Esolnet Hellas

International Service in Education and Testing

LRN
COMPOSITION NOTES
Friendly Letters
B1 and B2
 Basic Guidelines to Writing a Friendly Letter

Let’s begin from the basics:

1. What is a friendly letter / email?
A friendly letter or informal letter, is a letter you write to a family member, a friend or anyone you
know and with whom you have a relationship. So, the tone of this kind of letter should be relaxed and
friendly. So, when you’re writing such a letter imagine that you’re talking to your friend on the phone.

2. These are some types of friendly letters

- A letter Asking for Information
- A letter Giving Information
- A letter Giving News
- A letter Asking for Advice
- A letter Giving Advice
- A letter Inviting Someone

Be aware though!!! Some letters might be a combination of the above types. This means that you
might be asked to write a friendly letter where you must both Give News AND Invite a friend.

3. What is the Structure of a friendly letter?

No matter what type of friendly letter you are asked to write, the structure is always the same:

Salutation: Dear + (name) – for letter, Hi + (name) – for email

Paragraph 1: Greetings / Opening Phrases
Give the reason for writing the letter
Paragraph 2&3: Explain in detail why you are writing this letter
Paragraph 4: Close the letter by using a Closing Phrase
Friendly Closure: Sign off

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4. What our letter should look like
What your letter looks like is as important as the content!

Dear Anna,
Hi! How are you? It was really great to hear from you. I’ve got exciting news to tell you. I
have a new dog called Lia!
You know I had always wanted a dog. So you can imagine how I felt when I went into my
room after school yesterday and saw a tiny brown and white puppy sleeping on my bed. It was
so cute! I wanted to pick it up and hug it, but it looked so peaceful. So, I closed the door quietly
and went and gave my parents a big hug instead.
They told me that having a dog was a big responsibility. I promised them that I would take
care of it. The good thing is that there is a park near our house so I can take it there every
morning before school.
Oh, I have to go now. I hear my little dog barking! Write and tell me all your news. I’ll send
you pictures of Lia in my next letter.
Kisses,
Mary

It may also look like this!

Dear Anna,
Hi. How are you? It was really great to hear from you. I’ve got exciting news to
tell you. I have a new dog called Lia!
You know I had always wanted a dog. So you can imagine how I felt when I went
into my room after school yesterday and saw a tiny brown and white puppy sleeping on my
bed. It was so cute! I wanted to pick it up and hug it, but it looked so peaceful. So, I closed the
door quietly and went and gave my parents a big hug instead.
They told me that having a dog was a big responsibility. I promised them that I
would take care of it. The good thing is that there is a park near our house so I can take it there
every morning before school.
Oh, I have to go now. I hear my little dog barking! Write and tell me all your news.
I’ll send you pictures of Lia in my next letter.
Kisses,
Mary

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5. What are some ‘Opening Phrases’, ‘Closing Phrases’ and ways to ‘Signing Off your letter?

You can open your letter by using one of the following ‘Opening Phrases’:

ü How are you? ü I hope you are fine.

ü Sorry I haven’t written for so long but
I have been very busy.
ü It has taken me ages to write back to
you but I have been very busy.
ü It’s been so long since we last wrote to
each other.
ü Hi, I’ve been really busy recently.
ü It was such a nice surprise to hear
from you.
ü How are you and your family?
ü What have you been up to?
ü How is everything going?
ü I haven’t heard from you for so long.
ü I was really happy to get a letter from
you.

You can close your letter by using one of the following 'Closing Phrases':

ü Well, that’s all for now.
ü Well, I’d better finish off here.
ü I can’t wait to hear from you.
ü Keep in touch.
ü I’m looking forward to hearing from
you.
ü Hope to hear from you soon.
ü We must try and meet up soon.
ü Can’t wait for your next letter.
ü Please write and tell me all the news.

You can ‘Signing Off’ your letter by using one of the following and don’t forget to write your first
name below the phrase:
ü See you soon, ü Lots of love,
ü Kisses, ü All my love,
ü Take care, ü Best wishes,
ü Bye for now ü All the best,

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6. These are some Expressions to use in your letter/e-mail
If you want to say why you are writing your letter you may use the following:
ü ‘Well, I’m writing to ask you if you are free next week’.
ü ‘Anyway, the reason I’m writing is to tell you about my new school’.
ü ‘I thought I’d write to tell you about a great movie I saw yesterday’.
ü ‘Let me tell you about my summer holidays’.
ü ‘I just had to write and tell you about this amazing film I saw yesterday’

If you want to ask for information you may use the following:
ü ‘I was wondering if the University campus has a sports centre’.
ü ‘Could you tell me what clothes I should bring with me’?
ü ‘Please tell me if there is a library in your area’?
ü ‘Do you think you could help me out with the information I am looking for’?

If you want to give information:

ü ‘You wanted me to tell you a few things about my town’.
ü ‘By the way, I should mention that my town has lots of restaurants and cafes’.
ü ‘You wanted me to tell you a few things about my town’.
ü ‘This is what I found out about the sports centre you were interested in’.
ü ‘Let me know if you need any more help’.

If you want to write your news:

ü ‘I’ve got so many things to tell you that I don’t know where to begin’.
ü ‘I had a great time/an awful time at the party’.
ü ‘The best/worst thing was that the trip took for ever’!
ü ‘What was really exciting/boring about my summer holidays was that we went abroad’.
ü ‘There were many things I liked/disliked about the hotel we stayed in’.

If you want to ask for advice:

ü ‘I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have’.
ü ‘Do you think you could give me some advice about what to do with my problem’?
ü ‘What do you think I should do about my problem’?
ü ‘Please tell me what to do’.

If you want to give advice:

ü ‘If I were you I would be very careful with the diet I choose’.
ü ‘I think you should think it twice before you drop out of school’.
ü ‘Why don’t you try getting a part-time job’?
ü ‘In my opinion you should be more confident and believe in yourself ’.
ü ‘One thing you could do is talk to your teacher and tell him what really happened’.
ü ‘If that doesn’t work, you could take the evening bus’.
ü ‘Have you tried talking to your best friend’?

If you want to invite someone:

ü ‘How about coming to my country house this summer’?
ü ‘Why don’t you come with us to the party’?
ü ‘We’re organizing a small get together and I’d love it if you could join us’.
ü ‘I'm writing to invite you to my graduation party’.

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7. What are some other devices you can use in your letter?
If you want to impress the person reading your letter and get a better mark use the following
points:

Use Connectors and Linking Phrases:

To Add information: And, Also, Moreover, Apart from this, What’s more,
To show Contrast: But, However,
To give Example: Such as, For example,
To give a Reason: Because, For this reason,
To show Sequence: First of all, Secondly, Then, Afterwards, Finally, In the end,

Avoid beginning your sentences with ‘And’ or ‘But’. There are so many other Connectors and
Linking Phrases you could use instead.

Use Fillers:
To introduce an idea use:
To go back to a previous topic use: ‘Anyway, as I was saying earlier, there is so much to
To introduce surprising news:
‘Well, I am thinking of visiting your town next week’.
‘By the way, did you know that my sister is getting
married next month’?
see in my town’.
‘Actually, I was very surprised when I found out that
my best friend had been caught shoplifting’.
‘To tell you the truth, I couldn’t imagine the way
things turned out’.

After each filler don’t forget the comma!

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8. What are the common ‘No-No’ Mistakes?

ü look forward to + -ing / noun ü In the beginning vs. At the beginning

I’m looking forward to seeing you.
I’m looking forward to your letter.
ü excited vs. exciting
I am excited about seeing each other. (-ed
when you say how you feel)
The film I saw was so exciting. (-ing when
you describe someone or something)
ü information, advice, news (uncountable
nouns)
This information is very useful.
The advice you gave me was very helpful.
Your news is wonderful.
ü Subject – Verb – Object
My best friend likes pets.
In the beginning, we went to the cinema.
At the beginning of the party all my friends
gave me my presents.
ü Although vs. However
Although I liked the movie, I found it very
scary.
I liked the movie however, I found it scary.
ü what vs. that
What I want to tell you is so exciting!
I want to tell you that I will soon be moving
to your town.
ü say vs. tell
I want to tell you everything about my first
day at my new school.
He said to me that he was tired.

9. Friendly letters / emails and Tenses

In friendly letters/emails you can use different tenses:

Present Continuous (for now, this week)
‘I’m writing to invite you to my party’.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing you’.
‘We’re having a test this week’.
‘We’re going to have great fun together’.
Present Simple (for usually, often, sometimes)
‘I usually wake up early in the morning’.
Simple Future (for tomorrow, next week, next
time)
‘We’ll visit all the sites of the city’.
‘I’ll introduce you to all my friends’.
Past Simple (for yesterday, last week, last
summer, a month ago)
‘I went on an excursion with my school last
week’.

‘We sometimes go to the countryside at ‘We bought a cute, little puppy a month ago’.
weekends’. ‘My sister saw the new James Bond film but she
‘My friends often invite me to their homes to didn’t like it very much’.
play video games’.

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10. Final Tips
While writing your letter, make sure that you cover all the information that is asked from you. You
will be given additional notes, which serve as prompts. Include all of them!

ü Remember that the person reading your letter has to be able to read what you are writing so
pay attention to your handwriting!

ü Make sure that you write within the word limit; not much more, not much less!

ü Don’t forget to proof read your work! Try using a checklist every time you are done with
writing your letter.

Friendly Letters and emails are FUN – Enjoy!

Does your letter cover all the prompts?

Is your letter paragraphed?
Have you used the appropriate phrases?
Are there Connectors and Linking Phrases?
Is the tone informal?
Is the grammar correct?
Is the number of words within the limit?
Is your punctuation correct?
Is your handwriting legible?

Your letter will be marked for:

a. Overall impression:
b. Task fulfilment:
C. Organisation:
d. Grammar and Lexis:
express your ideas clearly
answer the question(s) asked
have proper paragraphing and linking words
a. use a variety of vocabulary
b. use correct grammar and some grammatical structures

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