Writing a Formal Email: Register and Structure
The writing task asks you to write an email of 120–150 words in Hungarian to a language school, asking about a summer course. The prompt specifies: formal register, include (1) why you want the course, (2) your current level, (3) two specific questions about schedule and price, and (4) a polite closing. A student drafts an opening: „Szia! Mi van veled? Írok, mert kell egy tanfolyam.” They then list three questions but forget to state their level, and close with „Puszi, Dani”. The draft is 95 words.
1. Identify the register problems in the opening and closing, and rewrite them appropriately for a formal email.
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„Szia!” and „Mi van veled?” are informal greetings suited to friends, not institutions; „Puszi” is an affectionate sign-off, entirely inappropriate for a school. „Írok, mert kell egy tanfolyam” is blunt and colloquial. A formal rewrite: „Tisztelt Hölgyem/Uram!” or „Kedves Tanfolyamszervezők!” as the greeting; „Azért írok Önöknek, mert érdeklődöm a nyári tanfolyam iránt” as the opening sentence; and „Tisztelettel, Dani” or „Üdvözlettel, Dani” as the closing. The reasoning: Hungarian formal writing uses „Ön/Önök” forms, conditional politeness („szeretnék érdeklődni”), and fixed greeting/closing formulae. Register is assessed as part of task achievement, so informal markers can cost marks even if the content is correct.
2. The student omitted their level and wrote only three questions. Explain how to audit the draft against the four required content points and fix the gaps.
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The audit is a checklist match, not an impression. Required: (1) why you want the course - present („kell egy tanfolyam”, though weakly expressed); (2) current level - missing; (3) two specific questions - the student wrote three, so the requirement is met but should be trimmed or kept clearly as two; (4) polite closing - present but wrong register. Fixes: add a level sentence such as „Jelenleg B1 szinten beszélek magyarul” or „Középhaladó vagyok”; reduce to exactly two clear questions, e.g. „Mikor kezdődik a tanfolyam, és mennyibe kerül?”; and correct the closing. The reasoning skill is treating the prompt's bullet points as a marking rubric: each point must be explicitly and unambiguously present, because an examiner cannot award credit for content the reader must infer.
3. The draft is 95 words against a 120–150 word requirement. Explain the risk and how to expand without padding.
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Falling below the minimum risks losing marks for length and for underdeveloped content, just as exceeding the maximum does. The fix is not repetition but adding required substance that is currently thin: (a) a fuller reason for wanting the course („Azért szeretném elvégezni, mert a jövőben Magyarországon szeretnék dolgozni”); (b) an explicit level statement with a brief justification; (c) fuller formulation of the two questions with polite framing („Lenézne-e kérdezni, hogy…”). These additions serve the task's content points, so they raise both length and quality. Padding with filler (repeating the greeting, restating the same question) is detectable and earns nothing. The reasoning: word-count rules are a proxy for development, so expansion must come from required content, not from empty phrases.