Session 13 — Formal Letter Writing & Exam-Prep Strategy
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 · with Sabahat Batool · Letters, capitalization, exam pacing
Note on source material: this session is documented from a Google Doc summary only
(no meeting recording exists for this date), so this page is lighter than most sessions —
it covers everything that was captured, without padding.
Part 1 · Formal letter writing — requesting hotel information
Like you're five: a formal German letter has fixed opening/closing phrases you just memorize as chunks —
you don't have to invent them each time.
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
To whom it may concern, — the standard formal opening when you don't know the reader's name
Practiced task: draft a formal letter to a hotel requesting tourist information, including details about a
24-hour stay.
Part 2 · Capitalization — all nouns, not just proper nouns
German capitalizes every noun, not only names — this was reinforced using compound-noun examples
from the letter-writing practice and the new vocabulary below.
False-friend flag from class: English "stationary" (not moving) vs "stay" (verb) —
easy to mix up when translating; keep them separate.
Part 3 · Session vocabulary
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Informatik | IT / computer science |
| die Seite | page / side |
| der Burger | burger |
| das Jugendzentrum | youth center |
Part 4 · Exam-prep strategy — timed question sets
Discussed using timed sets of 15 questions as a confidence-building strategy ahead of the real exam —
practicing under a small time limit instead of untimed review.
Try this at home: set a timer, answer 15 questions from any exercises page here, then check your score with the
"Check section" button.
Also discussed: adding daily recurring class sessions starting in late July (candidate dates floated:
July 27, 29, 30, 31) — a scheduling item, not new grammar content.
Session 13 recap
If you remember only 4 things
- Formal letter opening: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
- Every German noun is capitalized — always, not just proper nouns.
- New vocab: Informatik, Seite, Burger, Jugendzentrum.
- Practice exam questions in timed 15-question sets.
Source: sessions/2026-07-15-wed — Google Doc "Notes by Gemini" only (no Read AI recording for this date). Source material is thinner than for sessions 1–12.