INFORMAL LETTER

Dear (first name),

Beginnings
Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/postcard.
It was good/nice to hear from you recently.
Im sorry I havent written/been in touch for such a long time.
Its ages since Ive heard from you. I hope youre/you and your family are well.
Asking
i! ow are the things" ow are you" ows it going"
#eferring to
their news
$reat news a%out & $lad to hear that & 'orry to hear a%out &
$iving news
(isten, did I tell you a%out & )oull never %elieve what &
*h, and another thing & +his is ,ust to let you know that &
I thought you might %e interested to hear about/know that &
By the way, have you heard about/did you know that &
Apologies
Im writing to apologise for missing your party %ut Im afraid I was with flu.
Im really sorry that I forgot to send you a %irthday card %ut I was %usy with my new ,o%.
If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost Ill gladly pay for it/replace it.
-lease let me know how much the %ill is and Ill gladly pay it.
Invitations
Im./ere having a party on 0riday 12th and I.we hope youll %e a%le to come.
/ould you like to come/go to see 3#oom /ith a 4iew with me at the weekend.
I was wondering if youd like to go to the theatre/come on holiday with us"
5ould you let me.us know if you can come/youd like to join us"
+hank you vary much for your invitation. Id love to come.
+hank you for asking/inviting me to & %ut Im afraid I wont %e a%le to &
#e6uests
Im writing to ask for your help/you (if you could do me) a favour.
wonder if/ was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour.
I hope you dont mind me asking %ut could you (possi%ly) &"
Id %e very/really/terribly grateful if you could &
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Im writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.
It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
I really appreciated all your help/advice.
5ongratulations on passing your e!ams/your e!cellent e!am results!
wish you good luck/"ood luck in/with your e!ams/your driving test/your interview.
Dont worry, Im sure youll do well/pass.
Do %e on time, wont you, and dont forget to &
7aking
suggestions
and
recommend.
/hy dont you &" 7ay%e you could &" ow a%out &"
)ou cant leave 8ew )ork without doing sth
Im sure you will en,oy doing sth If you like, we can &
Do visit somewhere Dont forget to do sth (Imperative 9: 'trong #ecommendation)
Im told that & -eople say that & (If you heard sth is good)
;ndings
$ive my love/regards to & 'ay hello to & ope to hear from you soon.
'ee you soon! /rite soon. *nce again, thank you for all your help.
1
'igning off
(ove,
(ots of love,
)ours,
Best wishes,
0irst name
FORMAL LETTER
Dear Mr/Ms (surname), Dear #ir/Madam/#ir or Madam,
#eason for
writing
I am writing to &
I am writing with regard to &
I am writing on %ehalf of &
Asking
6uestions
I would %e grateful if &
I wonder if you could &
5ould you &" 5ould you tell me something a%out &"
I would particularly like to know &
I would %e interested in having more details a%out &
#eferring to
their letter
As you started in your letter, &
#egarding & 5oncerning & /ith regard to &
5omplaining
I am writing to complain a%out &
)ou said & %ut in fact what happened &
/e were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a guest house.
5losing
If you re6uire any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
-lease contact me if you have any further 6uestions.
'igning off
(If Dear surname) )ours sincerely,
(If Dear 'ir.7adam) )ours faithfully,
)ours,
0irst name < surname
Remember that in formal letters we use:
Formal vocabulary, usually not usin !hrasal verbs
(3+olerate instead of 3put up with)
More com!le" sentence structure
(=nowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed
with the service)
#unctuation usin semi$colons
+he li%rary offers no facilities for %orrowing videos> this is %ecause of the
high cost involved
Remember that in informal letters we use:
Informal vocabulary, inclu%in !hrasal verbs
3go on instead of 3continue
&im!ler sentence structure
?
Ill %e late for the party. Its %ecause of my 0rench e@am.
#unctuation usin e"clamation mar's
If youd %een at the wedding, youd have loved the food!
LETTER OF A##LI(ATION
Dear Mr/Ms (surname), Dear #ir/Madam/#ir or Madam,
#eason for
writing
I am writing to apply for the post/position of &
& as advertised in &
I am writing with reference/in response to your advertisement, which I saw &
I am writing in connection with your advertisement in the Daily 'tar on 7ay 11
th
&
/ith reference to your advertisement &
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I gained some e@perience while &
I am currently working as &
I have %een working for & for the last four years.
I worked part9time for three years as &
At the moment I am employed %y &
7y 6ualifications include &
I have a diploma in &
I graduated from Barcelona Bniversity last year with a degree in &
-lease find attached my 54
As you can see from the attached 54 &
;ndings
-lease do not hesitate to contact me if/should you re6uire further information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I am availa%le for interview at your convenience.
I shall %e availa%le for interview any day apart from /ednesdays.
'igning off
(If Dear surname) )ours sincerely,
(If Dear 'ir.7adam) )ours faithfully,
)ours,
0irst name < surname
C
RE#ORT
Initial
information
+oD
0romD
'u%,ectD or #eD
DateD
Introduction
As re6uested, I did/have done sth
summarise below/$elow is a summary of the most important relevant points as
well as some recommendations.
0indings
*r
Important
points
1. &
?. &
C. &
Bseful
phrases
In relation to &
In contrast with &
As far as & is concerned &
In spite of &
In an attempt to &
5onclusion
or
recommend.
aving considered the options, &
I would like to suggest/recommend &
I therefore suggest/recommend &
)ou may wish to consider &
E
ARTI(LE
eading
0reeFing! (dramatic)
7y (one /alk to the 8orth -ole (a summary)
#escue from the rapids (a summary)
/hats the %ig idea" (a 6uestion)
'even %anks a day are ro%%ed in (A (a surprising)
)oure already well e6uipped to prevent crime (a surprising)
*pening
Did you know &"
/hat would you do if &"
$eneral
'tructure
$ive your article a heading or headline which makes the su%,ect clear and also
catches the readers attention.
Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument.
Begin with an interesting introduction G an e@ample, perhaps, or a 6uestion.
;nd with an overall comment or concluding.
H
&TOR)
Beginnings
and endings
A narrative needs an interesting %eginning to catch the readers attention and
encourage him or her to read on, and a clear ending to round the story off
satisfactorily. A weak %eginning or ending can spoil the effect of the story, so its
worth spending time working out how to start and finish.
4er% tenses
/e useD
+he sim!le !ast to descri%e the main eventsD
I ran to answer the phone %ut it sto!!e% ringing as I !ic'e% u! the receiver.
+he !ast continuous to set the sceneD
It was rainin heavily as we set off.
+he !ast !erfect to descri%e events which happened %efore the main eventsD
/hen I got on the %us all the seats ha% been ta'en.
#reset !artici!les to show two actions which are linkedD
Noticin that she looked lost, I asked if I could help.
#erfect !artici!les to show that one action was complete %efore another startedD
*avin re!orte% my stolen passport to the police, I returned sadly to the hotel.
+ime (inks
%efore &. then & at first, & ne@t &
later & during & after that & afterwards &
when & finally, & as soon as & eventually, &
immediately & in the end, & once &
A few days earlier & Iust after that & 'ome time later &
0ollowing the accident & (ater on &
Adding
variety and
interest
+ry to use different ad,ectives to convey the atmosphere. 0or e@ample, if you want
to convey the idea of fear, you could use frightened% terrified% scared.
4arying the length of sentences can %e effective.
Bse direct speech occasionally for dramatic effect (remem%er to use inverted
commas correctlyD J8o,K he yelled, Jdont touch that switch!K)
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+I&(,R&I-E
7aking
points
7any people feel that ...
0irst and foremost, ...
It is widely %elieved that ...
It would %e ideal if ...
Another argument in favour is ...
It is clear from the facts that ...
+he %enefits of ... outweigh the disadvantages.
*n the whole, I think ...
5ontrasting
points
*n the other hand ...
*ther people think ...
An opposing argument is ...
$iving
opinions
I personally feel that ...
I find it hard to see why ...
I certainly donMt %elieve that ...
It is difficult to %elieve that ...
I o%,ect to the cloning of animals.
*rganising
and linking
your ideas
0irst of all, & 'econdly, & In addition, &
7oreover, & 0urthermore, &
'o & As a result, & +herefore, &
owever, & *n the one hand & on the other hand &
*n the whole & /hile it is true to say &
0inally, & +o summarise, & In conclusion
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