Prime Time 5/6, Writing, Arbeitsheft

29 •• While writing –– Include your address and your contact details. –– Keep your text rather short so that it can be published easily. –– Be respectful and polite. –– Use formal language. •• How to end an e-mail/a letter to the editor –– Use a closing sentence. –– Match the closing line with the salutation at the beginning. –– Add your signature and print your full name. Sample prompt: E-mail/Letter to the editor In your local paper you have read the comment below about wasting food and have decided to contact the editor to highlight the fact that something has to be done about this problem. When you look at what people buy in supermarkets, you wonder sometimes whether they will ever be able to eat the vast amounts of food they have dropped into their trolleys. It may come as a surprise that the most-wasted food item in the UK is bread. What on earth is happening here? Whereas millions of people in the world are starving, we waste plenty of food. Isn’t it time to change that? In your e-mail to the editor you should: • describe the situation as you have experienced it • explain the reasons for it • suggest measures how the supermarkets could deal with the problem Write around 200 words . Sample e-mail/letter to the editor Dear Madam, The reason why I’m writing to you is an article which highlighted the fact that large amounts of food are thrown away in our country every day. When we look at the trolleys in supermarkets, we can see that most people buy lots of food and – from what we can guess – obviously much more than what they and their families will ever be able to eat. However, as soon as the products are past their sell-by date, they are thrown away. All this is a sign that many people have lost respect for the food they eat. The reasons for this development seem to be clear. On the one hand supermarkets often offer just large family packs that are cheaper but far too much for small families or individual customers. On the other hand, people take the best-before dates far too seriously for the fear that they might poison themselves. In both cases supermarkets could take the lead to bring about change. First, companies could offer smaller packages in all stores all the year round. This would help smaller households not to waste food. In addition to that, food producers could change the labels on the packages. Instead of just printing a best-before date on the box, they could advise consumers that food which has reached this date can still be eaten without any negative effects. Moreover, supermarkets could introduce programmes to take back food past its sell-by date and offer it to charities that support people in need. In fact, such measures could even be used as a marketing strategy by food retailers. I hope that these ideas will help change the situation. I am sure it would not just be a business success but also most rewarding for all the people involved. Yours faithfully, Mark Donahue Mark Donahue, Manchester Re.: Food waste Reply Reply to All Forward Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv