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ELA 9

English Language Arts 9 · Worksheets

The business email

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Business email. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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The business email

English Language Arts 9 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. You are writing to your principal about the Grade 9 field trip, which was cancelled to save money. Which sentence is most diplomatic?

    1. a) I'm sure you had your reasons, even if nobody has bothered to explain them.
    2. b) Cancelling the trip was unfair, and I think most students would agree with me.
    3. c) I was honestly shocked that you would cancel a trip we had all been promised.
    4. d) I understand the budget is tight, and I have an idea for covering the bus cost.

  2. You are asking a grocery store manager to donate unsold bread to your school's breakfast program. Which reason is most likely to persuade this reader?

    1. a) I have heard that grocery stores throw out a lot of food every single night.
    2. b) The breakfast program has always been my favourite part of the school day.
    3. c) Donating unsold bread would cut the store's waste and earn it public thanks.
    4. d) Every other store in town should already be donating its bread to schools.

  3. You are emailing Mayor Linda Chen, whom you have never met. Which greeting is most appropriate?

    1. a) Hey Mayor Chen,
    2. b) Hi Linda,
    3. c) To whom it may concern,
    4. d) Dear Mayor Chen,

  4. Read this draft email to the principal: “Dear Mr. Patel, I am a Grade 9 student at Westbrook School. The library is closed at lunch, and many students have nowhere quiet to do homework. Last Tuesday I counted 34 students sitting in the hallway with their books out. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Amira Haddad” What is most clearly missing?

    1. a) a clear request for what Mr. Patel should do
    2. b) a specific detail that supports her point
    3. c) a sentence explaining who the writer is
    4. d) a polite greeting and a polite sign-off

  5. Which order of parts works best for a persuasive business email?

    1. a) greeting → purpose → reasons and details → request and thanks → sign-off
    2. b) purpose → sign-off → greeting → reasons and details → request and thanks
    3. c) greeting → request and thanks → sign-off → reasons and details → purpose
    4. d) greeting → reasons and details → sign-off → purpose → request and thanks

  6. Which closing sentence is most likely to get the principal to act on a request to open the library at lunch?

    1. a) Could we meet for ten minutes this week to plan a two-week lunchtime trial?
    2. b) Please do the right thing for all of the students at this school.
    3. c) I hope you will think carefully about everything I have said in this email.
    4. d) Thank you so much for taking the time to read this whole long email.

  7. You are emailing the recreation centre manager to ask for longer public skating hours over winter break. Which subject line is best?

    1. a) Request: longer public skating hours over winter break
    2. b) Important: please read this as soon as you can
    3. c) Some thoughts about the rec centre and its skating
    4. d) A quick question from a student at Riverside School

  8. You are emailing the town council about the skatepark closing at 6 p.m. Which sentence states your request most clearly?

    1. a) I am asking council to keep the skatepark open until 9 p.m. from May to August.
    2. b) Something really needs to be done about the skatepark hours in this town.
    3. c) Many teenagers in town are unhappy that the skatepark closes so early.
    4. d) I hope council will think about the skatepark hours at some point this year.

  9. A student's email to the principal says, “Your decision to ban phones at lunch is ridiculous.” Which revision is most diplomatic while still making the student's position clear?

    1. a) Maybe the phone ban is fine, and I'm sorry for even bringing it up at all.
    2. b) I'd like to ask you to reconsider the lunchtime phone ban, and here is why.
    3. c) I'm sure the phone ban made sense to someone, but most of us find it ridiculous.
    4. d) The phone ban is ridiculous, but I mean that in the nicest way possible.

  10. You want healthier snacks in your school's vending machines. A company stocks the machines, but the principal decides which snacks the school allows. Who should receive your email?

    1. a) the local newspaper, because it could print your complaint
    2. b) the company's driver, because he fills the machines every week
    3. c) your classmates, because they are the ones who buy the snacks
    4. d) the principal, because she can change which snacks are allowed

Answer key · The business email

English Language Arts 9 · maddyhelps.com

  1. d) I understand the budget is tight, and I have an idea for covering the bus cost. — Being diplomatic means showing you understand the reader's side and moving toward a solution. “I'm sure you had your reasons” sounds polite, but the jab at the end makes it a complaint, and “shocked” and “unfair” blame the principal outright.
  2. c) Donating unsold bread would cut the store's waste and earn it public thanks. — A person in authority acts when the request makes sense from where they sit, so the strongest reason shows what the store gains. Your own feelings, a lecture about other stores, or something you have only heard give the manager no reason to say yes.
  3. d) Dear Mayor Chen, — A title and surname are respectful, and you know exactly who you are writing to. “To whom it may concern” is for when you do not know who will read it, and “Hey” or a first name is too casual for someone in authority you have never met.
  4. a) a clear request for what Mr. Patel should do — Amira describes the problem and backs it up, but never asks for anything, so Mr. Patel is left to guess what she wants. Her count of 34 students is exactly the kind of specific detail a strong email needs.
  5. a) greeting → purpose → reasons and details → request and thanks → sign-off — The reader should learn early why you are writing, then see your reasons, then be asked clearly to act and thanked, before the sign-off. An order that puts the sign-off in the middle or saves the purpose for the end makes the reader hunt for the point.
  6. a) Could we meet for ten minutes this week to plan a two-week lunchtime trial? — The PAT email asks you to persuade the reader not just to consider your idea but to act on it. A small, concrete next step is easy to say yes to; “think carefully” is polite but asks for nothing, and “do the right thing” is vague and a little preachy.
  7. a) Request: longer public skating hours over winter break — A good subject line tells the reader what you want before they open the email. The others make the manager open it to find out, and calling an email important does not say what it is about.
  8. a) I am asking council to keep the skatepark open until 9 p.m. from May to August. — A clear request says who should do what, and when: council, open until 9, May to August. The others describe the problem or hope for something vague, which leaves the reader to guess what you want.
  9. b) I'd like to ask you to reconsider the lunchtime phone ban, and here is why. — Diplomatic does not mean weak: the best revision drops the insult and keeps the request firm. Apologizing for raising the issue gives up the position, which is the usual mistake when students try to sound polite, and “in the nicest way” does not soften an insult.
  10. d) the principal, because she can change which snacks are allowed — A persuasive email goes to the person with the power to act on it. The driver only fills the machines, and classmates or a newspaper might support you but cannot make the change.