Communication and Functional English: Register, Messages and Politeness
Communication and Functional English tests English in use: message and note writing, dialogue and dialogue completion, email and letter etiquette, directions and instructions, requests and offers, and the choice between formal and informal register.
Register
Formal writing avoids contractions and slang and prefers a single verb where possible (request, not ask for). Informal writing between friends allows contractions and direct address. Match the greeting to the closing: Dear Sir or Madam with Yours faithfully; Dear Mr Sharma with Yours sincerely; Hi Rohan with an informal sign-off.
Messages and notes
A telephone message records the date and time, the caller's name, the recipient, the message itself and the writer's name. Keep it to about 40 to 50 words and use reported speech, because you are passing on someone else's words.
Politeness
Modals soften a request: Could you please..., Would you mind..., I was wondering if... Directions use imperatives with sequence markers: go straight, turn left at the post office, and it is the second gate.
Worked example
Blunt: 'Send me the report by Friday.' Polite email version: 'Could you please send me the report by Friday?' Reasoning: the request is unchanged, but could you please turns an order into a request, and the email adds a subject line (Request: report by Friday), a salutation and a closing, which are the three elements examiners look for. Would you mind sending... is equally correct but requires the -ing form.
Traps
Mixing Dear Sir with Yours sincerely, omitting the caller's name from a message, writing dialogue without speaker labels, using bare imperatives in a formal request, and forgetting the subject line in an email.