Your friend invited you to his/her birthday party, but you are unable to attend.

Write a letter apologizing for your absence. In your letter:

• State why you cannot go
• Explain your reason for not contacting your friend sooner
• Suggest another time to meet

Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Dear Jessica,

Long time no see! I hope everything is going well for you. Hey, the reason I’m writing is, something came up at work, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it to your birthday party tomorrow evening.

As you know, the holidays are upon us, which is why we’ve been swamped by the sheer number of orders that need to be fulfilled by Sunday. So, my boss has asked everyone to stay until late evening on Saturday to make sure we meet the deadline.

Now you might ask why I didn’t call you earlier. Well, his assistant sent us a last-minute email yesterday letting us know of the decision. I tried to get out of it by offering to work late today, but Mr. Anderson, my boss, took ages to respond and finally turned me down just a few hours ago.

On a more positive note, it’s my cousin’s graduation party next Friday evening, and he’s told me I can bring a friend. It would mean a lot to me if you could come along.

Again, I’m so sorry about tomorrow but hope to see you next Friday.

All the best,

John

Personalized feedback and more guides: