The Host Family Email Word Limit
Your school in Kagoshima is sending you to Oregon for a one-week home-stay. Your teacher gives you this writing task: Write a short email to your host family, the Smiths. You must (1) say when you will arrive, (2) explain one food allergy, and (3) ask one question about pets. Use 35–45 words. Begin with 'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,' and end with 'Sincerely,' plus your name, Yui. The arrival information says your flight lands at Portland airport at 4:30 p.m. on July 20. Your doctor's note says you are allergic to eggs. You want to know if the family has a dog because you are nervous around large dogs. Your draft currently says: 'Hello Smiths. I come to your house July 20 at 4:30. I cannot eat egg. Do you have dog? Yui.' Your teacher says the draft is too informal and too short, and it does not clearly ask about large dogs.
1. Write the email in 35–45 words. Count the words and show how you met each requirement.
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Reasoning: The email needs a formal greeting, a clear arrival time, a precise allergy, and a specific pet question. Short forms and missing articles make the draft informal or unclear.
Answer: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I will arrive at Portland airport at 4:30 p.m. on July 20. I am allergic to eggs. Do you have a large dog? I am nervous around large dogs. Sincerely, Yui
Count: 36 words. It gives the arrival time, states the egg allergy, and asks specifically about a large dog. It uses a formal opening and closing.
2. Explain two changes you made from Yui's draft and why.
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Reasoning: The teacher's complaints are about tone, length, and clarity. The revision must fix those, not just add words.
Answer: First, I changed 'Hello Smiths' to 'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,' because the task asks for a polite email to adults. Second, I changed 'Do you have dog?' to 'Do you have a large dog?' because Yui is nervous specifically around large dogs; the original question was too general. I also changed 'I come' to 'I will arrive' and 'I cannot eat egg' to 'I am allergic to eggs' for correct, clear English.
3. If Yui's email is 50 words, what is one specific way to shorten it without losing a required point?
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Reasoning: The required points are arrival time, allergy, and pet question. Removing one of them would fail the task. A safe shortening combines closely related information or removes unnecessary repetition.
Answer: Combine the dog question and the reason: 'Do you have a large dog? I am nervous around them.' This keeps the pet question and the reason but removes the repeated phrase 'large dogs.' Yui should not cut the arrival time or the egg allergy, because each is a required point.