Letters - 2

Formal Letters
▪ Dear Sir or Madam ******* Yours faithfully
▪ Dear Ms. Waters ********Yours sincerely
▪ Use a formal tone: this affects your choice of vocabulary and grammar.
Dear Sir or Madam
▪ With regards to your recent feature on leisure activities for young people, I would like to make a few
suggestions. Firstly, there is a clear shortage of playing fields with the result that many children play
football in the road, which is dangerous. Secondly, …
▪ Re-read your notes on how to begin/end informal letters; make notes for a letter to a friend about a
recent experience (e.g. taking part in a performance, winning a competition, meeting your hero, meeting
an old classmate, visiting a foreign country, learning a new skill); work out what each paragraph is going
to be about; make a note of likely connectives (the following day, by the end of our conversation, as a
result, because of this, in the end, etc.); write the letter!
▪ Re-read the old essays and think about your most common errors (especially tenses, missing “a” / “the”,
plural “s”, uncountable nouns, prepositions of time/place – in Jakarta, in March, at night, etc.; vocabulary
– go shopping, to be interested in…, to apply for…); write new sentences that follow the correct patterns.
▪ Revise lists of connecting words / phrases:
▪ Firstly, … Secondly, … thirdly,… Finally,…
▪ For example, … For instance,…
▪ In addition, … Also, … Furthermore, … What is more, …
▪ As a result, … Because of this, … Consequently, … Therefore,…
▪ On the one hand, … On the other hand, …
▪ It is true that … However, …
▪ …, however, …In contrast, …On the other hand, …
▪ Similarly, …
▪ Another argument against _______ is that …
▪ Another disadvantage of _______ is that …

Topic / Question – Purpose – Speaker – Audience

Formal Letter - Salutation (Dear Sir/Dear Madam / Dear Mr. Tom)
Sign off (Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely)
Introduction – Reason to write/Purpose, Address the sender, receiver, Make your stance evident
Shorter Paragraphs-brief and concise
Conclusion - Futuristic
Formal Tone, Precise and Concise, Shorter Paragraphs
Higher order/Academic Vocabulary, No Verb contractions
Informal Letter – Casual Salutation and Sign off
Introduction – Well-being of the receiver and Reason to write/Purpose
Conclusion – Futuristic
Longer paragraphs, Emotive language, Details
Dear Sir,
I………., have read your recent article on ….. and would like to lend my support to…

Dear Sir,
I read your recent article on… and I believe that this idea should be rejected because…
There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, … Secondly, …

Dear Sir,
With regard to your recent feature article on …, I would like to make a few suggestions.
Firstly… Secondly …
Examples of Formal Closing sentences
Finally I do hope that I have put forth my opinions on … successfully and …
it is up to you to determine which one most clearly expresses what you are trying to say.
▪ If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
▪ I await your reply with interest.
▪ We look forward to building a strong business relationship in the future.
▪ I look forward to our meeting on the 7th of October.
▪ Thanks for your extremely helpful attention to this matter.
▪ Thanks again for your attention, consideration and time.
▪ We look forward to hearing from you.
▪ It’s always a pleasure doing business with you.
▪ Thanks again for sharing your expertise in this matter.
▪ I am looking forwards to getting your input on this issue.
▪ Looking forward to our successful partnership.

Paragraph 1: Introduction – Purpose, Reason, Stance

(Why are you writing? Give the general aim and minimum information only. E.g. to complain, apply, request, disagree, and an
indication of what you are responding to e.g. a recent holiday or a letter in last week’s newspaper.)
Paragraph 2: Details of situation
(Give previous history of event or your background or experience. Say what happened exactly if you are making a complaint,
ort focus directly on the text you are arguing with. This section should include specific data such as names, dates, facts and
details.)
Paragraph 3: Further development
(Give further support to your claim or request. Summarise the current situation and why you should be given consideration
e.g. other problems which occurred with your holiday accommodation, how well you fulfil the job requirements)
Final paragraph: Future action
(Say what you want to happen next e.g. that you look forward to being called for interview or expect to receive some
compensation as soon as possible. Suggest, firmly but politely, what may happen if you do not receive a response to a
complaint.)