Writing a Formal Email Under a Word Limit
You must write a 120–150 word formal email in Armenian to a community centre, requesting a room for a Saturday Armenian-language reading club. Constraints: (1) use formal address ("Duk"), (2) state the date, time, and expected attendance (about 15 people), (3) ask about the rental fee, and (4) close politely. You have 20 minutes. You are tempted to open with a long personal introduction about your love of literature, which would use about 40 words.
1. How should you allocate your word budget to meet all four requirements within 120–150 words?
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A long personal introduction (about 40 words) would consume roughly a third of the budget before any requirement is met. Better allocation:
- Greeting and purpose (~20 words): formal salutation, state you are writing to request a room.
- Details (~45 words): date, time, expected attendance of about 15.
- Fee question (~25 words): ask about the rental fee and any conditions.
- Polite close (~20 words): thanks and formal sign-off.
That totals roughly 110 words of substance, leaving room to reach the 120–150 range with natural connectors. The personal introduction should be cut or reduced to a single clause, because it does not serve any of the four required points.
Key principle: map each requirement to a budget line and cut material that does not serve a requirement.
2. What is the main risk of using informal address in this email, and how do you avoid it?
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The task requires formal address ("Duk"). Using informal "du" would break the register expected for a formal request to an institution and could cost marks for appropriateness, even if the grammar is correct.
To avoid it: use "Duk" and its verb forms consistently, choose formal greetings and closings, and avoid colloquial vocabulary. Check every verb ending that agrees with the addressee, since a single slip shifts the register.
Key principle: register is a scored feature, not decoration. Consistency matters more than one fancy phrase.