Writing a Postcard or Simple Message

Hook

You are on holiday and want to send a short message to a friend or your family: a postcard, a text or a social-media post. Writing a short, simple postcard is one of the official A1 writing skills, and it uses almost everything in this course.

Notice

Read this postcard:

  • Dear Anna,
  • Hi! I’m having a great time in Rome.
  • The weather is sunny and warm.
  • Yesterday I visited an old church and ate delicious pizza.
  • Tomorrow I’m going to see the Colosseum.
  • See you soon! Love, Maria

Which tenses does Maria use? Why?

Rule

A postcard in five parts:

  1. Greeting: Dear Anna, · Hi Tom,
  2. Where you are and how it is: I’m having a great time in… · The hotel is… · The weather is…
  3. What you did (past simple): Yesterday I visited… / went… / ate…
  4. What you’re going to do (plans): Tomorrow I’m going to + verb… / I’m visiting… on Friday.
  5. Closing: See you soon! · Wish you were here! · Love, / Best wishes, + your name

Plans: be going to + verb for future plans: I’m going to visit the museum. We’re going to swim.

Postcards are short: 40–60 words. You can use and, but, so, because to join ideas.

Watch Out

  • ✗ Dear Anna. (with a full stop) → ✓ Dear Anna, (with a comma)
  • ✗ Yesterday I visit the museum. → ✓ Yesterday I visited the museum. (past)
  • ✗ Tomorrow I going to swim. → ✓ Tomorrow I’m going to swim.
  • ✗ Love Maria → ✓ Love, Maria

Practice

  1. Write a greeting for a postcard to Sam.
  2. Complete: The weather ___ (be) sunny.
  3. Complete: Yesterday I ___ (visit) a museum.
  4. Complete: Yesterday we ___ (go) to the beach.
  5. Complete: Tomorrow I’m ___ ___ climb a mountain.
  6. Write a closing line.
  7. Which part comes third: plans, what you did, or where you are?
  8. Correct it: “Tomorrow we going to visit the castle.”
Show the answers
  1. Dear Sam, / Hi Sam,
  2. is
  3. visited
  4. went
  5. going to
  6. See you soon! / Love, / Best wishes,
  7. what you did
  8. Tomorrow we’re going to visit the castle.

Your Turn

Write a postcard (40–60 words) to a friend from a real or dream holiday. Use all five parts, one past verb and one going to plan.

Connect

Build postcard sentences in the right order with our Sentence Builder.

Try our Sentence Builder →

Check your past forms with our Grammar Quiz (A1).

Try our Grammar Quiz →

CEFR A1 — Writing: I can write a short, simple postcard, for example sending holiday greetings.

Azizul Hakim
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