Saying sorry, and writing a notice

The speaker in the poem must have felt awful! When we make a mistake, we should apologise, and the words change depending on who we are speaking to.

To a friend or family member (informal):

• 'I'm sorry about…'
• 'I'm really sorry…'
• 'Please forgive me for…'
• 'Sorry, I didn't mean to…'

Accepting it (informal): 'That's alright.' 'It's no big deal.' 'No problem.' 'These things happen.'

To a teacher or Principal (formal), add a promise:

• 'I'm extremely sorry for… I promise it won't happen again.'
• 'I owe you an apology for… I'll do my best not to repeat it.'
• 'I really regret… I assure you this will never happen again.'

Accepting it (formal): 'I accept your apology. Please ensure you…' 'I appreciate you saying this, but…' 'I'm glad you realised your mistake.'

The pattern: an informal apology names the feeling. A formal apology names the feeling and promises to change.

Writing a notice. A notice tells a group of people about something that is going to happen. It has a fixed shape:

• draw a box;
• at the top: the name of the organisation, the word NOTICE, the date, and a title;
• in the body: the purpose, date, time and venue, and whom to contact and where;
• at the bottom: your name, signature and class.

Use formal language and the third person: never 'I' or 'you'. Write 'All students of Grades 6–8 are informed that…', not 'I want to tell you that…'.