Hello there, English Learners!
Today I wanted to review the Writing task of LETTERS.
There are two categories: Formal and Informal.
There are many different types of Formal letters, but the main ones we practice when learning English as a foreign language are usually four:
1. Letter of application (usually for a course at a college or for a job)
2. Transactional letters (these are letters of complaint or letters requesting certain information. They are called 'transactional' because they require ACTION to be taken by the recipient!)
3. Letter of reference (usually a character reference for a friend or colleague or to nominate someone for something)
4. Letter to the authorities or press (usually to express personal opinion of something public, like a new law or an event that creates controversy)
The FIRST thing you need to know and ALWAYS remember is how to begin your letter and how to end it! 😁
If you know the name of the recipient, for example Mr. Jones, always begin with
Dear Mr. Jones,
and always end with Yours sincerely (or Sincerely yours), and your name.
If you don't know the name of the recipient then always begin with
Dear Sir or Madam,
and always end with Yours faithfully (or Faithfully yours), and your name.
The SECOND thing you must remember is to use full forms of contractions, which means using I am instead of I'm and are not instead of aren't, etc. It's amazing how easily you can forget and use these contractions when you're writing! Also, try to limit the use of phrasal verbs. Be careful!
The THIRD thing you should remember is that in formal letters it is better to be indirect with your reader, meaning that you should use the passive voice when addressing actions. Also, try to use more advanced vocabulary.
For example, instead of writing:
I would like a refund and I would like a free replacement of my purchase.
write:
A refund and complimentary replacement of the product in question would be very much appreciated.
See how formal the re-written sentence sounds? 😎 Replacing 'free' with 'complimentary' makes a lot of difference and changing 'my purchase' to 'the product in question' makes the object more neutral.
Informal letters are basically letters to friends and relatives and nowadays they can also be in the form of e-mails.
These letters, to me, are the easiest because you can use idioms and phrasal verbs. The hardest part here is proving your good level of English without sounding too formal!!
For example, when you end your letter, use
Love, Lots of Love, See you soon, etc. and avoid Kind Regards, or Best Wishes, which are more formal.
😎
That's all for now! 😆
I hope I've given you all a nice little reminder on beginnings and endings when writing letters and I will be posting more on Writing soon.
Are there any types of letter that you find harder to write than others? Let me know!
I will post Writing Tasks with modal answers for your reference, so check back soon!
Have a great day and Happy June!! 😄😁👍😎😊
Today I wanted to review the Writing task of LETTERS.
There are two categories: Formal and Informal.
There are many different types of Formal letters, but the main ones we practice when learning English as a foreign language are usually four:
1. Letter of application (usually for a course at a college or for a job)
2. Transactional letters (these are letters of complaint or letters requesting certain information. They are called 'transactional' because they require ACTION to be taken by the recipient!)
3. Letter of reference (usually a character reference for a friend or colleague or to nominate someone for something)
4. Letter to the authorities or press (usually to express personal opinion of something public, like a new law or an event that creates controversy)
The FIRST thing you need to know and ALWAYS remember is how to begin your letter and how to end it! 😁
If you know the name of the recipient, for example Mr. Jones, always begin with
Dear Mr. Jones,
and always end with Yours sincerely (or Sincerely yours), and your name.
Dear Sir or Madam,
and always end with Yours faithfully (or Faithfully yours), and your name.
The SECOND thing you must remember is to use full forms of contractions, which means using I am instead of I'm and are not instead of aren't, etc. It's amazing how easily you can forget and use these contractions when you're writing! Also, try to limit the use of phrasal verbs. Be careful!
The THIRD thing you should remember is that in formal letters it is better to be indirect with your reader, meaning that you should use the passive voice when addressing actions. Also, try to use more advanced vocabulary.
For example, instead of writing:
I would like a refund and I would like a free replacement of my purchase.
write:
A refund and complimentary replacement of the product in question would be very much appreciated.
See how formal the re-written sentence sounds? 😎 Replacing 'free' with 'complimentary' makes a lot of difference and changing 'my purchase' to 'the product in question' makes the object more neutral.
Informal letters are basically letters to friends and relatives and nowadays they can also be in the form of e-mails.
These letters, to me, are the easiest because you can use idioms and phrasal verbs. The hardest part here is proving your good level of English without sounding too formal!!
For example, when you end your letter, use
Love, Lots of Love, See you soon, etc. and avoid Kind Regards, or Best Wishes, which are more formal.
😎
That's all for now! 😆
I hope I've given you all a nice little reminder on beginnings and endings when writing letters and I will be posting more on Writing soon.
Are there any types of letter that you find harder to write than others? Let me know!
I will post Writing Tasks with modal answers for your reference, so check back soon!
Have a great day and Happy June!! 😄😁👍😎😊
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