Writing a letter of advice

1. When do you need to ask for

advice or help?

2. What will you say in English if

you want to ask for advice or

help?

Skills building 1: Skills building 1: asking for and giving adviceasking for and giving advice

When to ask for advice/help:

• can’t get on well with parents

• feel worried before an exam

• have difficulty in study

• had a quarrel with a good friend

How to ask for advice/ help:

• Could you give me some advice about

what I should do before the exam?

• How can I do better in my study?

• Should I talk to my friend first after

the quarrel?

When asking for advice, keep these points

in mind:

• State the problem clearly and give only

necessary information

• Should ask clearly for help. It is often

using model verbs, such as can or should.

e.g. What can/ should I do?

How can/ should I?

When giving advice, keep these points in

mind:

• Ask questions to make sure you fully

understand the problem

• Before giving advice, it’s often good to

show sympathy to the person you are

talking with.

e.g. I’m sorry to hear that!

• Advice often uses modal verbs such as

should or must, phrases such as make

sure, or imperatives.

e.g. You should/must talk to her.

You must make sure to study hard.

Eat plenty of vegetables!

Listen to five people asking for

advice and complete the sentences.

Answers:

1. ________________

2. ________________

3. ________________

4. ________________

5. ________________

football lonely

science actress

refuses

listens shouts

exam worried

Step 1: Listening to a radio programme

Answers:

1. _________ 2. _________

3. _________ 4. _________

Jane William

Richard Christina

A. Listen to a radio show and write

the names of the callers.

B. Complete the notes.

Answers:

1. __________________

2. __________________

3. __________________

4. __________________

join

honest thought

feel

sports shouting at

Read the guidelines on page 34 and

answer the following question.

What is the most important part of reading?

To be able to understand the main point

of the reading passage.

Skill building 2: Skill building 2:

reading for the main pointreading for the main point

Entries Main Points

The first

diary

entry

The

second

diary

entry

I’m so excited! Mum and

Dad bought me a bicycle.

I’m very tired today. We had

a Maths test and I’m nervous

about my results.

Entries Main Points

The third

diary

entry

The

fourth

diary

entry

I failed the Maths test! I’m

so upset.

All that worrying was for

nothing. I’m very happy

today!

1. Read and answer the questions.

1) Who wrote this letter?

2) To whom is the letter written? Why

is the letter written?

Liu Zhen

Dr Fang, the editor of an advice

column in a magazine. It’s written

to ask for some guidance.

Step 2: Step 2: Reading a letter asking for adviceReading a letter asking for advice

1.What is Liu Zhen’s main point in Para1?

2.How do the boy’s parents and

grandparents treat him?

Read again and answer.

His 15-year-old son refuses to do what

he and his wife ask him to do.

His parents treat him very well, and his

grandparents buy him many things.

3.What is Liu Zhen’s main point in Para 2?

4.Why does Liu Zhen tolerate his son so far?

His son is wasting valuable time during

this important period in his life.

He wants to prevent upsetting the boy’s

mother with an argument.

5. What is Liu Zhen afraid that his son

will do?

6. What is the main piece of advice that

Liu Zhen is looking for?

He is afraid that his son will fail at

school, or worse.

He wants to know how he can help his

son without harming their relationship.

Main pointMain point

Paragraph Main point

Para 1

Para 2

Para 3

His son refuses to do what his

parents ask him to doHis son is wasting valuable time

during this important period in

his life

He is worried about his son and

wants to know what he can do

Skills building 3: Skills building 3: planning a letter of replyplanning a letter of reply

When you receive a letter asking for

advice, can you explain what should you

do or should not do in such a letter?

What should we pay attention on?

Suggestions:

• Find the main points of the letter

asking for advice

• Answer each of these points directly

• Do not give advice for points not

discussed in the letter

• Offer comfort and support. Do not find

fault with the person you are writing to

• Use modal verbs such as should or must,

phrases such as make sure, or imperative

to give your advice

Work in groups

Read the letters of advice were written in

reply to Liu Zhen’s letter in Step 2.

Compare the two letters, and then discuss

with your classmates which letter is better

and why.

Step 3: writing a letter of adviceStep 3: writing a letter of advice

Read the letter from Liu Zhen’s son

who is asking for advice about his

father, try to find the main point of

each paragraph.

Main pointMain pointPara 1:

Para 2:

Para 3:

Para 4:

He can’t get along with his father

His father forbids him from doing

things he likes.

He loves his father and wants his

father to understand him.

His parents always make him do

things he doesn’t like.

Write a letter of advice to Liu Xiaowei.

Use the skills you have learnt in Steps 1

and 2.

Example:

Dear Xiaowei:

Many teenagers have difficulty getting

along with their parents. This is a common

problem. However, be patient with him.

You say that he does not listen to you. Is

this why you do not listen to him? Of

course, your father will be angry when this

happens! It’s only natural. You must listen to your father— he loves you and wants the best for you. You should talk with your parents in order to explain how you feel, but you should give them a chance to speak first. It could be that your father doesn’t listen to you because he doesn’t think that you are listening to him.

It is true that you need time to be by

yourself. However, part of being an adult

is doing things that you do not always

want to do. You should make an effort to

do what your parents ask. It will not hurt

you. And of course, you must do your

homework! Your studies are important to

your future.

Both being a teenager and being a parent

can be very difficult. However, don’t

give up, with a little bit of patience and

communication, many of these problems

can be solved.

Best regards

Dr Fang

1. He acts as if he doesn’t love us at all. (

P35)

as if = as though 好像，似乎① 用在 look, smell, taste, sound, walk

后面，议论可能、真实的事情。e.g. It looks as if it is going to rain.

② 用虚拟语气，表示说话人认为句子所述的是不真实的或极少有可能发生或存在的情况。

e.g. Mary loves the baby so much as if she

were his mother.

He looked as if he had known the answer.

③ 可以跟不定式连用或分词连用。e.g. The patient opened his mouth as if

to speak.

He stared at the boy as if seeing

him for the first time.

2. …and instead insists on wasting his time

watching DVDs to … (P35)

insist v. 坚持，坚持认为，反复说① 作不及物动词时，后跟 on/upon 引起的

短语， insist on + n. / v-ing/

e.g. He insists on a definite answer.

They insist on/ upon my staying at home.

② 作及物动词，接从句作宾语。• insist 表示“坚持要求，一定要”时，从句常用与现在现实相反的虚拟语气，谓语动词用 should + 动词原形， should 可省略。e.g. He insists that she (should) learn

music after she leaves school.

• insist 表示“坚持说，坚持认为”时，用陈述语气。

e.g. Alice insists that she had done nothing

wrong.

• insist that… 有时能和 insist on/upon 互换e.g. Alice insists on her having done

nothing wrong.

3. He even forbids me from chatting…

(P37)

forbid----forbade---forbidden 禁止常用结构：• forbid doing sth.

e.g. The government forbids hunting

and killing wild animals.

• forbid sb. to do sth./ forbid sb. from

doing

e.g. He parents forbid him to enter/from

entering the Internet café.

• forbid sth. to be done

e.g. The librarian forbad these books

to be taken out of the reading-room.

HomeworkFinish Workbook Writing.