A Visit Request That Does Not Fit the Calendar
You are the secretary of the student council at a high school in Akita. On 12 September you receive this email from Ms Chai at a partner school in Chiang Mai:
'We would like to bring 24 students and 2 teachers to your school on 3 November. We hope to visit two English classes and hear a short welcome speech in English. Please tell us whether lunch is available at your school, and confirm the visit by 20 September.'
You check with the office and find:
- 3 November is a national holiday and the school is closed. 5 November is the only day that week when classes run normally.
- The gym is under repair until December, so the school can host no more than 20 visitors in one place at one time. Individual classes can take 20 extra people.
- The cafeteria is closed on 5 November for an inspection. A nearby shop delivers boxed lunches at ¥550 each if ordered three days in advance.
- The English club can prepare a five-minute welcome, but only two members are free on 5 November. The principal is away that day, and the vice-principal can give the greeting.
1. Identify the three conflicts between the request and your school's situation, and give a workable solution for each.
Read the worked answer
Conflict 1 - date. 3 November is a national holiday; the school is closed, so the visit cannot happen then. Solution: counter-propose 5 November, the only normal teaching day that week, and answer before the 20 September deadline so the partner school can rebook flights or buses.
Conflict 2 - group size. 26 visitors exceeds the 20-person cap that the gym repair imposes on any single gathering. Solution: split the group into two halves of 13 and rotate them - half A in class while half B receives the welcome, then swap - so no room ever holds more than 20. Two English club members are free, which conveniently allows one welcome per half.
Conflict 3 - lunch. The cafeteria is closed on 5 November, so the easy 'yes' is false. Solution: order 26 boxed lunches at ¥550 (¥14,300 total) by 2 November, three days ahead as required, and tell Ms Chai who pays and what the students may choose.
Also missing: the 'short welcome speech' must be trimmed to the five minutes the club can actually prepare, and the greeting comes from the vice-principal, not the principal - say so rather than quietly substituting.
2. Write the first three sentences of the reply email (about 40–60 words). They must handle the date, answer the lunch question, and reach the partner school before 20 September.
Read the worked answer
Model opening (57 words):
'Dear Ms Chai,
Thank you for your email of 12 September. I am afraid 3 November is a national holiday and our school will be closed, so may we suggest 5 November instead? Our cafeteria is closed that day, but we can order boxed lunches at ¥550 each if you tell us your numbers by 2 November.'
Why these three sentences and not others. Sentence 1 acknowledges the message and starts the clock on the deadline. Sentence 2 does the hard thing first - it refuses the date and immediately offers the alternative, because a refusal without a proposal would strand the partner school. Sentence 3 answers the lunch question honestly and attaches the two numbers that make the answer usable (price, ordering deadline).
What is deliberately left out: the group-size problem. It needs explanation and belongs in the body, not the opening; stuffing it into sentence 2 would bury the date change. Exam markers look for a refusal plus alternative, a conditional answer, and no false 'yes'.
3. Ms Chai asked four things. Which one cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, and what must you do instead?
Read the worked answer
The date. It cannot be answered 'yes' (the school is closed on 3 November) and it cannot be answered with a bare 'no', because a plain refusal on 15 September would leave the partner school with no visit at all and no time to rearrange. What you must do instead is counter-propose: name 5 November, explain why in one clause, and ask for confirmation by a stated date.
Why the others can be handled more simply. The class visits can be accepted with a size condition attached. The welcome speech can be accepted but shortened to five minutes. Lunch is genuinely conditional - 'yes, at ¥550 each if ordered by 2 November' - which is still a yes/no frame with a condition attached, not a negotiation.
Judgement being tested: distinguish a question that needs a decision from a question that needs an alternative. Only the date requires you to supply a new option, because only there does the honest answer destroy the plan.