Writing Flashcards by Amber Sawyer

‘Hola [first name]:’

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for?

Is it formal or informal?

An email (correo electronico)

Informal

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‘Querido/a [first name]:’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘Dear [first name],’

An email (correo electronico) or letter (carta)

Informal

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‘un saludo,’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate sign off for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘all the best,’

An email (correo electronico) or a letter (carta)

Informal

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‘un cordial saludo,’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate sign off for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘yours truly,’

An email (correo electronico) or letter (carta)

Slightly formal

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What punctuation should you use after the initial greeting in both emails and letters?

A colon, not a comma

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‘un abrazo de,’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate sign off for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘all the best / take care’ (literally ‘a hug from’)

An email (correo electronico) or letter (carta)

Informal

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‘estimado/a [first name]:’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘Dear [first name],’ (literally ‘esteemed [first name]’)

A letter (carta)

Slightly formal

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‘atentos saludos de’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate sign off for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘yours faithfully’, ‘yours sincerely’

A letter (carta)

Formal

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‘Estimado/a Sr./Sra./Srta. [last name]:’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss [last name]’

A letter (carta)

Formal

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‘Atentamente/Muy atentamente,’

What does this mean?

What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for?

Is it formal or informal?

‘Yours faithfully’, ‘yours sincerely’

A letter (carta)

Formal

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What is basic essay (redacción) structure? (4)

Give a brief summary of each part.

Introduction - introduce the topic, bit of context
Arguments for - reasons and examples
Arguments against - reasons and examples
Conclusion - summarise and give your opinion

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For essays (redacciónes), what should you always write first?

Un borrador (a draft)

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For essays (redacciónes):

What is the word for ‘introduction’?

Introducción

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘arguments for’?

Argumentos a favor

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘arguments against’?

Argumentos en contra

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘conclusion’?

Conclusión

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘lots of people think / say…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

‘Mucha gente piensa / dice…’

Introduction or main body

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘this theme is controversial because…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

‘Este tema es polémico porque…’

Introduction

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For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘to start, it must be said that…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

‘para empezar se debe decir que…’

Introduction

For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘people feel very strongly about this issue’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

‘la gente sienten muy fuerte de este tema’

Introduction

For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘firstly…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

En primer lugar…

Main body

For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘secondly…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

En segundo lugar…

Main body

For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘thirdly…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

en terciero lugar…

Main body

For essays (redacciónes):

How do you say ‘finally…’

Which part of the essay would this go in?

por último…

Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'on one hand / on the other hand' Which part of the essay would this go in?

por una parte / por otra parte Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'however...' Which part of the essay would this go in?

sin embargo... Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'before...now, instead...' Which part of the essay would this go in?

antes...ahora, en cambio... Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'additionally...' Which part of the essay would this go in?

además... Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'although / even though...' Which tense does this take? Which part of the essay would this go in?

aunque The subjunctive Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'if / even if...' Which tense does this take? Which part of the essay would this go in?

aunque The subjunctive Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'for example...' Which part of the essay would this go in?

por ejemplo Main body

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'in summary' Which part of the essay would this go in?

En resumen Conclusion

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'to finish' Which part of the essay would this go in?

para terminar Conclusion

For essays (redacciónes): How do you say 'in the end, I think that...' Which part of the essay would this go in?

En fin, pienso que... Conclusion

What are speech marks in Spanish (and French)? Give an example for 'hello'

<< >> << hello >>

If you're not 100% sure what the vocab in the question means (but you understand the gist), what should you do?

Copy the wording of the Q in your answer (so they can't penalise you for it)

What is 'una carta de reclamación'?

A complaint letter

When writing complaint letters, what three things should you remember to do?

1. Use formal language 2. Clearly explain the motivation for your complaint 3. Exactly what you are hoping to get

'A quien pueda interesar,' What does this mean? What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for? Is it formal or informal?

To whom it may concern A letter Formal

'A quien corresponda' What does this mean? What type of correspondence is this an appropriate greeting for? Is it formal or informal?

To whom it may concern A letter Formal

For complaint letters (cartas de reclamación): How do you say 'I would like'? Is this formal or informal?

quisiera Very formal

For complaint letters (cartas de reclamación): How do you say 'I am writing to inform you...'?

Me dirijo a usted para informarlo...

For complaint letters (cartas de reclamación): How do you say 'I am writing to ask...'

Me dirijo a usted para solicitar...

For complaint letters (cartas de reclamación): How do you say 'I wait for a solution to my demand'

Esperando una solución a mi demanda

For emails (correos electronicos): How would you say 'how have you been' both informally and formally?

Informally (takes tú): ¿Cómo has estado? Formally (takes usted): ¿Cómo ha estado?

For letters (cartas): What is the format for writing the date? Give an example for 'Thursday, 16 November 2023'

[day of the week], [number] de [month] del [year] jueves, 16 de noviembre del 2023