8B English 2021

Understanding
formal and informal
communication
Emails, texts and letters…
○ Understand the tone and
vocabulary used for
communicating in a formal
and informal style.
○ Understand the differences
between different
communication styles We are learning to…

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○ Use appropriate verbs for informal and
formal writing.  
○ Use correct formatting for formal and
informal letters.  Success Criteria
○ Identify the differences between
We are successful when we are able to…
communication styles

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Styles of Communication

Email Direct Messaging Phone Calls Social Media Letters

A digital message, often Via text message or over Old-fashioned voice-to- Photo sharing, instant Written communication
used in business messaging apps voice communication gratification without technology

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Styles of Communication

Email Direct Messaging Phone Calls Social Media Letters

A digital message, often Via text message or over Old-fashioned voice-to- Photo sharing, instant Written communication
used in business messaging apps voice communication gratification without technology

In this unit – we will focus on these three types of communication.

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Emails and Texts

Think. Pair. Share.

Discuss the following:
○ What do you normally text about, and who to?

○ What do you normally email about, and who

to?

○ Why is there a difference?

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Text Messages
How we use them, and why…

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Learning Intention
We are learning to…

Compare Contrast Explain

Two different styles of Understand the How we should use

communication. difference between two these communication
styles of communication styles in every day life.

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What are text
messages?
Texts are short, informal messages that are
sent electronically to a mobile phone or
other device using a cellular network.

i.e.

- iMessage

- Facebook Messenger

- DMs

- WhatsApp

- Hangouts

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Characteristics of Text Messages

○ What are some key things that text messages have that other forms
of communication don’t have, or don’t use very often?

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Characteristics of Text Messages
○ Abbreviations (pics, hols, uni…)
○ Lengthening (soooo, heeey…)
○ Contractions (ur, plz, hv…)
○ G-clipping (goin, gettin, doin…)
○ Other clipping (lemme, wanna,
gotta…)
○ Initialism (omg, btw…)
○ Symbols (@; &; xx…)
○ Letter/number homophone (2nite, c,
r, b, 4…)
○ Unconventional spelling (gurls, tonite,
coz, fotos, kool…)
○ Acronyms (ASAP, FB, LOL, YOLO)
○ Humour/emotion (hehe, haha, mwa,
eek…)
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Advantages of Text Messages

○ Quicker to send and receive (immediate back and forth)

○ Useful for something urgent
○ People usually see texts sooner
○ They are shorter and convenient
○ What else?

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Disadvantages of Text Messages

○ Might be considered intrusive (especially for business matters when at home)

○ It grabs your attention when you might be really busy
○ Not good for keeping records (sometimes they are deleted after a certain amount
of time)
○ What else?

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Texting your friends vs texting your parents

○ Do you text differently depending on who you are communicating with?

○ Do you change the style, language and tone of your message?

WRITE TWO TEXTS (in your book) OF NO MORE THAN 100 CHARACTERS ABOUT GOING TO THE
GORGE ON THE WEEKEND
- One text will be to your friend asking if they want to go

- One text will be to your parents asking if you can go

COMPARE YOUR TEXTS

- What is similar and different about them?

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Emails
What are they and how do we use them?

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What are emails?
Emails are messages sent from one
computer to another using a
network/system. They are usually more
formal than texts.

i.e.

- Gmail

- Outlook

- Yahoo

- iCloud

- AOL

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Characteristics of Emails

○ What are some key things that emails have that other forms of
communication don’t have, or don’t use very often?

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Characteristics of Emails

○ Similar to traditional letters

○ Uses the internet
○ Includes a subject
○ You can include others as an ‘FYI’
○ They can be short or long
○ They can have attached files
○ They can be sorted, searched, and organised.

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Advantages of Emails

○ More reliable than texts

○ Everyone in the business world uses it
○ Can easily be printed
○ More secure (users need a username and password to access)
○ What else?

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Disadvantages of Emails

○ Can be an inefficient use of time if you check it too frequently at work

○ Emails can get buried and missed
○ Possibility of spreading malware/viruses
○ It could be frustrating if it’s an urgent matter because the person you’re sending
it to might not see it right away.
○ What else?

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Examples
○ You wake up in the
morning to find the ceiling
tiles in your bathroom on
the floor and water
leaking from the
apartment above you.
Water Leak!!!
What would you do – send a text or an email?

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A text response…

Hi Adonis, sry to
bother u so early.
Our BR ceiling
caved in &
water’s dripping
from upstairs.
We need help
ASAP.

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An email response…

Hi Adonis,

I hope this email finds you well. I just wanted to inform

you that this morning we realised that overnight, the
ceiling tiles in the bathroom had fallen to the floor. Now,
there is water pouring from the apartment above us.

If you would be able to stop by and take a look, we would

really appreciate it. Just let me know what time works
best for you.

Take care,

Mickey Mouse

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Which way was more appropriate to the situation?

○ Why?

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○ You’ve been looking for
work and have finally
found a job listing you’re
really interested in.

I Need a Job!!!
What would you do – send a text or an email?

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A text response…

Hi, my name’s
Mickey. Saw job
listing online…
really interested.
Can I come in 2
interview
sometime?

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An email response…

Dear Hiring Manager,

My name is Mickey Mouse. I recently came across the job

listing on your website for a data specialist.

I was excited to read the job description because it matches so

closely to what I studied in college.

I would love to come in to interview for the position. I have

attached my resume along with a cover letter.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Mickey Mouse

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Which way was more appropriate to the situation?

○ Why?

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Learning Intentions
We are learning to…

Compare Contrast Explain

Two different styles of Understand the How we should use

communication. difference between two these communication
styles of communication styles in every day life.

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Reflection

○ When is the best time to use text messages and when is it not appropriate?

○ When is the best time to use email, and when is it not suitable?

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 Next Lesson

Writing emails – how do we do it?

https://prezi.com/p/jqbaq_x1zayv/writing-a-formal-email/
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Emailing your agent vs emailing your grandparents

○ Do you email differently depending on who you are communicating with?

○ Do you change the style, language and tone of your message?

WRITE TWO EMAILS (in your book) OF NO MORE THAN 300 WORDS ABOUT GOING ON A
HOLIDAY TO NEW ZEALAND OR A DESTINATION OF YOUR CHOICE
- One email will be to your travel agent, asking for the best holiday deal to New Zealand

- One email will be to your grandparents, telling them of your experience skiing on the mountains.

COMPARE YOUR EMAILS

- What is similar and different about them?

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Writing a Letter
Summative Assessment

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Learning Intentions
We are learning to…

Describe Inform Write

ourselves in a formal those around us about using formal language

way ourselves

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Structuring a Formal Letter

○ Similar to structuring an email, but with more attention to the formalities.

○ If a text is the most informal, think of a letter as the most formal.

○ Your letter will be handwritten.

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What is your letter about?

○ You.

○ Tell me about You.

○ What do you like?

• Favourite food? Movie? Music? TV Show?
• Interests
• Sports teams
• Hobbies

○ Tell me one thing you’re hoping to achieve this year

○ Tell me one thing you’re worried about this year

○ Tell me a funny story about you

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Steps to writing a letter

○ Heading/Letterhead
• Your Name, Address, Contact Number or Email

○ Address of Recipient
• Their Name, Address, Contact Number or Email

○ Date of Writing Letter

○ Salutation
• Greeting (Dear…, To…)

○ Body of Letter
• Paragraphs with a clear purpose (interests, family, hobbies, embarrassing story, biggest challenge etc.)

○ Sign off
• Formal closure (yours sincerely, thanks for your time etc.)
• Your full name (no middle name required)

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Assessment Criteria
What am I being assessed on?

Structure Paragraphs Language Spelling Clarity

Does your letter follow Do your paragraphs flow Are you using formal Are your words spelt Is your work neat and
the formal structure? from one idea to the language? correctly? legible?
next seamlessly?

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