Writing: Apologising to a Host Family
A student, Priya, has been staying with a family in Leipzig for two weeks. On Friday she stayed out until 23:30 without telling anyone, because her phone battery died. The host father was clearly worried and spoke to her briefly on Saturday morning. Priya now has to write a short note (about 60–80 words) in German to apologise, explain, and suggest how to avoid it happening again. She is worried about making grammar mistakes and is tempted to write a very short note to reduce errors.
1. Draft the note and explain the choices you made about content and length.
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Model note:
Liebe Familie Weber, es tut mir sehr leid, dass ich am Freitag erst um halb zwölf nach Hause gekommen bin. Ich habe vergessen, Ihnen Bescheid zu sagen, und mein Handy war leer. Das war nicht in Ordnung und ich verstehe, dass Sie sich Sorgen gemacht haben. Ab jetzt schreibe ich Ihnen eine Nachricht, wenn ich später komme, und ich lade mein Handy jeden Abend. Vielen Dank für Ihr Verständnis. Viele Grüße, Priya
Choices:
- Apology first (es tut mir leid), then explanation, then concrete fix. This order matters more than perfect grammar.
- 'halb zwölf' for 23:30 - German tells half-hours toward the next hour.
- Formal Sie/Ihnen for the host parents.
- Length is met by adding the fix and a thank-you, not by padding.
A very short note would technically have fewer errors but would fail on content - the task asks for apology, explanation and prevention.
2. Priya wants to cut the note to 30 words to avoid mistakes. Argue for or against, using the task requirements.
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Against. The task specifies roughly 60–80 words and three functions: apologise, explain, suggest a solution. At 30 words she can manage perhaps two of the three.
Marks in beginner writing are usually split between communication/content and language. A short, error-free note loses content marks that grammar accuracy cannot recover. A 70-word note with two small errors will generally score higher than a 30-word note with none.
Better strategy: keep the length, but control the grammar - use short main clauses, avoid complex subordinate clauses she is unsure of, and reuse structures she knows (es tut mir leid, dass…; ich verstehe, dass…; wenn ich später komme, schreibe ich…). Accuracy within a full answer beats brevity.
3. Identify two likely errors in this kind of note and how to avoid them.
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1. Time expressions. 'um halb zwölf' means 23:30, but learners often write 'um elf Uhr dreißig' (acceptable but less natural) or confuse halb zwölf with 12:30. Learn the pattern: halb + next hour = 30 minutes before it.
2. Register. Mixing du and Sie in one note is a common slip, e.g. 'Ich habe vergessen, dir Bescheid zu sagen' to a host parent. Decide the register before writing and keep it consistent: Ihnen, Sie, Ihr.
Also watch: verb position after dass (…dass ich zu spät gekommen bin), and sich Sorgen machen - reflexive, so Sie haben sich Sorgen gemacht.
Method: write the note, then check only three things - time words, register, verb at the end of dass/wenn clauses. That catches most beginner errors without rewriting everything.