L1
Writing a letter quiz
Level A
1. Which type of letter is not likely to be formal?
A)
B)
C)
D)
making a booking
making a complaint
email to a friend
confirming an interview date
2. True or false? When writing an email you need to decide who should get a copy of your email
before you press the SEND button.
A) True
B) False
3. As well as thinking about your reader (or readers), what do you need to consider when writing
a letter or email?
A)
B)
C)
D)
the content
the layout
who formal or informal you are
all of these
4. When writing a letter, what is another word for 'layout'?
A) format
B) style
C) punctuation
5. How would you describe the 'content' of a letter or email?
A) how many paragraphs you include
B) the ideas and information you write
C) what you are asking for
6. True or false? The style of a letter or email means the language you are using and how
formal or informal you are.
A) True
B) False
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter quiz
7. When writing an email, what do you include in the 'Subject' box?
A) Your name
B) The name of the recipient (the person to whom you are sending the email)
C) The topic - what your email is about.
8. What is an email attachment?
A) part of your email address
B) a document or image you are sending with the email message.
C) a recipient in the cc box
9. When you are sending an email, why do you need to check the Cc box?
A) You need to make sure the Cc box is empty
B) This is where you put the email address of the person to whom you are sending the email.
C) If you want other people to get a copy of your email, you put their email addresses in the
Cc box before you send the email.
10. True or false? When you are writing an email, or if you are word-processing a letter, the
computer will identify all your spelling errors for you.
A) True
B) False
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter quiz
Level B
1. True or false? When planning a letter of complaint, you need to plan the letter.
A) True
B) False
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter quiz
Use this Freezer complaint letter to answer the rest of the questions in Level B:
40 Bentham House
Calderdale Road
Norwich NO1 2AB
19 July 2011
The Manager
Caldo Manufacturers
Southend-on-Sea
SO1 1YZ
Dear Sir or Madam
I was contacted on 30 June by your office and informed that urgent repairs were
needed to my fridge freezer as my particular model had been identified as
representing a fire hazard. Repairs to the fridge freezer were carried out on 18 July. I
noticed within 12 hours of the visit by your company representative that my fridge
freezer had stopped working. I have had to throw away all the food in my freezer.
This food was worth approximately £100.
I need to use my fridge freezer at all times and this situation has caused me great
inconvenience, in addition to the loss of so much food. As none of this is my fault, I
am writing to ask you to replace my freezer immediately and to recompense me for
the food which I have lost.
I hope to hear from you in the very near future.
Yours sincerely
Annamaria Joseph (Ms)
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
2. Look at the Freezer Complaint letter provided. The closing phrase at the end of this letter is
incorrect. What is wrong with it?
A) a comma is missing
B) The closing phrase should be 'Yours faithfully'.
C) The writer's name should start with the title.
3. What is another word for 'approximately'?
A) about
B) substantially
C) over
4. What does the word 'inconvenience' mean?
A) worry
B) expense
C) something that causes a delay or loss of comfort
5. Which paragraph in the letter of complaint outlines the reason for the complaint?
A) Paragraph 1
B) Paragraph 2
C) Paragraph 3
6. Which paragraph in the letter of complaint states what the writer wants the company to do?
A) Paragraph 1
B) Paragraph 2
C) Paragraph 3
7. What does 'This food' refer to?
A) all the food in the freezer
B) food I had planned to buy
C) food that was damaged
8. Which word or phrase in the letter means 'to pay me back'?
A)
B)
C)
D)
replace
recompense me
I was contacted
Repairs were carried out
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
9. What is the main complaint in this letter?
A) Food had to be thrown away
B) The fridge freezer stopped working.
C) Repairs were carried out on the fridge freezer.
10. True or false? A good way to check your first draft of a letter of complaint is to ask someone
else to read it.
A) True
B) False
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
Level C
1. If you are writing a letter to apply for a course, what do you NOT need to include?
A)
B)
C)
D)
say what you have done and learnt
state your future plans
say why you want to do the course
what your family think
2. When would you use this phrase: This gave me an insight into....?
A) saying why you want to do the course
B) saying what you have done or learnt
C) stating your future plans
3. When would you use this phrase: I intend to apply for.... ?
A) saying why you want to do the course
B) saying what you have learnt
C) stating your future plans
4. When would you use this phrase: I was responsible for.... ?
A) saying why you want to do the course
B) saying what you have done or learnt
C) stating your future plans
5. When would you use this phrase: I gain satisfaction from..... ?
A) saying why you want to do the course
B) saying what you have done or learnt
C) stating your future plans
6. What word comes next in this phrase? I take great pleasure .....
A)
B)
C)
D)
with
in
for
of
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
7. What word comes next in this phrase? This has given me practice .....
A)
B)
C)
D)
with
in
for
of
8. True or false? The phrase 'relevant experience' in a letter of application means previous
practice or experience that is matches this application.
A) True
B) False
9. What word comes next in this phrase? I have had to develop skills .....
A)
B)
C)
D)
with
for
in
of
10. When writing a letter of application, you need to write about your former studies. What does
the word 'former' mean?
A) qualifications that you want
B) previous studies
C) studies that you found difficult in the past
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
Answers
Level A
1. Which type of letter is not likely to be formal?
The correct answer is: C. An email may be formal but in this case it is likely to be informal as it
is an email to a friend.
2. True or false? When writing an email you need to decide who should get a copy of your email
before you press the SEND button.
The correct answer is: A. You put the email address of the person you want to receive your
email in the 'To' box. You can write other email addresses in the Cc or Bcc boxes.
3. As well as thinking about your reader (or readers), what do you need to consider when writing
a letter or email?
The correct answer is: D. You need to consider all of these issues when planning to write a
letter or email.
4. When writing a letter, what is another word for 'layout'?
The correct answer is: A. The 'format' means the same as 'layout' - what the letter or email
looks like on the page or on the computer screen.
5. How would you describe the 'content' of a letter or email?
The correct answer is: B. The content of a letter or email means the same as the ideas and
information you are including.
6. True or false? The style of a letter or email means the language you are using and how
formal or informal you are.
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
The correct answer is: A. There are different styles associated with different kinds of writing
but the style you choose also depends on who you are writing to.
7. When writing an email, what do you include in the 'Subject' box?
The correct answer is: C. This is a difference between a letter and an email. When writing an
email, you need to state the topic in the subject box.
8. What is an email attachment?
The correct answer is: B. An email attachment can be any kind of file such as a text, a picture
or a diagram. You send the attachment with the email by pressing the SEND button.
9. When you are sending an email, why do you need to check the Cc box?
The correct answer is: C. If you want your recipients to know who else has a copy of your
email you put their name in the Cc box. If you want to send the email to other people but you
don't want to share their email addresses, you could use the Bcc box instead.
10. True or false? When you are writing an email, or if you are word-processing a letter, the
computer will identify all your spelling errors for you.
The correct answer is: B. False. When word-processing, the computer will identify possible
spelling errors by underlining words using a wavy red line. However, the computer does not
pick up all spelling errors and there may be words that the computer does not recognise as
wrong because they are homophones e.g. you may have writtem ‘cause’ instead of ‘course’
and the spellcheck would not pick this up.
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
Level B
1. True or false? When planning a letter of complaint, you need to plan the letter.
The correct answer is: A. True. When writing a letter of complaint, you need to plan to make
sure that you have included all your points and that they are in the right order.
2. The closing phrase at the end of this Freezer Complaint letter is incorrect. What is wrong with
it?
The correct answer is: B. The letter should end 'Yours faithfully' as the writer is not sending
the letter to a named person. The ending on the letter is too informal for a complaint.
3. What is another word for 'approximately'?
The correct answer is: A. The word 'approximately' means 'about' or 'about the same as'.
4. What does the word 'inconvenience' mean?
The correct answer is: C. The word 'inconvenience' describes a state of difficulty, where there
is a delay and loss of comfort.
5. Which paragraph in the letter of complaint outlines the reason for the complaint?
The correct answer is: A. The first paragraph gives the reason for the complaint, including the
evidence.
6. Which paragraph in the letter of complaint states what the writer wants the company to do?
The correct answer is: B. In paragraph 2, the writer makes specific requests of the company.
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
7. What does 'This food' refer to?
The correct answer is: A. 'This food' refers to ''all the food in the freezer' which is mentioned in
the sentence before.
8. Which word or phrase in the letter means 'to pay me back'?
The correct answer is: B. The word 'recompense' in this sentence means to pay for damage
which has been caused.
9. What is the main complaint in this letter?
The correct answer is: B. The main complaint is that the fridge freezer stopped working after
the repair was carried out.
10. True or false? A good way to check your first draft of a letter of complaint is to ask someone
else to read it.
The correct answer is: A. True. It is very helpful to get someone else to read your draft letter
of complaint as they can let you know how your recipient might respond and if you need to
change the content, style or vocabulary.
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
Level C
1. If you are writing a letter to apply for a course, what do you NOT need to include?
The correct answer is: D. You need to be specific and to the point when writing a letter of
application. You don't need to refer to your family.
2. When would you use this phrase: This gave me an insight into....?
The correct answer is: B. This phrase is useful for saying what you have learnt from what you
have done in the past.
3. When would you use this phrase: I intend to apply for.... ?
The correct answer is: C. This phrase is useful for stating what you want to do in the future.
4. When would you use this phrase: I was responsible for.... ?
The correct answer is: B. This phrase is useful for saying what you have learnt from what you
have done in the past.
5. When would you use this phrase: I gain satisfaction from..... ?
The correct answer is: A. This phrase is useful for stating your interest in the course that you
are applying for.
6. What word comes next in this phrase? I take great pleasure .....
The correct answer is: B. The next word is ‘in’: 'I take great pleasure in......'
© BBC 2011
L1
Writing a letter – quiz answers
7. What word comes next in this phrase? This has given me practice .....
The correct answer is: B. The next word is ‘in’: 'This has given me practice in......'
8. True or false? The phrase 'relevant experience' in a letter of application means previous
practice or experience that is matches this application.
The correct answer is: A. True. The word 'relevant' means that the previous experience is
suitable for this new application.
9. What word comes next in this phrase? I have had to develop skills .....
The correct answer is: C. The next word is ‘in’: 'I have had to develop skills in...'
10. When writing a letter of application, you need to write about your former studies. What does
the word 'former' mean?
The correct answer is: B. The word 'former' means 'previous
© BBC 2011