Aptis for Teachers: Writing Test 3

Aptis for Teachers Writing Test with Sample B2 Answers: Practice Test 3

Part One

You have joined an organisation called ‘Education for Everybody’, which aims to improve education in developing countries around the world. You have 5 messages from another member. Write short replies (1-5 words) to each message.

Suggested time 3 mins.

1. Where do you teach?  A secondary school in Nukus.
2. What do you teach?  I teach maths and physics.
3. What’s the weather like at the moment?  It’s stormy and humid.
4. What’s your favourite film?  The Godfather – a true classic!
5. Do you read a lot of books? No, I prefer watching television.

Highlighted language:

John goes through this in the video.

Part Two

Before you go on the exchange visit, you have a form to complete. Use 20–30 words.

Suggested time: 7 mins.

How much time can you dedicate to the organisation, and when’s the best time to meet?

I work full-time, so I don’t have a lot of spare time. After 5pm and at weekends are ideal, though this will change in the school holidays.

Highlighted language: expressions with ‘time’

You can work part-time or full-time. You may also be able to work flexitime, which means having flexible hours rather than a fixed timetable.

Many of us don’t have much spare time or free time these days, so it’s important to use your time well. Try to spend time doing things you enjoy, as well as working! Find some ideal times for hobbies within your routine.

Part Three

Before you attend your first meeting, you have the opportunity to chat online to the other members. Talk to them using sentences. Use 30-40 words for each answer.

Suggested time 10 mins.

Benji: I’m one of the founding members, and I’d like to know why you decided to join.

Well, I’m about to retire and my children have all grown up and left home. I wanted to do something useful with my time, so I thought I could offer my experience to the teaching community.

Akbar: What type of volunteer work would you like to do?

I’m not really sure yet. As I’ve spent my entire professional career teaching maths, I could teach numeracy skills – or something more advanced, like bookkeeping or accounting. But I’m wondering about trying something different.

Nur: We’ve just heard that we’re going to get funding from the government. How do you think the money should be spent?

To be honest, right now I haven’t got a clue! But I’m sure that once I’ve been to a few meetings and done some research, I’ll have a better idea of the areas we should concentrate on.

Highlighted language:

Stages of life: children grow up, leave home (stop living at home with parents), work, retire …

Expressions of uncertainty: I’m not really sure / I’m wondering about …

Saying you don’t know: I haven’t got a clue! / I’ve got no idea

You can also have/get a good idea or a better idea of something.

John goes through the underlined language in the video.

Part Four

You have been involved with organising an event to raise money for the organisation. You receive this email from the secretary.

Dear Member

We are writing to inform you that we have decided to cancel the charity brunch you have been involved in organising. As you know, the event was planned to take place in two weeks, but unfortunately there are still only thirty people signed up.

Please understand that as we had expected at least 100 attendees, we would definitely make a loss if we held the event as planned. So, very regrettably, we have no choice but to cancel it due to lack of support.

We apologise to those members who have already done so much to organise the brunch, and we want you to know how much we appreciate all the work you’ve done.

Johnny Jessop

(‘Education for Everybody’ Secretary)

Task 1: Write an email to your friend who is also a member. Write about your feelings and what you think about the situation. Write 40-50 words.

Suggested time 10 mins.

Hi Sophia,

Have you seen the secretary’s message? I’m really fed up, as I’ve already spent so much time working out all the details. Why are they giving up so quickly? I’m sure that if they advertised it better, more people would come to the brunch.

Best,

Chris

Highlighted language:

fed up: colloquial synonym of ‘annoyed’

work out, give up: phrasal verbs for ‘calculate/organise’ and ‘stop trying to do something’ (remember that phrasal verbs are usually more informal, so very suitable for this email)

Task 2: Write an email to the management. Write about your feelings and what you think about the situation. Write 120-150 words.

Suggested time 20 mins.

Dear Mr. Jessop

I am writing in response to your email about the cancellation of the brunch. Although I appreciate that the organisation would lose money if only thirty people attended, I feel that you are abandoning the event too swiftly.

Perhaps it would be possible to save the brunch by organising some promotional activities? For example, you could place advertisements on popular websites, or hand out flyers to distribute in the area.

I also think it would be a good idea if you, or the president of ‘Education for Everybody’, did an interview with the local TV station. We need to emphasise the importance of raising money to improve education in developing countries.

As you mention in your email, many of us have spent time and effort organising the charity brunch, so I encourage you to make more of an attempt to save this event.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Guest

Highlighted language:

Note the use of the second conditional in general, and the modal verbs ‘could‘ and ‘would‘ for making suggestions. This softens the tone of the email and makes it more formal. Using perhaps or maybe has the same effect.

John goes through the underlined language in the video.