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Section 1Lesson 1~7 min read

Formal Email Collocations: Professional Phrasing

Introduction

Collocations are combinations of words that frequently appear together and sound natural to native speakers. Mastery of collocations is crucial for achieving a high score on the CELPIP test, as they enhance the fluency and coherence of your writing and speaking responses. In this lesson, we'll focus on collocations useful for formal emails, a key component of CELPIP Writing Task 1.

Below is a table of 40 collocations that are particularly useful for formal email writing and other CELPIP tasks:

#	Word	Definition	Example
1	make a decision	to decide	"I would make a decision based on the available data."
2	reach an agreement	to agree	"We need to reach an agreement on the new project terms."
3	provide feedback	to give feedback	"Please provide feedback on the recent meeting."
4	meet expectations	to satisfy expectations	"I hope this proposal will meet your expectations."
5	raise an issue	to bring up a problem	"I would like to raise an issue regarding the current policy."
6	take responsibility	to accept blame or duty	"I will take responsibility for the oversight."
7	express interest	to show interest	"I am writing to express interest in the advertised position."
8	seek clarification	to ask for an explanation	"Could you please seek clarification on this matter?"
9	grant permission	to allow	"Could you grant permission for the new process implementation?"
10	set a deadline	to establish a due date	"We need to set a deadline for the project completion."
11	handle a situation	to manage a situation	"I am confident that I can handle the situation effectively."
12	offer assistance	to help	"I would like to offer assistance with your upcoming project."
13	make an effort	to try	"I will make an effort to improve my performance."
14	conduct a review	to review	"We will conduct a review of the current procedures."
15	implement changes	to make changes	"We plan to implement changes by the end of the month."
16	confirm details	to verify information	"Could you confirm details for the upcoming meeting?"
17	address concerns	to deal with issues	"We need to address concerns raised by the team."
18	build rapport	to establish a good relationship	"Building rapport with clients is crucial for success."
19	draw conclusions	to conclude	"Based on the data, we can draw conclusions about the market trends."
20	allocate resources	to distribute resources	"We must allocate resources efficiently to meet our goals."
21	establish guidelines	to set rules	"We need to establish guidelines for the new policy."
22	negotiate terms	to discuss terms	"We are ready to negotiate terms for the partnership."
23	pursue opportunities	to seek chances	"I am eager to pursue opportunities for career advancement."
24	resolve conflicts	to solve disputes	"It is important to resolve conflicts promptly."
25	maintain standards	to uphold standards	"We strive to maintain standards in all our operations."
26	assess the situation	to evaluate the situation	"We need to assess the situation before making a decision."
27	foster collaboration	to encourage teamwork	"Our goal is to foster collaboration among departments."
28	outline objectives	to describe goals	"I would like to outline objectives for the upcoming quarter."
29	enhance skills	to improve skills	"I am taking courses to enhance my skills."
30	submit a proposal	to propose	"Please submit a proposal for the new project."
31	verify information	to check information	"We need to verify information before proceeding."
32	finalize plans	to complete planning	"We should finalize plans by next week."
33	gain approval	to receive approval	"We need to gain approval from the board."
34	conduct research	to research	"We are conducting research to improve our services."
35	manage expectations	to control expectations	"It's important to manage expectations to avoid disappointment."
36	deliver results	to achieve results	"Our team is committed to delivering results on time."
37	identify problems	to find problems	"We need to identify problems before they escalate."
38	launch a campaign	to start a campaign	"We are excited to launch a campaign for our new product."
39	streamline processes	to simplify processes	"We aim to streamline processes to enhance efficiency."
40	uphold principles	to maintain principles	"We uphold principles of integrity in our work."

Grouped by Usage

For Writing Task 1 Emails

• express interest

• provide feedback

• raise an issue

• offer assistance

• confirm details

• address concerns

For Speaking Tasks

• make a decision

• reach an agreement

• handle a situation

• make an effort

• resolve conflicts

For Describing Opinions

• draw conclusions

• assess the situation

• outline objectives

• enhance skills

• identify problems

Example Sentences

"I am writing to express interest in the position advertised on your website."

"We need to reach an agreement on how to proceed with the project."

"Please provide feedback on the proposal by the end of the week."

"I would like to raise an issue regarding the current workflow."

💡 Pro Tip:

To sound more natural in your writing and speaking, practice using these collocations in context. Try to incorporate them into your daily conversations or writing exercises to become more comfortable with their usage.

Common Mistakes

• Wrong: "Make a conclusion"

- Right: "Draw a conclusion"

• Wrong: "Do a decision"

- Right: "Make a decision"

• Wrong: "Give feedback"

- Right: "Provide feedback"

Practice Exercises

1. Write a formal email using at least five collocations from the table.

2. Create a dialogue where two people are discussing a project, using at least five collocations.

3. Rewrite the following sentences using the appropriate collocations:

- "I need to decide what to do."

- "Can you give me your thoughts on this?"

- "We should find a solution to this problem."

By mastering these collocations, you'll be better prepared to tackle the CELPIP Writing and Speaking tasks with confidence.

🎯 Key Takeaways

✓Collocations are essential for achieving fluency and coherence in formal writing, particularly in CELPIP Writing Task 1.

✓Using correct collocations can significantly improve your score by making your writing sound more natural to native speakers.

✓Common mistakes include using incorrect verbs with nouns, such as 'make a conclusion' instead of 'draw a conclusion'.

✓Practicing these collocations in context, such as in daily conversations or writing exercises, can enhance your comfort and proficiency.

📝 Quick Quiz

1. Which of the following is a correct collocation for expressing interest in a job?

2. What is the correct collocation to use when you want to discuss terms with someone?

3. Which collocation would you use to describe the action of solving disputes?

Opinion & Argument Collocations: Persuasive Writing