Match register, format and audience
Adapt a message, article, report or review to its purpose and reader.
Section W5 · Use register, style and format for purpose and audience
Exam scope and assessment notes
This original online sequence is a starter, not the complete approximately 130 guided learning hours or a Cambridge coursebook. Chinese-language examples, scripts, character forms, register and pronunciation guidance need review by a qualified Mandarin teacher before publication. Browser speech synthesis is not Cambridge audio and may not provide exam-quality Mandarin; it cannot reproduce the invigilator-controlled recordings. StudyForA practice and speaking self-review do not award Cambridge marks. The centre must conduct, assess, record and submit the Component 3 Speaking test for external moderation. Full-length timed papers, official examiner marking and a complete reviewed vocabulary-in-context progression remain outstanding.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which approach best supports this Mandarin task?
What you will learn
- W5: use register and style/format appropriate to purpose and audience.
- Distinguish informal messages from formal requests and public articles.
- Include the text features the prompt asks for.
Purpose shapes the wording
Paper 1 writing prompts specify purpose, format and audience. A friend email can use a warm direct tone; a report to a school leader should state the issue and recommendation clearly.
Format is not just a title. A message needs a direct reply; an article may need a headline and public-facing explanation; a review should give a judgement with reasons.
Use courtesy without becoming vague
Formal language can remain concise. State what you need, give relevant details and use a respectful closing. Do not hide the request in an indirect paragraph.
An audience-appropriate response still needs accurate Chinese. Ask whether the reader can act on the information you provide.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What should you identify before drafting?
Worked example
A prompt asks you to email a teacher to request a replacement library card. Which details and tone fit?
Show the worked solution
- Address the teacher respectfully.
- State the lost-card problem and replacement request.
- Give any required identifying detail and close courteously.
Answer A concise formal email explains that the card was lost, asks for a replacement, supplies the requested student details and closes politely.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Choose the more suitable opening for a close friend: a warm greeting or a formal application heading. Explain your choice.
Give me a hint
Use the relationship named in the task.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the reader.
- Choose a matching format.
- Explain how the opening helps the reader.
Use a warm greeting because the reader is a close friend. A formal application heading would make the message unnecessarily distant.
Look for these in your work
- Matches the relationship
- Chooses a fitting opening
- Explains the tone
A school report draft says «这个地方很棒» but the principal asked for a review of a new study room. What should be added?
Give me a hint
A review needs a judgement supported by specific features.
Compare my reasoning
- State a clear overall evaluation.
- Add one observed feature of the room.
- Explain how that feature affects students.
The review should say what works or needs improvement and support the judgement with a feature such as seating, noise or access. «很棒» alone does not help the reader assess the room.
Look for these in your work
- Provides a judgement
- Uses an observed feature
- Explains its relevance
Write a plan for an article inviting families to a student exhibition. Include headline purpose, one practical detail and a reader-focused closing.
Give me a hint
Use a public tone and make the action easy to find.
Compare my reasoning
- State why the exhibition matters.
- Give a time or location.
- Invite the reader to attend.
A suitable plan introduces student work, gives the event time and place, and ends with a clear invitation to families. The final Chinese wording should fit the article audience.
Look for these in your work
- Matches the article format
- Includes usable event information
- Invites the named audience
Common mistakes
- Using a casual greeting for a formal request
- Writing an article without addressing its readers
- Adding formal phrases while omitting the actual request
What can you explain now?
What should you identify before drafting?
Compare with the explanation
Purpose, format and audience
Those three parts determine what the response needs to do.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Before leaving match register, format and audience, explain one strategy from memory and identify a detail you still need to practise.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.