C1 English with Andriana · Maksym & Dariia

17 Aug 2026 — Cover letters & cover emails, register, video resumes

Covered

  • Cover letter vs CV — the differences pinned down.
  • Ranking exercise — six spheres ordered 1–6 by the weight they carry in a cover email. No correct answers.
  • Job advert → cover email — read a real advert and work out what to write against it. Rule: elaborate on every requirement.
  • Model cover email, hunted for features: contractions, colloquial language, formal expressions, standard polite phrases.
  • Formalising exercise — six informal sentences rewritten into cover-email register.
  • Video resumes — what they are; both of ours set as homework.
  • Speaking game: guess the profession — describe a weird job using only the modal phrases from 13 Aug.

New language

colloquialeveryday informal language: idioms, phrasal verbs, informal style
a contractionthe apostrophe form: I'm, I've — none in a formal letter
semi-formalher target register for both homework tasks
impeccableflawless — her praise word
a self-tapean actor's home audition; a video resume is the same thing for everyone else
daunting + formidablemaking you nervous or reluctant to face it
to rehearsepractise before performing
have a flair for sth= have an aptitude for
not for the faint-heartedneeds courage; not for the easily frightened

Grammar

  • mind / avoid + gerund — would you mind sharing, avoid spending.
  • be supposed to, full form. "I suppose to help" is a different verb.
  • it's essential that + bare form — it's absolutely essential that you watch, not "that you have to watch".
  • consider + object + complement, no as — I consider myself a good fit.
  • a real asset — singular countable, takes the article.
  • Intensity doesn't stack — super vital ✗ → absolutely vital / vital.
  • Zero article with abstract nouns — the main currency of his films is time.

Quiz

Failed: aptitude, colloquial, the odds are that

Needed prompting: I feel I would be a real asset to your company, extensive experience, daunting

Corrections

✗✓
not for a lightheadednot for the faint-hearted
So the cover letter was super vitaljust vital, or absolutely vital
I'm kind of detective / real assetsI'm kind of a detective / a real asset
linguistical contractionslinguistic · just contractions

Homework

  • Ex.10 and Ex.11, still outstanding from Thursday. Do them before Thu 20 Aug.
  • Cover email in the Google Doc "Max's writings", shared with Andriana. One page, semi-formal, mine the advert for every claim.
  • Video resume, 5 min minimum, semi-formal, private.
  • Five synonyms for important with the register each fits — half-paid in class.
  • Read the weird-professions article.

Notes

  • The odds are that — knew it cold, couldn't build a sentence round it. Fell back to in all probability.
  • Rejected big experience correctly, then offered huge and extremely big. The answer, extensive, was on screen.
  • Two phrases to force into small talk: turn your hand to anything · tick all the boxes.
← 13 AugAll lessons