WRITING

STRUCTURE OF AN INFORMAL LETTER

1. Opening
1.1. Greeting/ Salutation
Hi Emma,
1.2. Introduction
I hope you are well/ It's great to hear from you
2. Body
2.1. Reasons for writing
- I'm glad to hear that (about).../ - It's great to know that...
2.2. Main part: Respond directly to the question/ request of the letter:
Paragraph 1: Main point 1 with detail
Paragraph 2: Main point 2 with detail
3. Ending
3.1 Concluding Remarks: Hope to hear from you...
3.2 Complementary Closure
Hope you all the best/ See you soon
3.3. Name
Sample:
Hi Kathy,
I hope you are well.
Opening (greeting)
I'm happy to hear that you're finally coming here! There's a lot to do and see, and I think you'll
really enjoy yourselves!
Reason for writing
Firstly, as you know, Ha Noi is famous for its ancient history. I strongly suggest that you visit
some famous places such as Sword Lake, West Lake or the Temple Of Literature. These places
can help you discover peaceful beauty of Hanoi and some interesting facts about its history.
Answer question 1
Also, I think that motorbike is the best means of transport to get around Ha Noi because there
might be heavy traffic.
Answer question 2
Look forward to your visit. I'll show you around when you get to Hanoi.
All the best,
Rhett
Ending

VIẾT THƯ
* Phương pháp làm bài:
- Làm dàn ý bằng cách đọc kĩ đề bài, ghi các câu hỏi và vạch ra câu trả lời dưới dạng cụm
từ
- Xác định thì của động từ sẽ viết
- Sử dụng đa dạng từ vựng, cấu trúc ngữ pháp
- Sử dụng các từ nối phù hợp, lưu ý ngắt câu và phân chia đoạn.
- Kiểm tra xem bài viết đảm bảo đầy đủ cấu trúc của một bức thư
- Đảm bảo trả lời tất cả các ý được hỏi
- Kiểm tra lỗi chính tả, thì của động từ, dạng thức của từ, dấu câu, bố cục…

* Cấu trúc bài viết thư và một số mẫu câu:

Lời chào:
Dear…., Hi….,
Đoạn 1: Bắt đầu bức thư:
- Thanks for your letter.
- How are you? / How are things?
- Hope you’re well.
Nhận xét về một thông tin trong bức thư mà người bạn viết cho bạn
- I’m sorry to hear/ learn that…….
- I’m pleased to hear that …….
- It’s great/ wonderful to hear…..

Đoạn 2: Viết vào nội dung chính, trả lời các câu hỏi của đề bài. Sử dụng một số cách
chuyển:
- Anyway, the reason I’m writing is………
- Anyway, I was wondering……….
- I’m writing to tell/ask you about………..

Sau đó trả lời đầy đủ các thông tin mà đề bài yêu cầu. Cần phát triển ý với ví dụ, minh họa
cụ thể.
Đoạn 3: Kết thư : Ra dấu hiệu kết thúc, có thể sử dụng các cụm sau:
Well, that’s all for now
Write back soon.
Look forward to hearing from you again.
Example: This is part of a letter you received from your pen friend in America.
“I went to a great restaurant with my family last night. Which do you prefer: eating at home or in
restaurants? Tell me about your favourite place to eat.”
Write a letter to reply your friend’s letter. You should write in 100-120 words.

INFORMAL LETTER WRITING SAMPLE

1. This is part of a letter you receive from an American friend.
“I guess there are many traditional festivals in your country. What’s the most important one? How
do people celebrate this festival? Write and tell me about it!”
Now write a letter answering your friend’s questions on the answer sheet. You should write your
answer in about 100 – 120 words.

SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear John,
How are you? I’m very happy to receive your letter. In your last letter, you asked me about an
important festival in my country. So, I want to tell you about it now.
There are so many traditional festivals in my country. They depend on the area and they are
different according to the seasons or people. However, the most important one is Tet, which is
celebrated all over the country. Tet takes place on the first day of the new year according to the
lunar calendar. People prepare for Tet holiday by buying food and cookies, candies and
decorating their house. On the occasion, we often visit our neighbours, friends and relatives to
wish them a happy new year. Children are often bought new clothes and receive “lucky money”
on this occasion. All of us feel very happy to welcome a new year.
How about you? Can you tell me something about the way people celebrate new year in your
country? Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes,
An.

2. This is part of a letter you receive from and English friend.

“My parents want me to go on holiday with them this summer but I’d prefer to go somewhere
with my friends. I have to choose. What do you think I should do?”
Write a letter 100-120 words to give your friends some advice.

SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Anna,
Hi, how are you doing?
How is your family? Are they alright? Please say hello to them from me.
In the letter you told me about your holiday, didn’t you? In my opinion, if I were you, I’d go with
my family. You told me your parents were always busy so you couldn’t talk to them often. Why
don’t you go with them? You can have a nice talk with your parents. Your parents must want to
go with you. Next year is your last year of the university so you’ll be much busier than now.
Otherwise, you can’t go to the trip with your family anymore, perhaps. I think there will be a lot
of chances for you to enjoy with your friends; so this time, I’d recommend you to go with your
family. Family time is precious, I think.
Anyway, take care of yourself.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Maya.
 EXPRESSIONS IN INFORMAL LETTER WRITING
GREETINGS AND -Dear/ Hi/ Hello John. How are you? /How are things?/ How is it
INTRODUCTION going?
- Many thanks for/ Thank you for your email/letter.
- It was really nice/ good to hear from you again.
- I’m sorry I haven’t written for such a long time./ It’s been such a long
time since we wrote to each other.
- I hope you and your family are well./ I hope everything’s OK.
REASONS FOR - Just a short note…
WRITING -I’m writing about…
GIVING - Good news!
INFORMATION - Unfortunately….
-- I thought you might be interested to hear about/know that …
- This is just to let you know that…. Oh, and another thing …………
REFERRING TO - Great news bout…………
THEIR NEWS - Glad to hear that……….
- Sorry to hear about ……………..
ASKING FOR - Can you tell me a little more about….?
INFORMATION - I’d like to know about ….
- Please send me some information about…
REQUESTS - Can/could you…...?
- Can I have…..?
- I wonder if you could help me ……………
- I would be very/really grateful if you could ……………
PROMISSING -I’ll…..
ACTIONS - I’ll look into it
- I’ll get back to you soon.
OFFERING HELP - Do you want me to…?
- Shall I….?
- Let me know if you’d like me to….

APOLOGY - I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was
 busy with my new job.
INVITATION - We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you’ll be able to
come.
- Would you like to come/go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the
weekend.
- Could you let me/us know if you can come/you’d like to join us?
THANKS/ - It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
CONGRATULATIONS/ - I really appreciated all your help/advice.
GOODLUCK - Congratulations on passing your exams/ your excellent exam results!
- Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well.
- I wish you good luck./ Good luck in your exam/ test.
MAKING
SUGGESTIONS AND - Why don’t you V…………………?
RECOMMENDATIONS - How about Ving…………..?
- I’m sure you will enjoy Ving. If you like, we can …………

CONCLUSION (FINAL - Thanks again for….

COMMENTS) - Let me know if you need anything else
- Just give me a call if you have any questions
- Please write/ drop me a line soon
- I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
- Hope to hear from you soon.
- Give my love/ regards to …………

CLOSING - Love,….
- Yours,….
- Kind regards….
- Best wishes,
-All the best,…
- Lots of love,

Informal letters/email
Focus 1: Structure of an informal letter/email
1. OPENING
- Greeting/salutation
- Introduction
2. BODY
- Reason for writing
- Content of the letter/email OR Response to the questions/requests of the received
letter/email
3. ENDING
- Concluding remarks
- Complementary closure and signature
Focus 2: Common language for an informal letter/email
1. OPENING
- Greeting/salutation
Dear + first name/nickname,
Hi,
Hello,
Hey,
Hi/Hello + first name/nickname,
- Introduction
Thanks a lot for your letter/email.
I hope you’re well.
It’s great to hear from you! Many thanks for your letter/email.
How’s it going?
How are you doing?
How’s everything? Hope that you’re doing well.
How have you been recently?
How are things going in your world?
How’s life?
I’m glad to hear about/that…
Skill Focus:
- structure of an informal letter/email
- common language for an informal letter/email
- informal letter/email sample analysis
TAB1/Writing Focus 1
Faculty of English_ULIS Page 2
Great news about…
I’m happy to hear that…
I’m excited that…
I’ve been busy lately…
Sorry I haven’t got in touch with you for so long…
Sorry I haven’t been able to write to you so far.
Sorry it’s taken me so long to write back.
I haven’t written for ages but/because…
2. BODY
- Reason for writing
I’m writing this letter/email to…
I’m writing to…
I’m writing to express how sorry I am for…
I’d like to thank you for…
I want to know if you fancy….
Just thought I’d drop you a line.
This is just a quick note to….
- Content of the letter/email OR Response to the questions/requests of the received
letter/email
+ Providing information/giving good or bad news
The reason I’m writing is to tell you about/that…
I thought I’d write to tell you about/that…
I want to let you know that…
Can you believe it?
Great news!
Guess what?
I’m so sorry but…
I’m afraid…
Unfortunately, …
I tried my best but…
+ Requesting information/action
Could I…?
Can I…?
Could you…?
Can you…?
Is it OK if I…?
+ Making suggestions
How about…?
What about…?
Why don’t we/you…?
TAB1/Writing Focus 1
Faculty of English_ULIS Page 3
Shall we…?
Let’s…
We/You could…
+ Making invitations
Would you like to…?
Do you want to…?
Do you fancy…?
Are you free…?
Do you feel like…?
+ Making an offer/promise
I could… if you like.
I can… if you want.
Shall I…?
Do you want me to…?
I’ll…
Just let me know if I can…
+ Expressing gratitude/apology
Thank you for…
I’m so grateful to… for…
Your help is so valuable to me.
I’m so sorry for…
I’m so sorry (that)…
Sorry for….
+ Changing the topic
By the way, have you heard about…?
Anyway, did you hear about…?
Another thing I want to tell you is…
3. ENDING
- Concluding remarks
Well, time to go/close.
Got to go now!
I’ve got to go now.
That’s all for now.
Give my love/regards to your family.
Say hello to the kids for me.
Thanks again for your help.
Let me know if you need anything.
Just give me a call if you have any questions left.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Make sure you write back soon.
Drop me a line if you have time.
Look forward to hearing from you/seeing you soon.
See you soon.
Write soon.
Keep in touch.
- Complementary closure
Love,
Lots of love,
Best wishes,
Yours,
All the best,
Your friend,
Focus 3: an informal letter/email sample analysis
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You received a letter from your English friend, Allie. She asked you for some
information about your flat. Read part of her letter below.
I am going to take a two-year intensive course in Vietnamese language in Hanoi next month.
I want to look for an apartment near the university. My friend said that you have a flat for
rent. Can you tell me a bit about your flat (things like the number of rooms, its special
features, the price and the neighborhood)? I want to see if the flat will be suitable for me.
Write a letter responding to Allie.
You should write 100-150 words. Your response will be evaluated in terms of Task
fulfillment, Organization, Vocabulary and Grammar.
SAMPLE 1
Hi
I’m glad that you’re finally coming here. There’s a lot to do and see. I think you’ll really
enjoy yourselves. You’ll be in room 211, 2nd floor, wich is about 10 minute from room to
university so you can walk or go by bike. That room is fully furnished such as air conditional,
washing machine and particularly quiet and spacious, very suitable for studying.
The average price in the area is 5.000.000 VND but I’ll set an 3.000.000 VND. It’s great that
you booked early. It’s very convenient here.

SAMPLE 2
Dear Allie,
I’m happy to hear that you’ll take a two-year intensive course in Vietnamese language in
Hanoi next month.
Sure, I can tell you some information about my flat. It’s a cozy two-bedroom apartment
located in a quiet neighborhood near your university in Hanoi. The apartment has a spacious
living room, a fully equipped kitchen and a bathroom with a bath tub. One special feature of
my flat is that it has a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden. You’ll love [Link] rent for the
apartment is reasonable and includes utilities such as water, electricity and the Internet so it
costs about 4,000,000 VND. Besides, the neighborhood is safe and convenient with an open-
air market, many restaurants and a bus station. I’m sure you’ll quickly like friendly neighbors
here.
Hope this information is useful for you. Look forward to your reply.
Yours, (143 words)
PRACTICE
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You received an email from your English friend, Mike. He asked you for some
information about a
festival in your country. Read part of his email below.
I have taken a course on Vietnamese and I am so interested in your culture. I am planning a
visit to your country next year. I hope I can take part in one of your festivals. Can you
recommend one for me? It’s best if you can tell me when and where the festival takes place
so I can book plane tickets in advance. I also want to know about the weather and the
activities I can do there.
Write an email responding to Mike.
You should write 100-150 words. Your response will be evaluated in terms of Task
fulfillment, Organization, Vocabulary and Grammar.

PROBLEM- SOLUTION PARAGRAPH

I. Definition
A problem-solution paragraph identifies a problem or an issue, and/or suggest a plausible
solution(s) to solve it.
There are 3 question types:
Question type 1
In many countries, parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend with
electronic devices.
Write a paragraph to discuss this problem.
Question type 2
Obesity has become a major health issue in many countries.
Write a paragraph to suggest solutions to this issue.
Question type 3
Traffic jam is one of the biggest traffic problems in big cities.
Write a paragraph to discuss this problem and solutions to it.
II. Structure for a problem-solution paragraph
a. Question type 1: simply asks us to discuss the problem, either causes or negative effects
of children’s spending too much time with electronic devices. “Problem paragraph” may
differ from “cause- effect paragraph” in the way that the former mainly focuses on negative
impacts whereas the latter can discuss both positive and negative impacts of an issue.
Therefore, this kind of paragraph can be called “Problem paragraph”, whose structure is as
follows:
✔ Topic Sentence
 ✔ Supporting sentences about negative effects of an issue. (Refer to « Cause and Effect
paragraph » )
✔ Concluding sentence
b. Question type 2: simply asks us to suggest solutions to the problem. It is called “Solution
paragraph”, which consists of:
✔ Topic Sentence
✔ Supporting sentences about solutions to the problem.
✔ Concluding sentence
c. Question type 3: asks us to both discuss the problem and suggest solutions as well. It is
called “Problem- Solution paragraph”. The structure of this paragraph can be developed as
follows:
✔ Topic Sentence
✔ Supporting sentences 1 : discuss the problem
✔ Supporting sentences 2 : suggest solutions
✔ Concluding sentence
III. Language of “problem and solution” paragraph
1. Topic sentence
⮚ Type 1: The issue of…..has led to several consequences.
⮚ Type 2: There are several measures to address (combat/ tackle/ overcome) this
problem
⮚ Type 3: The issue of……...has brought about negative impacts and it can be solved by
several solutions/measures.
2. Discussing the problem: either causes or consequences (refer to cause and effect
paragraph)
3. Suggesting solutions
⮚ The first solution is that…../ The first solution is for sb to do…..
⮚ A further step (solution) is that people should ……/Another measure is that…..
⮚ It is highly recommended/suggested that….
4. Concluding sentence
⮚ In my opinion, this issue is………..and the solutions are……….

IV. Sample Problem- Solution paragraphs

Task 1: Read the following sample paragraphs and state the type.
Topic Sentence Many parents are increasingly concerned about the fact that their children
are spending a great deal of time watching TV, which can be tackled by a
number of following measures. First, it is the parents themselves who must take
Supporting action to reduce the amount of time their children spend in front of the television.
sentences The most obvious way is to have parents and their children agree on a ‘screen
 limit’, for instance one or two hours a day. Another solution is for children to
have their free time arranged in a useful way, including a variety of physical and
social activities. This would mean children would play more outside and become
healthier, as well as interact with other children. In conclusion, having
Concluding implemented these solutions, parents will be able to alleviate their concerns
sentence about their growing children.
=> Paragraph type: ………………….
Topic Sentence Obesity, one of the main health issues among young people, has been caused
by several factors and can be solved by some following measures. The
problem of obesity is attributed by lack of physical activities since they seem to
Supporting get involved in sedentary activities such as watching TV or sitting in front of the
sentences computer for too long. Another factor causing obesity is unhealthy diets which
involve too much fatty and sugary food. One solution to this health issue is for
young people to do exercise on a regular basis. It is also suggested that the
consumption of fast food and sweetened one should be limited. In conclusion,
Concluding this health issue is concerning and needs dealing with for the sake of people’s
sentence health.
=> Paragraph type: ………………….
Topic Sentence One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion, which
has been caused by several factors. First, during rush hours, too many cars in
use for roads to accommodate would probably cause heavy volume of traffic and
Supporting traffic jams seem unavoidable. Additionally, lack of awareness to obey traffic
sentences rules among vehicle owners is one of the factors that compound traffic
congestion. For example, many people are found passing red traffic lights, which
may cause traffic accidents, and therefore lead to traffic jams for a few hours. In
Concluding short, traffic congestion is one of the most concerning issues in big cities and it
sentence needs dealing with as soon as possible.
=> Paragraph type: ………………….

Task 2. Language of giving solutions

Another tackle More importantly need such as
should urgent first suggested so that
To (1)…………………..the problem of traffic accidents, several timely actions must be
taken. The (2)………… ………….solution is that the government (3)…… …………..to
reduce the number of private vehicles by encouraging people to use public transport (4)
……… …….bus, metro, train, etc. It is also highly (5)……………………..that this number
could be limited with high taxes on private cars as well as on energy. (6)………
…………….., those who break traffic rules must be strictly punished. (7)
………………..measure to reduce traffic accidents is that campaigns of propagandizing (8)
…………………be advertised widely on mass media (9)………………. people are more
aware of traffic safety. In short, it is (10) ……………..that these measures should be taken to
improve the current situation of traffic accidents.
 WRITING PRACTICE
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In our society, the rate of divorce is getting higher and higher due to lack of partner
communication and financial pressure.
Write a paragraph to suggest some solutions to this issue.
YOUR ANSWER
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