Would you be interested in the following job vacancy? Why or why not?
Collaborative Reading of the Letter of Application Sample on page 46
Collaborative Exercise 2 on page 46
Structure for a Letter of Application
1. Salutation
Dear Sir or Madam
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. The following is a list of letter salutation examples that are appropriate for letters of application.
Dear Hiring Manager
Dear Search Committee
To whom it may concern
Dear Human Resources Manager
Dear Sir or Madam
2. The Introductory Paragraph
Begin by stating the job for which you are applying. Briefly mention how your skills and experience match the company and/or position; this will give the employer a preview of the rest of your letter.
I am writing to apply for the post of Fashion Shop Manager advertised in the ‘News Shopper’ of 14 February 2002.
3. The next paragraphs (the body)
In the following paragraphs, explain why you are interested in the job and why you make an excellent candidate for the position. Mention specific qualifications listed in the job posting and explain how you meet those qualifications.
Please see the example structure below:
(2nd paragraph) You might go and list your experience and relevant qualifications:
(briefly introduce yourself first) I am an ambitious and creative 25-year-old who have worked in the retail industry for a total of ten years, first as a sales assistant in a department store and for the last three years as a Section Head and Deputy Manager at Jones the Bootmaker.
(3rd paragraph) You might then go on to mention the particular abilities and skills that you have:
I believe I have all the skills, knowledge and expertise that you are looking for. I have lots of retail initiative, can schedule and prioritise tasks and can work to strict deadlines. I also work particularly well with people and would enjoy leading the team and working with clients and customers.
(4th paragraph) Say why you are particularly interested in this job:
I am applying for this position as I am looking to progress from junior to senior management. I have always been interested in the latest fashion trends and developments and I believe your organisation is a well-run quality fashion business. I would very much like to work for your company.
4. Closing paragraph
Conclude your letter of application by thanking the employer for considering you for the position and stating that you would like to interview.
You might close the letter with the following formula.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be able to invite me for an interview.
Yours faithfully XYZ
“Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully”?
“Yours sincerely” is typically employed in English when the recipient is addressed by name (e.g. “Dear John”) and is known to the sender to some degree, whereas “Yours faithfully” is used when the recipient is not addressed by name (i.e., the recipient is addressed by a phrase such as “Dear Sir/Madam”)
Say a weird thing you have ever done, for example, 'I have ever eaten cat meat.'
Asking about experiences
Have you ever jumped out of the bungee?
Yes, I have.
No, I haven't.
Have you ever heard about the Loch Ness Monster? As far as I know, it's a Scottish mythological character about which I heard for the first time when I was a child while watching TV.
Some years later, I had the opportunity of travelling to Edinburgh in 2020, which is the capital city of Scotland. While being in Edinburgh, I was strongly recommended to take a tour to the Loch Ness and the Highlands; so, I decided to do it the next day.
The next day in the morning, I took the bus for the tour two blocks away from my hostel. I was firstly taken to the Highlands then to the Loch Ness where I boarded a cruise. Unfortunately, the monster never appeared.
Many residents from Fort August, which is a town close to the lake, say that it hasn't appeared for a while. However, there are people who haven't lost hope of finding it yet.
Collaborative Online Exercise about Past Simple vs Present Perfect
Where have you been dreaming of travelling abroad? why?
I have been dreaming of travelling to Dubai because when I watched a series called Bling Dubai on Netflix I was so surprised at how magnificent the city is.
What about you?
I have been dreaming of travelling to... because...
Collaborative Online Exercise about the Present Perfect Continuous
Going to the cinema is one of my favourite leisure activities, but the theatre I like most is Cinepolis Cancun at Las Americas Mall.
There are too many cinema rooms at Cinepolis at Las Americas Mall in Cancun. However, there aren't enough movies to watch in a week because some films are projected in several rooms.
What I love when going to the cinema is to eat too much popcorn as it is delicious enough.
I take enough money with me for having a good time when I go there.
Collaborative Online Exercise about the use of 'too' vs 'enough'
Many people think that Monaco is ridiculously expensive. However, when I was there I realised it was not so expensive. In fact, London and Geneva are much more pricey than Monaco
After having taken the incredibly amazing sightseeing bus tour, I was totally starving. Consequently, I needed to look for an affordable place to eat in.
While walking quite slowly around the Casino Square, I suddenly saw a sign with a pair of golden archies. It was obviously McDonald's, so I was totally convinced where I had to go for having lunch.
After having arrived at the building where McDonald's was, a sign of Starbucks appeared pretty close to me as both restaurants were together on different floors. Hence, I decided to check the prices first.
After having reviewed the menus that were reasonably priced, I noticed that Starbucks was slightly more expensive, but with a truly breathtaking view. Therefore, I picked out my second option for having lunch.
While eating at Starbucks in Monaco, I heard a Dj playing really impressive and many people started dancing so excited facing the beach with their coffee cups since there was an absolutely well-known beach club called Nikki Beach on the rooftop of the building next to us which was the utterly luxurious Fairmont hotel.
Despite having finished my day trip in Monaco totally exhausted, I definitely enjoyed it and I would really like to go back there one day.
Video about Monaco
What are the adverbs of degree?
We use adverbs of degree to qualify what we are talking about. We might tell our friend that we are happy, but we may want to explain the degree (or level) of our happiness: I’m really happy, I’m quite happy or I’m not very happy.
Adverbs of degree can be split into two groups: adverbs that intensify the degree of something vs. adverbs that weaken the degree of something.
Adverbs that increase, or intensify, the meaning include words such as: very, totally, completely, and absolutely, for example: I’m totally convinced Sam will quit his job.
Adverbs that decrease or weaken the degree of meaning include words such as: fairly, quite, slightly, and a bit, for example: I’m fairly certain it will rain tomorrow.
How do we use them?
An adverb of degree can modify an adjective, another adverb or a verb. Have a look at the following examples:
She is verytall. (Modifies the adjective)
He walked quite slowly. (Modifies the adverb)
I reallylike that film. (Modifies the verb)
Adverbs of degree can modify adjectives or adverbs:
Subject + main verb + adverb of degree + adjective e.g. Jane isvery happy.
Subject + main verb + adverb of degree + adverb e.g. Tom walksextremely quickly.
Adverbs of degree can also modify verbs:
Subject + adverb of degree + main verb e.g. The boys thoroughlyenjoyed their trip to the theatre.
With modal verbs, the adverb of degree can appear before the modal verb or before the main verb, depending on the meaning, for example:
Subject + adverb of degree + modal + main verb e.g. You reallyshould look where you are going!
Subject + modal + adverb of degree + main verb e.g. You shouldreallylook at the instructions first.
With auxiliary verbs (e.g. have and is/are), the adverb usually goes before the main verb, for example:
Subject + auxiliary verb + adverb of degree + past participle e.g. I havereally enjoyed studying at this school.
Subject + auxiliary verb + adverb of degree + past participle e.g. I havetotally forgotten to bring my phone.
As we’ve mentioned above, we can separate adverbs of degree into two main types: adverbs that intensify the meaning or make it stronger (e.g. very), and adverbs that weaken the meaning, also called ‘downtoners’, (e.g. slightly).
1.Weakening the meaning
There are times in English when we want to specifically describe our use of an adjective or adverb. For instance, we may wish to express that we are quite nervous or a bit cold. This is more exact than just saying I’m nervous or I’m cold. The adverbs in this category are all used in the same way. The position of the adverb is before the adjective or adverb.
The following adverbs all weaken the adjective or adverb and all appear before the adverb or adjective in the sentence: a bit, fairly, pretty, quite, rather, slightly, and somewhat.
Collaborative Online Exercise about Extreme Adjectives
There are many adverbs that intensify, or make the meaning stronger. For grammatical reasons, we need to separate these adverbs into two groups. Our choice of adverb depends on whether the adjective (which the adverb is intensifying) is gradable or ungradable. For example, ‘hot’ is a gradable adjective, but ‘boiling’ is ungradable. So, we can say: It is very hotANDIt is absolutely boiling, but NOTIt is very boiling. The table below gives further examples of gradable and ungradable adjectives and the intensifiers used with them.
Intensifier + gradable adjective
Very cold
Extremely tired
Really happy
Very hungry
The adverbs in this group are always positioned in front of the adjective (which they intensify), for example: He is extremely intelligent.
The following adverbs are intensifiers that can be used with ungradable adjectives: awfully, extremely, highly, perfectly, remarkably and terribly. These adverbs can also be used to modify an adverb, for example: She climbed the mountain extremely quickly.
How strongly adverbs of degree modify adverbs and adjectives
Mild
Medium
Strong
Absolute
+
++
+++
++++
a little a bit slightly
fairly pretty quite rather somewhat
remarkably awfully extremely highly terribly a lot really incredibly particularly deeply enormously greatly incredibly lots most remarkably strongly very
3.Intensifying the meaning (ungradable adjectives)
Adverbs that intensify an ungradable adjective appear in the same position as other adverbs in this group. They nearly always go before the adjective. Note that this group of adverbs do notmodify other adverbs.
Example: John was totally exhausted.
The following adverbs are intensifiers that can be used with ungradable adjectives: absolutely, completely, entirely, totally and utterly.
Intensifier + ungradable adjective
Absolutely freezing
Absolutely ecstatic
Totally starving
Adverbs that behave differently
There are a few adverbs of degree that do not neatly fit into the three groups above. The following examples show the position and use of these adverbs.
A lot has a similar meaning to ‘very much’. It is used to modify verbs, for example: I like playing badminton a lot.
Too can be used as an intensifier, but it has a negative meaning. It means ‘more than is acceptable or needed’, for example: That costs too much.
Enough is positioned after an adjective or adverb, not before it. It means ‘to the degree that is necessary’, for example: Are you warm enough?
Going to the cinema is one of my favourite leisure activities, but the theatre I like most is Cinepolis Cancun at Las Americas Mall.
There are too many cinema rooms at Cinepolis at Las Americas Mall in Cancun. However, there aren't enough movies to watch in a week because some films are projected in several rooms.
What I love when going to the cinema is to eat too much popcorn as it is delicious enough.
I take enough money with me for having a good time when I go there.
Collaborative Online Exercise about the use of 'too' vs 'enough'
Conclude your letter of application by thanking the employer for considering you for the position and stating that you would like to interview.
