Replying to a Concert Invitation You Cannot Accept
Alex, an exchange student, has sent Emi this message: 'I have two tickets for the Blue Harbour concert this Sunday at 2 p.m. Would you like to come with me? I paid ¥4,500 for each ticket, so please pay me back when you can. The gates open at 1:30, so we could meet at the station at 1:00. Also, should I ask my host family to drive us home afterwards? Please let me know by Friday.' Emi works at a bookstore every Sunday from 12:30 to 18:00. She has ¥6,000 saved and a math test on Monday morning. She would like to go, but she cannot change her shift this week because a coworker is on holiday. Her father can pick her up after the concert. Emi must reply in 60–80 words in English.
1. Write Emi's reply (60–80 words) and explain the choices you made in it.
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Model reply (about 75 words):
Hi Alex, Thank you for asking me! I'm really sorry, but I can't come on Sunday. I work at a bookstore from 12:30 to 6:00 every Sunday, and I can't change my shift this week. Please ask someone else to use the ticket - I don't want you to waste ¥4,500. If you're free in the evening, maybe we could have dinner after 6:30. You don't need to ask your host family for a ride. See you soon, Emi
Why it is built this way: the answer to the invitation comes in the second sentence, so Alex is not left guessing. One concrete reason replaces a vague 'I'm busy'. Alex asked three things, so three get an answer: the ticket (give it to someone else), the ride (not needed), and the meeting plan (replaced with an evening alternative). The math test is left out because it is not the real reason and would make the message sound like a list of excuses. The tone stays warm but does not over-apologize.
2. Which details from Emi's situation should be left out or shortened, and why?
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Leave out the Monday math test. It is true, but it is not why she cannot go, and stacking extra reasons makes a short message feel like a set of excuses. In a 60–80 word task, every sentence must do a job.
Shorten the work explanation. 'I work at a bookstore from 12:30 to 6:00 every Sunday' is enough; adding that a coworker is on holiday, that she asked twice, and that the manager said no triples the length without changing Alex's decision.
Keep, but compress, the money point. Alex spent ¥9,000 in total, so Emi should say clearly that she will not take the ticket, which frees Alex to invite someone else. One short sentence does this.
Also avoid repeating apologies. 'I'm really sorry' once is polite; three times sounds unnatural in English and uses up the word limit. The same principle applies to the closing - 'See you soon' is enough.
3. Compare these two openings. (A) 'Sorry, I can't go because I have a part-time job.' (B) 'I'm sorry, but I can't come on Sunday - I work at a bookstore every Sunday until 6:00 and can't change my shift this week.' Which is better for this task, and why?
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(B) is better, for three reasons that the exam actually rewards.
First, specificity. 'A part-time job' could mean any job at any time; naming the day and the hours shows the conflict is real. A reader can check (B) against the invitation and see immediately why Sunday at 2 p.m. is impossible.
Second, answering the actual question. Alex invited Emi to a specific event at a specific time, so the reply should refer to Sunday, not to work in general.
Third, usefulness. (B) tells Alex that the problem is the shift, not the concert or the friendship, which makes the alternative plan (meeting in the evening) natural.
(A) is not grammatically wrong, but it is thin: it gives no day, no time, and no way forward, and in a short message it can read as a brush-off. For email tasks, a clear reason plus a next step is the pattern to aim for.