Language Use: Correcting a Formal Exchange Email
A student has written this formal email to the coordinator of a school exchange programme. The task requires a polite request for information, correct grammar, and a formal register. Draft: ‘Dear Mrs Smith, I am writing to ask about the accommodation. I have been accepted to the programme since last week, and I am very exciting. Me and my family would like to know if the host family provide meals. Could you also tell me what time should I arrive? I look forward to hear from you. Best wishes, Liis.’ The teacher marks three language errors and one register problem. The student argues that ‘since last week’ is correct because the acceptance started in the past and continues now, and that ‘Me and my family’ is clear enough.
1. Correct three grammatical errors in the draft and explain the rule for each.
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Possible corrections: 'I am very excited' - use the -ed adjective for a person's feeling, not 'exciting', which describes the thing. 'My family and I would like...' - use subject pronouns, and put 'I' after 'my family' in formal style; 'Me and my family' is an object form in subject position. '...the host family provides meals' or '...host families provide meals' - subject-verb agreement: singular family + provides, plural families + provide. Also 'what time I should arrive' is correct indirect question order; 'what time should I arrive' is direct question order after 'tell me'. 'look forward to hearing' needs the gerund after the preposition 'to'.
2. Decide whether 'since last week' or 'last week' is better in 'I have been accepted to the programme since last week', and explain why.
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'Last week' is better: 'I was accepted last week' or 'I have been accepted, and I heard last week'. 'Since last week' works with a state that continues, e.g. 'I have been a student since last week', but acceptance is a completed event at a point in time. 'I have been accepted since last week' is unnatural because 'accepted' describes the result, not an ongoing action. The student's logic confuses a present result with a continuing action.
3. Improve the closing and one request to sound more formal.
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Request: 'I would be grateful if you could also let me know what time I should arrive.' Closing: 'I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Liis.' The modal 'would be grateful' and 'could' soften the request; 'let me know' is polite and clear; 'Yours sincerely' matches 'Dear Mrs Smith' when the name is known. Avoid 'Best wishes' in a first formal request and avoid the bare imperative 'Could you also tell me...' if a more formal tone is needed.