Who you write to sets the tone: Tone is how formal or informal your Spanish is — and it's set by who reads it and the text type. Two tones matter for Paper 1: informal, built on tú (a friend, a classmate — ¡Hola!, Un abrazo), and formal, built on usted (a company, a teacher, an official — Estimado/a, Atentamente). Choosing the right tone and holding it consistently is what earns Criterion C.
Useful Spanish markers: These Spanish words are the markers that signal each tone — learn them as vocabulary; choosing and holding the tone is explained in English below.
- informal (tú): ¡Hola! · Un abrazo
- formal (usted): Estimado/a · Atentamente
- el saludo · la despedida
Ask: who is reading this?: Before writing, ask who the reader is. A friend → tú; a company, teacher or stranger → usted. Decide once, at the planning stage, and every greeting, verb and sign-off follows from it. Get this right and Criterion C is half-won.
Reader → tone → markers: Match the reader to a tone, and the tone to its markers — the greeting, pronoun and sign-off that signal it. The table below maps the most common readers you'll meet in Paper 1.
| Reader | Tone | Markers |
|---|---|---|
| A friend | informal | tú · ¡Hola! · Un abrazo |
| A company / a teacher | formal | usted · Estimado/a · Atentamente |
| A blog audience | semi-formal | correct tú/vosotros · title · warm close |
Three readers, three tones: Friend → informal (tú, ¡Hola!, Un abrazo) · Company or teacher → formal (usted, Estimado/a, Atentamente) · Blog audience → semi-formal. Lock the reader to its markers and you won't drift mid-answer.
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Choose once, hold throughout: The skill is not just choosing the tone but holding it from first word to last. The four moves: identify the reader, choose tú or usted, match the greeting, sign-off and vocabulary, and keep it consistent throughout.
Choose and hold the tone
1
Identify the reader
Work out who the task asks you to write to — a friend, a teacher, a company, a blog audience.
2
Choose tú or usted
A friend or peer → tú; a company, teacher or official → usted. This single choice drives everything else.
3
Match greeting, sign-off & vocab
Line up the greeting (¡Hola! vs Estimado/a), the sign-off (Un abrazo vs Atentamente) and the vocabulary with your choice.
4
Keep it consistent throughout
Use the same pronoun and verb forms from start to finish — never slip from usted into tú halfway through.
Identify → Choose → Match → Keep
Consistency is the marked thing: Criterion C rewards a tone that's consistent, not just chosen. The classic slip is opening with usted and drifting into tú by the third paragraph. Re-read your verb endings and possessives at the end to catch any drift.
The same request, two tones: Here's one request written twice — once informal (tú) to a friend, once formal (usted) to a college — so you can see the greeting, verb and possessive shift while the message stays the same. The Spanish is the example text; the English explains each shift.
One request, tú vs usted
Watching the tone shift
- The same request both ways: asking someone to send you information about a summer course. Only the tone changes — the message stays the same.
- «¡Hola, Marta! ¿Me puedes mandar la información de tu curso de verano? Gracias por tu ayuda. Un abrazo, Lucía.»
- «Estimado señor: ¿Podría enviarme la información de su curso de verano? Le agradezco su ayuda. Atentamente, Lucía García.»
- The key shifts: greeting ¡Hola! → Estimado señor · verb puedes → podría · possessive tu → su · sign-off Un abrazo → Atentamente. Change all four together — never mix them — to keep the tone consistent.
Four markers move together: Notice the greeting, verb, possessive and sign-off all change together — ¡Hola!→Estimado señor, puedes→podría, tu→su, Un abrazo→Atentamente. They're a set: switch all four or none. Mixing them is the fastest way to lose Criterion C.
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Consistent tone vs costly slips: Tone marks are usually lost to mixing tú and usted, being too casual for a formal reader, or a greeting and sign-off that clash with the tone. Here's the contrast.
Consistent tone
- Choose tú or usted and keep it throughout.
- Use usted with a company or teacher.
- Make the greeting and sign-off match the tone.
- Match the vocabulary to the reader.
Common mistakes
- Mix tú and usted in the same text.
- Be too casual for a formal reader.
- Use a greeting or sign-off that clashes with the tone.
- Drift tone halfway without noticing.
Re-read your verb endings: The mixing error hides in verb endings and possessives — you greet with Estimado/a but write puedes and tu later. At the end, scan every verb and possessive against your chosen tone. One consistent tone protects Criterion C.