Informal letter

Thank you vary much for your invitation. Id love to come.

Dear (first name),

Thank you for asking/inviting me to but Im afraid I wont be able to

Dear (first name), or Hi (first name) (for informal e-mails)

Requests

Beginnings

Im writing to ask for your help/you (if you could do me) a favour.

Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/postcard.

I wonder if/I was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour.

It was good/nice to hear from you recently.

I hope you dont mind me asking but could you (possibly) ?

Im sorry I havent written/been in touch for such a long time.

Id be very/really/terribly grateful if you could

Its ages since Ive heard from you. I hope youre/you and your family are well.

Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck

Asking

Im writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.

Hi! / How are the things? / How are you? / Hows it going?

It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.

Referring to their news

I really appreciated all your help/advice.

Great news about Glad to hear that Sorry to hear about

Congratulations on passing your exams/your excellent exam results!

Giving news

I wish you good luck/Good luck in/with your exams/your driving test/your

Listen, did I tell you about ? Youll never believe what

interview.

Oh, and another thing This is just to let you know that

Dont worry, Im sure youll do well/pass.

I thought you might be interested to hear about/know that

Making suggestions and recommend

By the way, have you heard about/did you know that

Why dont you ? Maybe you could ? How about ?

Apologies

You cant leave New York without doing sth

Im writing to apologise for missing your party but Im afraid I was with flu.

Im sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can

Im really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my

Do visit (somewhere). Dont forget to (do sth) (Imperative -> Strong

new job.

Recommendation)

If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost Ill gladly pay for

Im told that People say that (If you heard sth is good)

it/replace it.

Endings

Please let me know how much the bill is and Ill gladly pay it.

Give my love/regards to Say hello to Hope to hear from you soon.

Invitations

See you soon! Write soon. Once again, thank you for all your help.

Im/Were having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope youll be able to come.

Signing off

Would you like to come/go to see Room With a View with me at the weekend.

Love,

I was wondering if youd like to go to the theatre/come on holiday with us?

Lots of love,

Could you let me/us know if you can come/youd like to join us?

All the best,

Best wishes,

+First name

I am writing to complain about

Remember that in informal letters we use:

You said but in fact what happened

We were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a

Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs

guest house.

go on instead of continue

Closing
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Simpler sentence structure

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ill be late for the party. Its because of my French exam.

Please contact me if you have any further questions.

Signing off

Punctuation using exclamation marks (don't overuse it)

Yours sincerely, (If you started with 'Dear + surname') or Yours faithfully, (If you

If youd been at the wedding, youd have loved the food!

started with 'Dear Sir/Madam')

First name + surname

Contractions

Remember that in formal letters we use

I've just heard you've been to...

Formal letter

Tolerate instead of put up with

Dear Mr/Ms (surname) - Dear Sir/Madam - Dear Sir or Madam,

Reason for writing

Formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs

More complex sentence structure

I am writing to

Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed with

I am writing with regard to

the service.

I am writing on behalf of
Asking questions

Punctuation using semi-colons

I would be grateful if

The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the high

I wonder if you could

cost involved.

Could you ? Could you tell me something about ?

I would particularly like to know

Letter of application

I would be interested in having more details about

Dear Mr/Ms (surname), Dear Sir/Madam/Sir or Madam,

Referring to their letter

Reason for writing

As you stated in your letter,

I am writing to apply for the post/position of as advertised in

Regarding Concerning With regard to

I am writing with reference/in response to your advertisement, which I saw

Complaining

I am writing in connection with your advertisement in the Daily Star on May

11th

Most people seem to feel that...

With reference to your advertisement

Several people said/told me/suggested/thought that

Experience / Qualifications / CV

Making recommendations

I gained some experience while

I would therefore recommend that we expand the library/installing a new coffee

I am currently working as

machine...

I have been working for for the last four years.

It would seem that banning mobile phones is the best idea.

I worked part-time for three years as

Having considered the options,

At the moment I am employed by

I would like to suggest/recommend

My qualifications include

I therefore suggest/recommend

I have a diploma in

You may wish to consider

I graduated from Barcelona University last year with a degree in

Please find attached my CV

Article

As you can see from the attached CV

Heading / Title

Endings

Freezing! (dramatic)

Please do not hesitate to contact me if/should you require further information.

My Lone Walk to the North Pole (a summary)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Whats the big idea? (a question)

I am available for interview at your convenience.

Youre already well equipped to prevent crime (surprising)

I shall be available for interview any day apart from Wednesdays.

Opening

Signing off

Did you know ?

(If Dear + surname) Yours sincerely,

What would you do if ?

(If Dear Sir/Madam) Yours faithfully,

General Structure

First name + surname

Report
Introduction
The aim/purpose of this report is to consider/suggest/...

and also catches the readers attention.

as well as some recommendations.

Reporting results

Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the
argument.

This report is intended to...

I summarise below / Below is a summary of the most important relevant points

Give your article a heading or headline which makes the subject clear

Begin with an interesting introduction an example, perhaps, or a

question.

End with an overall comment or concluding.

Essay
Making points
Many people feel that ...
First and foremost, ...
It is widely believed that ...
It would be ideal if ...
Another argument in favour is ...
It is clear from the facts that ...
The benefits of ... outweigh the disadvantages.
On the whole, I think ...
Contrasting points
On the other hand ...
Other people think ...
An opposing argument is ...
Giving opinions
I personally feel that ...
I find it hard to see why ...
I certainly don't believe that ...
It is difficult to believe that ...
I object to the cloning of animals.
Organising and linking your ideas
First of all, Secondly, In addition,
Moreover, Furthermore,
So As a result, Therefore,
However, On the one hand/On the other hand
On the whole While it is true to say
Finally, To summarise, In conclusion