KANAAN GLOBAL SCHOOL

WRITING AN EMAIL
(INFORMAL & FORMAL
LETTERS)

Company Confidential © 2021 Kanaan 1

INFORMAL LETTERS
These are usually to your
friends or family, usually
asking you to detail a
recent event you took part
in and they didn’t.

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 SAMPLE EXERCISE

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 How to write?
You must be familiar with
the format of an informal letter:

• salutation (Dear /Dearest..)

• introduction
• body (maybe two paragraphs),
conclusion
• signature (With Love/Yours
Truly..)

The salutation and signature are

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simple.
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 Introduction
•Start with a warm, friendly opening.
Ditch the boring ‘How are you doing?‘. Go
for these:
•It was good to hear from you.
•Sorry for not replying sooner. I have
been very busy.
•I’m so sorry for taking so long to reply. I
have been revising for my exams.
•Congratulations on your award! It’s been
a hectic week over here.
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•Tell them why you’re writing the
letter. This will be specified in the
question paper itself. Keep it very
short. In the example above, you
could say:
I’ve been dying to tell you about
this circus that came to town last
Friday!!
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 Body
This is the actual content of
your letter. Provide more
details about the topic.
Use lots of adjectives and
verbs and really relay
your thoughts and
emotions. Use the prompts and
pictures in the question. You
can write it in two
paragraphs to organise your
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ideas. Kanaan
 In the example above, you
could write:
Nobody knew about the circus
arriving. But the moment they
opened the entrance, all the
villagers started flocking
in. Steve and I begged for
mom and dad to take us there!
It was magnificent, in every
sense of the word! There were
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talking parrots, tigers
jumping through fire hoops
(Steve ran away scared when
he saw the Tiger!), an
elephant that could predict
your weight, a fortune
teller and all sorts of
things you see in the
circuses in movies!
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Mom was fascinated by the
‘Guess the Price’ tent and
spent a lot of money on it
but didn’t guess a single one
right. Dad and I went to
every single tent. My
favourite was this magic
show! The magician literally
turned a rat into a rabbit! I
have no idea how. It was
truly magical!
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We stayed there till dusk and
then very reluctantly went
back. The circus clearly had
won the hearts of all
villagers!

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 Conclusion
The conclusion has to wrap up
the letter.
For example:
I really wish you were there!
You would have loved it!
Give my regards to Margret and
Aunt Marie!
Reply soon!

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 Tips:
• Take care of spelling, punctuation and
grammar. It’s a writing task after all.
•Don’t use abbreviations and slang such
as ‘u’ and ‘OMG’! This is an international
exam, not an actual email to your friend!
•Keep the tone very light and warm. An
informal letter should be informal.
•Writing a paragraph for each bullet
point (given in the question) can be a
good method of keeping the letter
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•Give personal anecdotes. Add
details that tell the examiner you really
know each other. In the sample above,
the
names Steve, Margaret and Aunt Marie

are used without giving any explanation

for who they exactly are, because the
writer’s friend knows who they are!
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•Try using time phrases. Eg: shortly
after that/later/that afternoon/after
dinner etc.
•Keep to the word limit. It should be at
least 150 words and shouldn’t exceed
200 words.

However, it will still be alright to write 10-

15 words in excess. Any more than that,
the checker would deduct marks.
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FORMAL LETTERS

These will be written to

somebody in a position of
authority, usually to your
school principal, the manager
of a company etc.

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Salutations and
Signatures:
Use either of this format
• Dear Sir or Madam……. Yours
faithfully
• Dear Ms.
Weasley………….Yours
sincerely

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Introduction
Dive straight into the
point. Why are you writing?
To appreciate, complain,
suggest, request or
disagree? What are you
writing in regards with? A
new project, a newspaper
advertisement, an article
or an event? Mention it.
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Body
This can be divided into two
paragraphs
• Details of situation: give previous
history of event or your background
or experience. Say what happened
exactly if you are making a
complaint, or focus directly on the
text you are arguing with. This
section should include specific data
such as names, dates, facts and
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•Further development: Give
further support to your claim or
request. Summarise the current
situation and why you should be
given consideration. Persuade the
reader.

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Conclusion
Say what you wish to happen
next. Suggest, firmly but
politely, what may happen if
you do not receive a response
to a complaint. Wrap up by
once again, stating your
request/complaint/suggestion
and politely say something
along the lines of ‘I hope you
will consider this and take
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action as soon as possible’.

Kanaan
 EXERCISE:
You recently spent a week abroad at your
friend’s home. You had a wonderful time, but
when you got home you realised you had left
something important there.

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 EXERCISE:
Write an email to your friend about your
stay, and the object you left behind.
In your email, you should:
• tell your friend what you enjoyed about
your stay
• describe what you left behind, and why it
is important to you
• say what you would like your friend to do
with the object.

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•The pictures above may give you
some ideas, and you should try to use
some ideas of your own. Your email
should be between 100 and 150
words long.
• You will receive up to 7 marks for
the content of your email, and up to
6 marks for the style and accuracy
of your language.
(13 marks)
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