends and relatives. Using them will help you write in an informal style and will also
help you organise your letter into clear paragraphs.
Starting your letter (Paragraph 1)
Thanks for your letter.
Lovely to hear from you.
How are you?
How are things?
Hope you're well.
Commenting on something (Paragraph 1)
I'm sorry to hear/learn ...
I'm so pleased to hear ...
It's great to hear ...
What wonderful news about ...
Moving the topic on (Paragraph 2)
Anyway, the reason I'm writing ...
I thought I'd write to tell/ask you
Anyway, I was wondering ...
Ending your letter (Paragraph 3)
Well, that's all for now
Write back soon
Looking forward to hearing from you again
All the best
Best wishes
See you soon
Take care
Yours
Love
Lots of love
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/preliminaryenglish/writing/phrases-for-informal-letters.htm

General Instructions
- Stay within the word limit.
- Make sure your text fits the title or the sentence you are given. Never change the title or this
sentence in any way.
- Always plan your story carefully before you start writing. First think of as many ideas as possible.
Then think about the beginning, the middle and the end of your story and divide your ideas into
three groups. Finally, write your story by writing one paragraph for each group of notes.
What to Write
What should you write about? That's up to you. You might like to write a true story, something
that happened to you or someone you know; you might like to write a fantasy, like a ghost story;
you might like to write about something exciting, like a rescue. That's the fun of story writing: the
fact that you can choose any subject. But whatever you choose, recognize your limitations. Don't

try to summarize an entire movie you've seen. In this length of story you only have the space to
write about one incident, one thing that happens. The rest of the story adds detail.
Point of View
A story can be told in either first person, that is, the point of view of the writer, or in third person,
a more objective presentation of the events. If you are taking the Cambridge First Certificate
exam, usually the exam question will determine the point of view. If the sentence you are given to
open or close your story is in first person, then write your story in first person; if it is in third
person, then the rest of the story should be as well. If you are given a title only, then you have a
choice, but remember: whatever you choose, stay consistent. Always use the same point of view
throughout the story.
Organization
Plan your story carefully. A good story doesn't just take off and go anywhere. When you are
writing a story as short as this, good organization is essential. Your story should have about four or
five paragraphs depending on the subject matter, but each paragraph should have its particular
topic and advance the story in a specific way. The organization should be like this:
1. Introduction (opening). The introduction informs the reader of the three Ws: who, when,
where. Who is the main character or characters in the story? When does the story begin?
Where does the story begin? Sometimes there is a hint of what and why as well. What are they
doing when the story begins and why are they doing it? Try to mention something interesting
that will hook the reader into wanting to continue reading.
2. Main part (development). This is the part where the action happens. In the second and third
paragraph there is usually a buildup to the main event in the fourth and last paragraph in the
main part. Remember, in each paragraph one specific thing should happen that advances the
story along.
In this part, it is very important to use a lot of linking words to arrange the different events in
sequence.

Starting:
First, / In the beginning, / At first,
Continuing:
Next, / Then, / Later, / After that, / (Soon) afterwards,
After (+ noun/sentence), / As soon as (+ sentence), / From (time), / until (+ noun/sentence)
After everyone had finished eating, Mr. Jones offered dessert. / After dessert, they played cards.
As soon as the woman left, Harry hurried to the kitchen.
From the moment she saw him, she knew he was going to be her future husband.
She waited until the afternoon. / She waited until everyone had left.
Making reference to a previous event:
Before (+ noun / -ing verb), / before (+ noun / -ing verb).
Before picking up the phone, he checked who was calling.
He checked who was calling before picking up the phone.
, but before (+ sentence).
Thomas went out, but before he checked if all the windows were closed.
Until then, / (sentence) before.
Until then, he had never felt so energetic. / He had never felt so energetic before.

Talking about a simultaneous action:

Meanwhile,
...
/
In
the
While (+ sentence -- usually in Past Continuous), ...
While I was waiting for the bus, I saw a man leaving the building with a suitcase.

meantime,

...

Adding something surprising:

Suddenly, / All of a sudden,
Suddenly, his body starting swelling. / All of a sudden, his body started swelling.
To [my/his/her/our/their] surprise,
To my surprise, the wallet was still there when I came back.
Finishing:
In the end, / Finally, / At last,
Ever since (time), / Since then, / From then on,
From then on, they decided to use their superpowers to fight crime in Valencia City.

3. Conclusion (resolution). In the conclusion there is usually a summing up, or lesson learned,
or the writer's feelings or impression of the events, if the story is told in the first person.
Verb Tenses
Stories can be fun to write but they are also challenging, and one of the most difficult grammar
aspects is the correct use of verb tenses. Stories should be told mainly in simple past tense, with
occasional use of past progressive or continuous, and past perfect. Don't mix present and past
tenses, and don't make the common mistake of using past progressive for simple past. Watch your
tenses!

PUNCTUATION RULES
1. Use capital letters:
a) At the beginning of every sentence.
b) For proper nouns, abbreviations of proper nouns, names of languages and nationalities,
days, months and the pronoun I.
Dont use capital letters for other words.
Example:
On Monday and Wednesday Juan and I go to our English class at the University of Seville. Our
first exam is going to be in February.
2. Use a period/full stop, question mark or exclamation point/mark at the end of every
sentence (only one per sentence). Dont put a question mark or exclamation point/mark at
the beginning of the sentence. Dont join sentences with commas.
Examples:
Incorrect:
- Where did you go on holiday?!!!
- We went to Kenya, the weather was good, we went on a safari, we took photographs of the
wild animals. It was very exciting!
Correct:
- Where did you go on holiday?
- We went to Kenya. The weather was good. We went on a safari and took photographs of
the wild animals. It was very exciting!
3. Dont end a list of words or a sentence with suspension points.
Examples:
Incorrect:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower,Versailles. . . when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents, my brother . . .
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea, Coke . . .
Correct:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles when I was in Paris.
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and other interesting places when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and my brother.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and other relatives.
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea or Coke.
4. Dont put a comma after so or but in sentences like these:
Examples:
Incorrect:
I was hungry so, I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger but, I didnt have any money.
Correct:
I was hungry, so I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger, but I didnt have any money.
5. Put a comma when a) making lists
Example
I like playing tennis, listening to music and watching TV.

b) To separate adjectives when there are a number of adjectives before the noun
Example
Hes an enthusiastic, hard-working student.
6. Put a comma after for example, however, moreover, nevertheless, in fact, as a
result, later, therefore, all in all, generally, finally, in my opinion, etc. and after a
time phrase at the beginning of a sentence. Put a comma after Also and Besides if they
are at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples:
He was tired. However, he couldnt sleep.
He likes lots of sports. For example, he plays football, basketball and tennis and goes
swimming every week.
He was hungry. Also, he was very tired.
He was hungry. Besides, he was very tired.
In 2014, he left school and went to university.
7. Put a comma before and after a non-defining relative clause. Dont put a comma before
defining clauses:
Examples:
My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel (nondefining)
He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope (defining)
8. When you put the subordinator at the beginning of a clause to introduce the main clause,
you
need to put a comma between the two clauses. When you put a subordinator between
two clauses to connect them, you should not use any punctuation
Examples:
Before he turned on the TV, he did his homework.
He did his homework before he turned on the TV.
When everyone in a family helps with the housework, they have a better relationship.
They have a better relationships when everyone in a family helps with the housework.
Sources: - http://institucional.us.es/aiidi/ rea de ingls (IDI)
- Compiled by author