Чернышева
Людмила Анатольевна
Учитель
английского языка
КГУ
«Школа-гимназия №20 имени Титова»
The
easy way to write a letter for secondary school learners
Course Programs of
English language for secondary schools require learners to be able to write
formal and informal letters. Most Student’s Books give the examples or models
of written letters but they do not give explanations to students how to write a
letter themselves. There are some recommendations how to teach learners to
write an English letter.
There are a lot of kinds
of letters:
1) Formal
letter
2) Informal
letter
3) Letter
of invitation
4) Letter
of acceptance and refusal
5) Letter
of thanks
6) Letter
of apology
7) Congratulatory
letter
All of these letters have
much in common. They usually have the same structure and use the same set of
expressions. A learner who is going to write a letter as a required task should
understand a few ground rules and know the main information about the styles.
FORMAL
VS INFORMAL LETTER
Letter writing in English
can be formal or informal, depending on the rubric, the purpose of the letter
and the target reader. While formal letters are used in official or business
communications, informal letters are used when writing to anyone in a
non-professional context. A formal letter is a letter written
in formal language with a specific structure and layout. Formal letters also
referred to as business letters, are generally used to communicate with people
you do not have personal relationship with.
Structure of the letter
– A formal letter follows a strict format while an informal letter does not
follow a strict format.
Language
– A formal letter is written in formal, professional language while an informal
letter is written in informal language; slang and colloquial terms can be used
depending on the familiarity between the sender and recipient.
Formality level
– In a formal letter, we always use titles and surname of the recipient. But,
in an informal letter, we always use the first name of the recipient as we are
familiar with the recipient.
Address
– Formal letters have two addresses. The sender’s address and the recipient’s
address. Informal letters require only the writer’s address
Heading/Title
– Formal letters usually have heading. Informal letters don’t require heading.
Why we write formal
letters:
We write formal letters
for different reasons. Some reasons for formal letters are:
• To find out
information
• To make a
complaint
• To give
information
• To make a
request
• To send an
apology
• To apply for a
job
An informal letter,
unlike a former, is a type of letter you would write to your friends,
relatives, and sometimes, acquaintances. In a broad sense, informal letters can
be used when writing to anyone in a non-professional context. The
main characteristics of the informal style are:
- Short forms
(I’m, you’re, it’s)
- Colloquial
vocabulary and some idiomatic expressions (it’s fun, you’d better, get in
touch)
- Use of the
active, rather that the passive voice (‘Jenny will arrange a party' instead of:
‘The party will be arranged by Jenny')
That’s why it is
important firstly to think about who you’re writing to and why you’re writing
so that you use the correct style of formal or informal.
THE
STRUCTURE OF THE LETTER
The ordinary letter formal
or informal has 5 parts:
I.
Greeting/Salutation
II.
Introduction/Beginning
III.
Main
part/Body of the letter
IV.
Conclusion/Ending
V.
Signature/Sign
off
All styles of letters
should include the following:
An appropriate greeting
(Dear Tim, Hello Jane, Hi Bill), followed by an introduction with your opening
remarks (How are you? Thanks for your last letter) and your reason for writing
(giving information, making suggestions).
A main body which
contains the information requested by the rubric and organized into 2-3
paragraphs. Here you put all the information you want your reader
to know.
A conclusion where you
can summarize the main points and include your closing remarks (Write back
soon), followed by an appropriate ending (Cheers, Love, Yours sincerely).
USEFUL
EXPRESSIONS FOR WRITING
Parts of the letter
|
Formal letter
|
Informal letter
|
Greeting
|
Dear Mr./Mrs… (surname)
Respected Sir/Madam (if name is unknown)
|
Hello/Hi, … (first
name)
Dear …(first name)
|
Introduction
|
I am writing to…
I am writing on behalf of…
I am writing with regard to…
|
How are you? How is your family?
It was nice to hear from you…
I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for a
long time.
Glad/Sorry to hear that …
|
Main body
|
I would be grateful if you could…
I wonder if you could…
I would particularly like to know…
I would be interested in having more
details about…
I am writing to complain about…
I am sending you attached pdf file…
|
I wonder if you’d like to…
I’m writing to ask for your help…
How about …
Here’s the … you wanted.
I’d like to give you good news about..
I’d like to know…
Please, send me…
|
Conclusion
|
If you require further information do
not hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely/faithfully, …
Thank you, in advance, for taking time
to respond my letter.
|
With love/All the best/Take care
Give my love/regards to…
See you soon/See you!
Best wishes/Yours….
Kind regards!
|
Signature
|
Name and surname of a sender
|
Name of a sender
|
Here is an example of an informal
letter:
Dear Mary,
Thanks for your letter.
It was so nice to hear from you again.
Unfortunately, I have
been preparing for my finals and I couldn’t write back earlier. I am happy to
know that you are fine, and so am I.
In your letter you asked
me about diets. To tell you the truth I have never been on a diet because I
think diets are bad for my health. But I always try not to eat too many sweets
and not to eat late in the evening.
I believe you must go on
a diet if the doctor advises you to do it.
However, I do morning
exercises every day and I play sport. It helps me to be fit. So if I were you,
I’d continue going to the gym.
Well, I have to go now.
Hope to hear from you
soon.
Lots of love,
Sheila.
Following is a short
example of a formal letter.
Dear Sir or Madam
I am writing in response
to your advertisement. I would like to apply for the post of part time
secretary.
I believe this position
would be an ideal way of gaining more experience of secretarial work. I have
strong communication skills and I am very interested in working while I am
finishing the degree of administration. I also enjoy working in a team.
Please, find attached my
resume which provides more details of my qualifications and work experience.
Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you require more information.
I look forward to hearing
from you.
Yours faithfully,
Pepita
As the example of the
task, before writing a letter, you could print these both letters and ask your
students to recognize the parts or put the parts of the letter in order.
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