Letter Writing – Formal (Important Terms)

Openings

·        I would like to inform you that . . .

·        It has come to my attention that . . .

·        I am grateful to you for . . .

·        I wish to . . .

·        I wish to express . . .

·        I would like to . . .

·        Thank you for . . .

·        It is with much pride that I can confirm that  . . .

·        It is with regret that . . .

·        I am delighted to inform you that . . .

·        I write to you because . . .

Useful expressions

·        Please accept my . . .

·        I hope that . . .

·        I trust that . . .

·        It concerns me that . . .

·        I wonder if you would be kind enough to . . .

·        I would be grateful if . . .

·        It would be helpful if . . .

·        I wonder if . . .

·        As I see it . . .

·        I would rather not . . .

·        I appreciate that . . .

·        It is for this reason that  . . .

 Closing remarks

·         I look forward to hearing from you in due course

·         An early response would be greatly appreciated

·         I trust that this is all in order

·         Thank you once again for . . .

·         Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

·         Please be kind enough to consider my suggesion

·         I will be greatful if take a favourable decision

Letter Writing - Formal

Writing Formal Letters in English

v  Try to write as simply and as clearly as possible
v  Do not make the letter longer than necessary
v  Do not use informal language like contractions.

Salutation or Greeting:
Dear Sir or Madam,
If you do not know the name of the person.

2) Dear Mr Jenkins,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only.

If writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for married and single women.

Ending a letter :
1)                   Yours faithfully
            If you do not know the name of the person
2)  Yours sincerely
            If you know the name of the person
3)  Your signature

4) Your name

Content of Formal Letter

First paragraph
v   The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter- to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.
v   The middle paragraphs should contain the relevant information.
v   Formal letters in English are not very long,
v   So keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.

Last Paragraph
v   The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you expect the recipient to take.
Eg : I should be grateful if you could send me an application form and any other relevant information.

Some Similes
As hard as nails  - Tough
As dead as a doornail - Defunct (invalid, out dated, Expired)
As blind as a bat – Short-sighted
As fit as a fiddle - Healthy
As deaf as a post – Hard of/to hear
As mad as a hatter - Crazy
As plain as the nose on your face - Obvious
As old as the hills – Ancient
As good as gold  - Well-behaved
As white as a sheet – Very pale

Informal Letter - practice questions

You have just won first prize in a competition!

The prize is a two-week holiday to anywhere you choose in the world, for you and a friend.

Write a letter to a friend, in which you:

        ·  Explain what has happened, and why you are excited

        · Explain why you want to go to the place you have chosen

        · Invite your friend to come with you, saying why you think he/she would enjoy the holiday.

Your letter should be between 150-200 words.  Do not write an address

A member of your family (aunt, cousin or elder sister) has just given birth to a baby. Write a letter of approximately 150 words telling your pen-friend what has happened.

In your letter you should:

– explain why everybody will be pleased with the news;

– describe your own feelings about it;

– comment on the name which will be given to the baby;

– give an account of any planned celebrations.

It is late on Wednesday, and you have just got back from the term-end  party. You have decided to write about it in your diary.

Write a diary entry in which you

• describe what happened at the party

• say what gift you took along and why you chose it

• say what gift you received and whether you are pleased with it

• describe how you are feeling at the end of the evening.

Your diary entry should be about 200 words long.

You have a friend who, although a competent student, becomes very nervous before exams and doesn’t always do well in them.  You know she has some important exams coming up and you would like to see her be successful.

You may wish to write about:

• the importance of positive thinking
• the benefits of relaxation, proper sleep and enough exercise
• the usefulness of a study timetable

Your letter should be about 200 words long

Your school has inaugurated many clubs and associations recently. All the clubs have some aims and are going to organize various activities in the school. Write a letter to your friend about the inauguration and activities.

Don’t forget to include:

Ø  When and where the clubs and associations were inaugurated.

Ø  Why the various clubs and associations are needed in your school.

Ø  Various activities of the clubs and associations.

Ø  Give your opinion about these activities.

Your letter should be in 150 – 200 words long.

Letter Writing- Importance Terms (Informal)

BEGINNINGS

• Thank you for your lovely letter.
• Many thanks for your letter.
• Thanks for writing.
• It was good to hear from you.
• Sorry for not replying sooner. I have been very busy.
• Sorry for taking so long to reply. I have been revising for my exams.
• I’m sorry I haven’t written for ages,  but I’ve been busy studying and haven’t had the time.

SIGNALLING: "THE END IS NEAR"

• Well, that’s all my news for now.
• It’s getting late, so I’d better stop now.
• I’d better stop now. It’s past midnight and I have an exam tomorrow.
• I’d better finish – I’m running out of space.
• My mom is calling for dinner so that’s enough for today
• I have to finish my home works so I am dropping my pen
• My favourate movie is there on tv tonight so it’s time to drop my pen

ENDINGS

• I look forward to hearing from you.
• I can hardly wait to meet you.
• Please write again soon.
• Please keep in touch.
• Give my regards to …
• Hope to hear from you soon.
• Awaiting an early reply .
• Inform my regards to Sam

Don’t forget to inform my updating to Aunt and uncle.

Special Terms

·        By the way . . .

·        To tell you the truth . . .

·        I must tell you about . . .

·        Right now I’m . . .

·        You will never believe it but . . .

·        I hope that . . .

·        To be honest . . .

·        I imagine that . . .

·        I should have told you that . .

·        I have been looking forward to . . .

·        I am looking forward to . . .       

·        I am worried about . . .              

·        I was looking forward to . . .

·        I expect that . . .

·        I think that . . .

·        As it happened . . .

·        I didn’t expect . . .

·        I don’t expect . .

·        In truth . . .

·        The best bit is . . .                    

·        The worst part is . . .               

·        Worst of all . . .

·        Best of all . . .

·        You’ll never guess what happened?

·        You know what?

·        Do you know what?

·        Can you imagine it?

·        Have you ever . . ?

·         Do you think that . . ?

·         Don’t you think that . .?

·         Isn’t it time to . . ?

·         Have you ever thought about . . ?

  Punctuation Marks

! – Exclamation Mark (Wonder )

. – Full stop (Sentence Completion)

, - Coma (Line break)

: - colon

; - Semicolon

‘’- Single Inverter coma (give imp)

“” – double inverter coma(quote)

? – interrogation Mark (Question mark)