INTRODUCTION

Letters can be written for a variety of reasons, for example to:

- ask about/give news

- ask for/give information
- ask for/give advice
- apologise for something
- complain about something
- thank someone
- congratulate someone
- invite someone
- accept or refuse an invitation

etc.

LAYOUT OF LETTERS

GREETING Dear Sir or Madam, / Dear Ms Jones, / Dear Ann,

INTRO opening remarks and reason(s) for writing
MAIN BODY Here you write about the specific topic(s) of the letter in detail. During IELTS, you basically develop the
three, or first two, bullet points here! You should organise the information you write here in paragraphs –
2 or 3 paragraphs should be just right.
CONCLUSION closing remarks and/or ‘call for action’, i.e. you write what you want the reader to do (refund money, send
you info/advice), which should be specified in the 3rd bullet point in the instructions for the task.
ENDING Yours faithfully, / Yours sincerely, / Best wishes, / etc
 STYLE IN LETTERS

Letters can be written in a formal, informal or semi-formal style. The choice of style depends on the person you are writing a letter to. Formal letters are
typically written to people we don’t know or people in authority. Informal letters are written to friends and family members. Semi-formal letters can be
written to your boss/manager, a person you have a business/professional relationship with, or people you know personally, but are not friends with and you
want to sound polite and respectful (e.g. your friend’s parents, a (former) teacher, etc.).

FORMAL LETTERS SEMI-FORMAL LETTERS INFORMAL LETTERS

Greetings: Greetings: Greetings:
Dear Sir/Madam, Dear FIRST NAME, Dear John,
Dear Ms/Mr/Mrs/Miss + SURNAME, Dear Ms/Mr/Mrs/Miss + SURNAME, Dear Mum,
(e.g. Dear Mr Smith,) Dear Aunt Lucy,

Formal language: Semi-formal language: Informal language:

- formal advanced vocabulary
- longer complex sentences
- formal linking words and phrases (e.g.
However, Although, Consequently, )
- use full forms (e.g. I am writing.. , do not)
- impersonal tone: the passive voice is
often used, no descriptions of feelings
- use indirect questions (e.g. Could you tell
me … ?)
- neutral language
- you can use short forms (I’m … , don’t ,
doesn’t .. ), but write full sentences
(e.g. I hope you are well.)
- some passive voice can be used, but in
general you aim at sounding polite and
respectful, not formal
- you can use both direct and indirect
questions
- informal (everyday/ colloquial)
expressions, idioms, phrasal verbs
- short forms (I’m.. , don’t, doesn’t …)
- simple linking words and expressions
(and, but, so, too, etc.)
- short sentences and pronouns are often
omitted at the beginning of the sentence,
e.g. Hope you are well. / Looking forward
to seeing you at the party.
- personal tone: avoid the passive voice,
write about your feelings
- be direct (direct questions, imperatives)

I look forward to hearing from you. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Endings: Endings: Endings:
Yours faithfully, (when you start Dear Sir/Madam) Regards, Best wishes,
Yours sincerely, (when you use surname in the Kind regards, Lots of love,
greeting) Best regards, Yours,
 DIRECT QUESTIONS INDIRECT (POLITE) QUESTIONS
Where is the nearest bus stop? Could you tell me where the nearest bus stop is?
Where does she live? Do you know where she lives?
Do you know her? Can you tell me if/whether you know her?
Do we need to bring our laptops? I would like to know if/whether we need to bring our laptops.

USEFUL LANGUAGE
Giving news

Informal
OPENING REMARKS
How are you? I’ve got so much to tell you that I don’t know where to begin!
Hope you are fine! Guess what happened – I got a new job!
How’s life? I thought I’d drop you a line and tell you about the new house
I’ve just moved into.
Semi-formal
OPENING REMARKS
I hope you are well. I am writing to tell you about my recent news.
I hope you are (both) well and in good health. I have some wonderful news
to share as I’m starting a new job next week.

CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS

That’s all for now. Write soon! Please let me know how you are doing. I’m looking forward to hearing from
you.
Asking for advice

Informal Semi-formal Formal

OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS
How are you? Remember I told you about the I hope you are well. You may remember about I am writing to kindly ask for your advice
university course I started last year? Now they’re the university course I started last year. I have concerning my 2-week stay in your city where I
sending me on a 2-week assignment to your city just found out that I’m going to spend 2 weeks in will be working on my university course
and I really need some advice. your city working on one of the course assignment.
assignments and I would appreciate your advice.
ASKING FOR ADVICE ASKING FOR ADVICE ASKING FOR ADVICE
Do you think I should … ? Could you give me some advice about … ? Would you mind telling me
Do you have any ideas what/how/where … ? Could/Can you tell me/suggest/recommend … ? /suggesting/recommending … ?
(+ any direct questions) I wonder if you could possibly … .
CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS
What do you think I should do? Thanks in Please let me know what you think I should do. I look forward to receiving your advice.
advance for your advice. Thank you in advance for your advice.
Giving advice/suggestions

Informal Semi-formal Formal

OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS
Thanks for the letter and sure I’ll be happy to Thank you for your letter and I will be happy to I am writing in reply to your letter requesting
help! help to the best I can. advice on/about … and I hope the following
advice will be of help to you.
GIVING ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS GIVING ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS GIVING ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS
You can/could … I suggest that you …. I (strongly) recommend that you …
It might be a good idea to … You may also …. I suggest … (doing sth)
Why don’t you … ? It might be a good idea to … I believe the best course of action would be to ..
CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS
Hope my advice helps. Let me know how it goes I hope my advice will be useful to you and I wish I trust you will find this advice useful. Please do
and don’t be shy to write me if you have more you all the best. Please feel free to contact me if not hesitate to contact me should you have any
questions. you need more help. further questions / should you require further
information.
Complaining

Semi-formal Formal
OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS
I am writing to draw your attention to … (the noise from your flat/house). (mild) I am writing to complain about …
(strong) I am writing to express my disappointment/dissatisfaction with …
CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS
I hope you will treat this matter seriously and find a suitable solution soon. (mild) I trust this matter will receive your immediate attention.
Furthermore, I believe I am entitled to a
compensation/refund/replacement.
(strong) I must insist on a compensation/refund/replacement and unless
this matter is resolved promptly. I will be forced to take further/legal
action.

Apologising

Semi-formal Formal
OPENING REMARKS OPENING REMARKS
I am very sorry for … (the noise from my flat/house). I am writing to apologise for …
Please accept my sincere apologies for …

CLOSING REMARKS CLOSING REMARKS

Once again, please accept my apologies. I will do my best not to cause any I hope that my apologies will be accepted and I will personally make sure
inconvenience in the future. that this regrettable error does not happen again in the future.
MODEL LETTER 1 (informal)

You are on holidays.

Write a letter to your English-speaking friend. In your letter:

• describe the place you are in
• say what you have been doing so far on your holiday
• say how you are going to spend the rest of your holiday

Dear Tom,

How are you? Sorry I haven’t written for so long but life’s been really busy. Now I finally have some time because I’m on holidays in Egypt.

We are staying in a beautiful resort in Hurghada. The hotel room is just wonderful. The beds are super comfortable and we have a beautiful view over the
sea from our balcony. The best thing’s the air-conditioning in the hotel because it’s very hot all the time. We also love the food and local wines.

We arrived a week ago and so far we’ve done some sunbathing and swimming in the sea and in the pool in our hotel. Sara is learning to scuba-dive and she
loves it. Three days ago we went swimming with dolphins and yesterday we went to Giza to see the pyramids and Sphinx.

We are staying here for 5 more days and have some more exciting plans. Tomorrow we’re going to Luxor to do some sightseeing. We’d like to go on one
more trip before coming back home, but we can’t decide where to go. I’d love to try driving quads in the desert, but Sara prefers to go shopping to Cairo. I
only hope we’ll not have a row at the end of our wonderful holiday!

Anyway, I must go now. I’ll send you some photos when we come back.

Take care,

James

(227 words)
MODEL LETTER 2 (semi-formal)

You did a course in London and stayed with your parents’ friends.

Write a letter to them. In your letter:

• thank them for their hospitality
• describe your journey back home
• say what your plans after the course are

Dear Mr and Mrs Brown,

Thank you again for your kindness and letting me stay in your house when I was doing my cake decorating course in London last month.

It was also very kind of you to give me a lift to the airport. The plane was on time and the flight was very pleasant. I was sitting next to a chef from Paris and
we had a very nice chat, so the journey went very fast. My parents picked me up from the airport in Cracow and we arrived home before midnight.

The cake decorating course I did in London was very interesting and I learnt a lot. Just after coming back home I started advertising my services and I already
have a lot of clients, so now I’m looking for a place to open my first cake decorating shop in the centre of our lovely town and I’m hoping to open it next
month. I’m very excited, but I also think I will have to employ someone to help me with the business.

I hope you are doing well and would love to hear from you from time to time.

Kind regards,

Betty

(195 word)
MODEL LETTER 3 (formal)

You had a dinner in a local restaurant, but both the service and the food were very bad.

Write a letter to the restaurant’s manager. In your letter:

• say when you visited the restaurant and what you ordered to eat
• describe your bad experience with the service and food
• give them recommendations how they can improve

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the service and food we experienced when visiting your restaurant.

My wife and I had dinner in your restaurant last weekend. My wife ordered a vegetarian dish and I ordered a well-done steak with chips.

The first truly unpleasant issue was that although we were told by the waitress that our food would be ready in about 20 minutes, we had to wait almost an
hour for it. To make matters worse, there were pieces of ham in my wife’s vegetarian salad, and my steak was rare and cold. When I told the waitress about
the problems and asked to replace our meals, she said rudely that they were very busy that evening and if we wanted our meals replaced, we would have to
wait another hour. We left the restaurant hungry and bitterly disappointed only to come back home buying a frozen pizza on our way.

It is with deep regret that I must inform you about the fact since we had visited your restaurant many times before and we had always enjoyed the food and
the service very much. I would suggest that you organise work in your restaurant in a better way and possibly employ more staff to be able to deal with the
work overload at weekends.

Yours faithfully,

James Bond

(225 words)
Letter 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You work at home and have a problem with a piece of equipment that you use for your job.

Write a letter to the shop or company which supplied the equipment. In your letter:
• describe the problem with the equipment
• explain how this problem is affecting your work
• say what you want the shop or company to do
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case you will need to write about a specific piece of equipment and specific problems
with it – think of a piece of equipment someone might use for work at home, what problems there might be with it and how it can affect their work,
e.g. a headset – poor quality of sound – you telecommute and spend most of your work days communicating with your colleagues and your
company’s clients via Skype, but because of the faulty headset you cannot hear well
4. You need to decide what action you want to create, e.g. demand a full refund or ask for the piece of equipment to be replaced.
Letter 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

During a recent plane journey, you sat next to a businessman who owns a chain of restaurants.
You talked to him and he suggested that you should contact him about a possible job in one of
his restaurants.

Write a letter to this businessman. In your letter:

• remind him when and where you met
• tell him what kind o job you are interested in
• say why you think you would be suitable for the job
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear …. ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case ….
Letter 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

A large company in your area has decided to spend a certain amount of money, either to sponsor
a local children’s sports team for two years, or to pay for two open-air concerts. It has asked for
feedback from general public.

Write a letter to the company. In your letter:

• describe the benefits of sponsoring the sports team
• summarise the benefits of paying for the concerts
• say how you think the company should spend the money
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 4

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

There have been several complaints about the reception area where visitors to your company
arrive. Your manager has asked you to suggest how the reception area could be improved.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:

• describe the complaints that have been made
• say why the reception area is important
• suggest how the reception area could be improved
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 5

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You are going to another country to study. You would like to do a part-time job while you are
studying, so you want to ask a friend who lives there for some help.

Write a letter to this friend. In your letter:

• give details of your study plans
• explain why you want to get a part-time job
• suggest how your friend could help you find a job
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 6

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

On a recent holiday you lost a valuable item. Fortunately, you have travel insurance to cover the
cost of anything lost.

Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter:

• describe the item you lost
• explain how you lost it
• tell the insurance company what you would like them to do
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 7

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You are working for a company. You need to take some time off work and want to ask your
manager about this.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:

• explain why you want to take time off work
• give the details of the amount of time you need
• suggest how your work could be covered while you are away
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 8

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You recently bought a piece of equipment for your kitchen but it did not work. You phoned
the shop but no action was taken.

Write a letter to the shop manager. In your letter:

• describe the problem with the equipment
• explain what happened when you phoned the shop
• say what you would like the manager to do
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 9

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You have recently moved to a different house.

Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter:

• explain why you have moved
• describe the new house
• invite your friend to come and visit
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 10

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You have recently started work in a new company.

Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter:

• explain why you changed jobs
• describe your new job
• tell him/her your other news
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 11

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Last month you had a holiday overseas where you stayed with some friends. They have just
sent you some photos of your holiday.

Write a letter to your friends. In your letter:

• thank them for the photos and for the holiday
• explain why you didn’t write earlier
• invite them to come and stay with you
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …
Letter 12

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Your neighbours have recently written to you to complain about the noise from your house/flat.

Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter:

• explain the reasons for the noise
• apologise
• describe what action you will take
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear … ,

Planning your letter:

1. Who are you writing to and what style (formal, informal or semi-formal) should you use?
2. What type of letter is it? For example, a letter of complaint, a letter giving news, a letter asking for advice, etc.
3. You need to imagine the situation and your role in it. In this case …