Two Emails, One Register Problem
Your class has been asked to write two short texts in Italian about the same event - a weekend trip to the Sagra della Castagna (chestnut festival) in a hill town.
Text 1: an email to your Italian teacher, Professoressa Bianchi, explaining why you will miss Monday's lesson and what you learned on the trip. 60–80 words.
Text 2: a message to your host cousin Giulia, aged 16, inviting her to come next year. 40–60 words.
You draft one version and plan to send it to both. Your draft opens: Ciao Prof, sabato sono andato alla sagra e mi sono divertito un sacco. Lunedì non ci sono perché sono stanco. Ci vediamo!
1. Identify every problem with sending this single draft to both recipients.
Read the worked answer
Problems for the teacher (Text 1):
Ciao Profis too informal. Use Gentile Professoressa Bianchi or Buongiorno Professoressa.non ci sono perché sono stancois not an acceptable reason and is not an explanation - it reads as skipping class because you are tired. The task asks you to explain the absence; you need a real reason or a request.- No content about what was learned, which is half the task.
Ci vediamo!is too casual for a teacher; close with La ringrazio / Cordiali saluti.- Length: the draft is well under 60 words.
Problems for Giulia (Text 2):
- The register is actually fine for a 16-year-old cousin, but the content is wrong: it never invites her, and it is too long for 40–60 words.
Core judgement: the same facts need two different registers and two different purposes. One draft cannot serve both.
2. Rewrite the opening and closing of Text 1 so it is appropriate, and state the rule you are applying.
Read the worked answer
Model rewrite:
Gentile Professoressa Bianchi, Le scrivo per informarla che lunedì non potrò venire a lezione. Sabato sono andato alla Sagra della Castagna con la mia famiglia ospite: ho assaggiato le caldarroste e ho imparato molte parole nuove, per esempio «sagra» e «castagne». Mi dispiace molto perdere la lezione. Potrei avere gli esercizi da fare a casa? La ringrazio e La saluto cordialmente.
The rule: with an adult you do not know personally, use the Lei form throughout - Le scrivo, informarla, potrò, Potrei, La ringrazio. This affects verbs, pronouns and possessives, not just the greeting.
Why the body matters too: the greeting alone does not fix a register. If the middle of the email says sono stanco and ci vediamo, the Lei opening is undermined. Register is consistent across the whole text.
Also note: the closing formula (La ringrazio e La saluto cordialmente) is a fixed phrase - learn it as a unit rather than translating "see you".
3. Now write Text 2 to Giulia and explain two deliberate choices that differ from Text 1.
Read the worked answer
Model response:
Ciao Giulia! Sabato sono andato alla Sagra della Castagna: bellissima! Ho mangiato le caldarroste e ho comprato un piccolo regalo per te. L'anno prossimo vieni anche tu? Ti divertirai un sacco. Fammi sapere! Un abbraccio.
Two deliberate differences:
tuthroughout, with imperatives and direct questions - vieni anche tu?, Fammi sapere! Text 1 could not use these at all.- Purpose-driven content: Text 2 invites (vieni anche tu?) and persuades (Ti divertirai un sacco), where Text 1 informs and requests. The facts are shared; the function is not.
Also: Un abbraccio is a warm, informal sign-off suitable for a cousin; it would be wrong for the teacher, just as Cordiali saluti would be stiff for Giulia.
Reasoning: The exam marks register consistency and task fulfilment, not length or ambition. A short message that actually invites beats a longer one that only describes.