A 25-Word Festival Invitation
Ren must write a 25-35 word email in English to his Australian exchange partner, Emma. The task has three conditions: invite her to the school festival on Saturday, October 18, from 10:00 to 3:00; give one reason why she should come; ask one question about food. Ren’s draft is 14 words: “Please come to our festival. It is fun. We have many shops. Do you like soccer?” His teacher says two conditions are missing, one question is not about food, and the word count is too short. Ren thinks adding “very very” before “fun” will fix the length. He has 15 minutes and a 40-word maximum. He also must not use Japanese. Emma has never visited Nagasaki, and Ren wants her to feel welcome.
1. Which two conditions are missing from Ren’s draft? What is wrong with his question?
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The two missing conditions are the date and time, and a question about food.
Ren never says Saturday, October 18, or 10:00 to 3:00, so Emma cannot know when the festival is. His question, “Do you like soccer?”, is about a sport, not food. He does have a reason, “It is fun,” although it is thin. The teacher’s “two conditions missing” therefore refers to the date/time and the food question, not to the reason.
2. Rewrite the email in 25-35 words so that it meets all three conditions. Keep it polite and natural.
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Model answer: “Hi Emma, please come to our school festival on Saturday, October 18, from 10:00 to 3:00. You can enjoy Japanese games. Do you like Japanese sweets?”
This is 26 words: Hi(1) Emma(2) please(3) come(4) to(5) our(6) school(7) festival(8) on(9) Saturday(10) October(11) 18(12) from(13) 10:00(14) to(15) 3:00(16) You(17) can(18) enjoy(19) Japanese(20) games(21) Do(22) you(23) like(24) Japanese(25) sweets(26). It includes the date and time, a reason (“You can enjoy Japanese games”), and a food question. The question is answerable even if Emma has never tried Japanese sweets.
3. Why does adding “very very” not solve the length problem? What should Ren add instead?
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Adding “very very” changes style, not information. The 25-35 word range is there to force content: date and time, a reason, and a food question. Repeating “very” may even sound childish and still leaves Emma unable to know when the festival is or what food question she is being asked.
Ren should add the missing date and time and a specific food question, and make the reason concrete, for example “You can try Japanese games.” Then he should count the words. More words are useful only when they carry new information.