Please read the essay below.

It has a very good structure, with a good introduction, good body paragraphs, and a short but acceptable conclusion.

Can you see the background info in the introduction?
Can you identify the thesis statement?
Can you see how the essay will develop?
Can you identify the topic sentences?
Can you see the restatement in the conclusion?

Which do you prefer writing a letter or sending an e-mail?

 

    Although both writing letters and sending e-mails are very common in Japan, they have different advantages.  Writing letters is easy in that it does not require particular skills such typing or computer networking while sending e-mails is useful as it only use a computer machine, not several items such paper, pens and postal stamps.  I would much prefer to send an e-mail because of this usefulness.  It enables us to send our message more quickly, more cheaply and more simply.

    Firstly, we can send an e-mail so quickly wherever in the world.  As soon as the sender clicks ‘send’ icon on the computer screen, it reaches to the receiver.  It is quite different from writing a letter, which requires a couple of days for transportation.  This quickness is convenient in some occasions. One of examples in my experiences is that when the news of 9.11 incident was reported all over the world , I sent an e-mail to one of my friends who lived in NY.  Because of quickness of an e-mail, I was able to get her soon after she returned home and confirm her safety.

    Secondly, sending an e-mail is much cheaper.  As long as we can access to the internet, we do not need to worry for the cost for sending.  Even some reports which have over several hundred pages can be attached to the e-mail without additional expenses.  It is different from writing a letter.  Posting costs depends on its size as well as weight.  Had I sent thick reports by postal mail to oversea, it would be very expensive. 

    Thirdly, messages are normally quite simple when it is composed by e-mail.  It can be only one or two lines when they are exchanged quite often.  It differs from letter which normally has a certain styles such starting greetings and ending formal word.  In other words, sending e-mails is not as formal as writing letters is.  This easiness makes me easy to contact friends more often and to have more opportunities to exchange messages.  Even though some of them are at oversea, it does not make any difference from that they are at home country.

    In conclusion, I like to send an e-mail more than to write a letter because I can convey my message soon, can send various information cheaply and can write more simple message often.

 

 

See below for a corrected version of this essay. Each highlighted grey area indicates a change has been made. Click on grey areas to see explanation.

 

 

 

Although both writing letters and sending e-mails are very common in Japan, they have different advantages.  Writing letters is easy in that it does not require particular skills such as typing or computer networking, while sending e-mails is useful as it only use a computer, not several items such as paper, pens and postal stamps.  I .. much prefer to send an e-mail because of this usefulness.  It enables us to send our message more quickly, more cheaply and more simply.

    Firstly, we can send an e-mail extremely quickly to wherever in the world we want.  As soon as the sender clicks the ‘send’ icon on the computer screen, it reaches to the receiver.  It is quite different from writing a letter, which requires a couple of days for transportation.  This quickness (speed) is convenient on many occasions. One example in my experience is that when the news of the 9.11 incident was reported all over the world, I sent an e-mail to one of my friends who lived in NY.  Because of the speed of an e-mail, I was able to get her soon after she returned home and confirm her safety.

    Secondly, sending an e-mail is much cheaper.  As long as we have access to the internet (can access the internet), we do not need to worry about the cost of sending a message.  Even some reports which have over several hundred pages can be attached to the e-mail without additional expense.  It is different from writing a letter, the cost of which depends on its size as well as its weight.  Had I sent thick reports by postal mail to overseas, it would have been very expensive. 

    Thirdly, messages are normally quite simple when they are composed by e-mail.  They can be only one or two lines when they are exchanged quite often.  They differ from letters which normally have a certain style such as starting with a greeting and ending with formal words.  In other words, sending e-mails is not as formal as writing letters is.  This simplicity makes it easy for me to contact friends more often and to have more opportunities to exchange messages.  Even though some of them are abroad, it is no different than if they were in their own country.

    In conclusion, I like to send e-mail more than write letters because I can convey my message instantly, can send much information cheaply and can write more simple messages more often.