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LETTER WRITING
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LETTER WRITING - INFORMAL AND FORMAL - a whole new world of English.
 
See also WRITING COMPOSITIONS for help with your paragraph writing and connectors.
 
In Module D you need to write a letter.
In Module F you need to write a formal letter.

There are many types of letters, for example:
A FRIENDLY LETTER
A LETTER OF COMPLAINT
A JOB APPLICATION
A LETTER TO A NEWSPAPER
 
REMEMBER THE RULES - see below 
LAYOUT - Your letter must have the correct layout so that it looks like a letter.
ADDRESS -the address has important rules for writing correctly.  Learn them.
DATE - the date should be written correctly.
PARAGRAPHS - your letter should have a minimum of three paragraphs.
OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS - Learn the language of the written letter - Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely, in my opinion, in conclusion, looking forward to meeting you, etc.
 
 
Writing an address in business English. 
(If you need to make up an address you can easily use colours to help you.)
 
Mr. J. Brown,
16 Green St.,
Gold Town,
Silver State,
England.
Start with the name, the street, the town, the state, the country.  Go from the small to the large.
 
REMEMBER TO CHECK:-
Capital letters - names of person, street, town, country.
Full stops after abreviations (Mr. Mrs. Miss Ms. St., Rd., Ave., Blvd.,)  Notice "Miss" is not an abreviation. 
If the abreviation is at the end of the line then the full stop is followed by a comma.  
Commas at the end of each line and a full stop at the end. 
The number of the house comes before the name of the street.
 
To help you remember the order - first the smallest, the individual, then the street, then the town, then the state, then the largest, the country and the post code.
 
 
Writing the date:-
1st. 2nd. 3rd. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th. etc
21st. 22nd. 23rd. 24th. 25th. etc
 
1st. January, 2007.
 
OPENING AND CLOSING
If you know the name of the person you are writing to then you start the letter with Dear Mr. Brown, or  Dear Mrs. Brown.  If you don't know the name of the person then you begin with Dear Sir, or Dear Madam.  If you are writing to a friend you do not need this formal opening.
 
You close a formal letter with Yours faithfully, or Yours sincerely, followed by your signature (without a full stop) and your name (with a full stop).
 
 
GRAMMAR FOR LETTER WRITING
 
RULE - When using the expression
"Looking forward to" remember that if this is followed by a verb the verb needs to be with ing
 
I am looking forward to meeting you.
I am looking forward to seeing you.
I am looking forward to hearing from you. 
 
 
WRITING A JOB APPLICATION
Go to the following site
 

FORMAL LETTERS - USEFUL SENTENCES

-                      LETTER OF APPLICATION

     In reply to your advertisement ( in / (day ) ‘s paper / Ha'aretz )

     I would like to apply for the post ( job ) of… which was advertised in….. on

     I wish to apply for admission to…

     Please / As requested / find enclosed letters of reference from…

     I am …years old

     My qualifications are as follows : ( list of your qualifications )

     In … I graduated from… I majored in ….

     I would be glad to come for an interview at any time that is convenient for you.

     -                      LETTER OF INQUIRY

     I/ am interested /wish / to learn more about…

     I would be most grateful if you could supply us with the following information.

     I would like to get a description of..

     Do you supply…?

     Does it include ( dinner / equipment / activities.. ) ?

     What is the price of … per / day / week.. ?

     I would appreciate if you could….

     Would you kindly…

 -                      LETTER OF COMPLAINT

     I wish to draw your attention to…

     I would suggest that…

     I suggest that immediate steps be taken.

     I wish to complain about…

     I look forward to a prompt reply and hope that you will take into  

     consideration

     I am really dissatisfied with…

 
SAMPLE LETTERS - FORMAL AND INFORMAL - showing correct layout. 
 
                                                                                         Mrs. Green,
                                                                                         Apple Lane,
                                                                                         Orange Town,
                                                                                         England.
Mr. Brown,
Orchard Way,
Peach Blossom Village,
England.
                                                                                           1st. April, 2010.
 
Dear Mr. Brown,
I am writing on behalf of the Community Centre where we are planning a benefit dance to raise money for our new orphanage.
 
Some of our orphans are organising a show and we would very much like you to be part of the entertainment for that evening.
 
The Benefit Dance will be on Saturday 14th April at 20.00 at the City Hall.  We are organising a three course meal for all our guests.
 
We would be very honoured if you would agree to perform for us.  Please let us know as soon as possible.  Looking forward to meeting you.
 
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Green.
 
 
INFORMAL LETTER
 
Hi Uncle Joe,
It was great seeing you at the game this Saturday.
 
I am sending you the list of names you requested.  Hope it helps you.
 
I'll be coming down to London next weekend and I'd love to come and see you and the kids.  Let me know when you'll be home.
 
Give a big kiss to everyone.
 
Love,
Sue.

INFORMAL LETTERS

USEFUL SENTENCES

 

 

Opening paragraph

 

- I was / thrilled / pleased / to receive your letter

- I'm sorry I didn't write before but I have been busy….

- I'm sorry I haven't written to you for such a long time.

- Thank you for answering my letter so quickly.

- I'm writing this letter to tell you that….

- I want you to be the first person to know about…

- You will never guess what happened to me!

- I have great news to tell you!

- I'm worried because I haven't heard from you for a long time.

 

Closing paragraph

 

- I'm looking forward to / hearing from you / meeting you soon.

- Answer me as soon as you / get / receive this letter.

- Give my best wishes to your family

-  Best wishes to …..

- I miss you and hope to see you soon.

- Don't be lazy, write soon.

 

 

COMPOSITION

Main Connectors

 RESULT – SUMMARY

 So – therefore – as a result – thus – consequently – accordingly – in this way –                          in short – in brief …

 

CONCESSION

However – nevertheless – despite – in spite of – yet – although – though – still …

 

CONTRAST

Instead – in comparison – on the contrary – but – on ( the ) one hand – on the other hand – by contrast – whereas – otherwise – notwithstanding …

 

ADDITION

Also – and – furthermore – moreover – in addition ( to ) – besides – above all…

 

REASON

Because ( of ) – since – for – due to – thanks to – on account of …

 

EMPHASIS

As a matter of fact – in particular – of course – in fact – indeed – in any event…

 

ILLUSTRATION

For instance – for example …

 

REPETITION

Similarly – likewise – in the same way…

 

SEQUENCE

First – next – then – finally – at last – eventually – in the end…

 

 

Useful Phrases

- Many people claim that…

- The prevailing opinion is that….

- It is true that….

- This is not an exaggeration … even though…

- I tend to dis/agree with …

- In conclusion         to conclude

- I can understand…, however, …

- When discussing the issue of …we should take into consideration factors such as…   and…. . Yet we /  must not forget the importance  / should keep in mind..

 - As we have seen/will see, there are ( at least ) two sides to this issue.

 - I am convinced that we can / deal with this situation /improve this situation / solve this problem…

 - This is an issue that / can be solved / must be faced …

-  Another aspect of the issue is…

- In my opinion, the advantages of… far outweigh the disadvantages…

- We can argue that… but…

      - Personally I am in favor of…..

 

LOVE LIFE AND LOVE LEARNING - BOTH ARE PRECIOUS
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
BELIEVE IN YOUR ABILITY AND NEVER GIVE UP
GRAB HOLD OF AN IDEA AND FLY WITH IT
THE SKY'S THE LIMIT