Formal Application: Register vs Grammar
A candidate is writing a formal email to apply for a summer volunteer post at a wildlife rescue centre. The post involves feeding animals and cleaning enclosures; the centre is a registered charity. The candidate is 17 and has no paid experience. The task asks for a formal letter of application of 120–150 words. The draft is handwritten and has no paragraph breaks. Draft: 'Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to apply for the volunteer position advertised for on your website. I have a lot of experience working with animals. I would be thankful if you could send me more details. I look forward to hear from you. Yours faithfully, Laura.' The candidate's choices are underlined: advertised for, a lot of, thankful, hear.
1. Correct the four underlined choices, explaining whether each problem is grammatical, lexical or register-related.
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1 advertised - 'advertised for' is wrong because 'the position' is the object of 'advertise'; the preposition belongs to 'apply for', not to the participle. 2 considerable or substantial - 'a lot of' is not ungrammatical, but it is too informal for a letter of application; this is a register problem. 3 grateful - 'thankful' is more common for relief about a situation ('thankful that no one was hurt'); 'grateful' is the standard formal collocation with 'if you could'. 4 hearing - 'look forward to' takes a gerund, because 'to' is a preposition. The first and fourth are grammatical; the second and third are mainly register and collocation.
2. The candidate wants to keep a friendly tone. Which of your corrections could be softened without becoming informal, and which must stay formal? Explain.
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Correction 2 ('a lot of' → 'considerable') is the one that can be softened most safely: 'some experience' or 'experience of' keeps a modest, human tone without sounding casual. Correction 3 ('thankful' → 'grateful') must stay: 'thankful if you could' is not the natural formal collocation. Corrections 1 and 4 are grammar, not tone, so there is nothing to soften. A friendly formal email can use 'I would be grateful' and still sound warm; the danger is mixing 'Yours faithfully' with 'a lot of' and 'hear from you'.
3. Rewrite the sentence 'I have a lot of experience working with animals' in two versions: one for the formal application and one for a message to a friend. Explain the changes.
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Formal: 'I have considerable experience of working with animals, including two years of weekend volunteering at a municipal kennel.' Friend: 'I've worked with animals quite a bit - I did weekends at the local kennel for two years.' The formal version uses 'considerable', a full prepositional phrase and specific evidence; the friendly version uses a contraction, 'quite a bit' and a dash. The information is the same; the grammar and lexis signal the relationship. The formal version also avoids overclaiming by naming the setting and duration.