some basic parts of formal and informal lettersdownload.ama.edu.vn/fce/fce write ws002.pdf · you...

[WRITING – WS002]

Confidential | Intellectual property of AMA 1

PAPER 2, Part 1 (You must write one of the following: an article, essay, letter, report, review or story)

Some Basic Parts of Formal and Informal Letters

Divide the following expressions into formal (F) and informal (I).

Allotted time: 2-5 minutes

Beginning It was great to hear from you. __

I am writing with reference to your letter of 25 May. __

Thanks for writing to me. __

Congratulations

Well done! __

I would like to offer congratulations on your recent promotion. __

Please allow me to congratulate you on your recent success. __

Advice / suggestion

Why not try __

What about going __

It is recommended that you contact __

You could visit __

I urge you to consider the points I have made. __

If I were you I’d __

Linkers

Moreover, __

Then again, __

Furthermore, __

Better still, __

What’s more, __

Additionally, __

Endings

Do drop me a line if you have time. __

I look forward to hearing from you without delay. __

Hope to hear from you soon. __

Keep in touch. __

I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience. __

[WRITING – WS002]


Some Basic Parts of Formal and Informal Letters

ANSWER SHEET

Divide the following expressions into formal (F) and informal (I):

Beginning

It was great to hear from you. _I_

I am writing with reference to your letter of 25 May. _F_

Thanks for writing to me. _I_

Congratulations

Well done! _I_

I would like to offer congratulations on your recent promotion. _F_

Please allow me to congratulate you on your recent success. _F_

Advice / suggestion

Why not try _I_

What about going _I_

It is recommended that you contact _F_

You could visit _F_

I urge you to consider the points I have made. _F_

If I were you I’d _I_

Linkers

Moreover, _F_

Then again, _I_

Furthermore, _F_

Better still, _I_

What’s more, _I_

Additionally, _F_

Endings

Do drop me a line if you have time. _F_

I look forward to hearing from you without delay. _F_

Hope to hear from you soon. _I_

Keep in touch. _I_

I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience. _F_

[WRITING – WS002]


How to Write an Informal Letter

These are the various parts of an informal letter:

Dear/Hi (first name),

Beginnings

Asking

Referring to their news

Giving news/information

Apologies

Invitations

Requests

Thank you/ Congratulations/ Good luck

Making suggestions and recommend

Endings

Signing off

Informal letters are usually to

your friends or family;

therefore, you should only use

their first name. You should greet the

person.

Perhaps ask them how

they are doing? You may have to respond to some sort of

event such as a birthday invitation or a

job promotion.

Perhaps something happened in your

life and you want to notify a friend or

family member. Maybe you are

getting married or your dog died. Did you do something wrong?

You may have to say sorry to

someone.

Getting married or having a birthday

party? You may have to invite

someone to this special event.

Perhaps you need help. You may need to borrow

money or have someone take you to the airport in

the future.

Whether you have good or bad news, you

should thank the person for reading your

letter or email.

Sometimes they will ask you for help or advice.

You will have to come up with some

recommendations. This is similar to thank

you.

This will include your name or

signature at the end of the

letter.

[WRITING – WS002]


Samples of Phrases for Each Part

Dear (first name),

Beginnings

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

It was good/nice to hear from you recently.

I’m sorry I haven’t written/been in touch for such a long time.

It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your family are well.

Asking

Hi! / How are the things? / How are you? / How’s it going?

Referring to their news

Great news about … Glad to hear that … Sorry to hear about …

Giving news

Listen, did I tell you about …? You’ll never believe what …

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

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

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

Apologies

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

I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.

If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost I’ll gladly pay for it/replace it.

Please let me know how much the bill is and I’ll gladly pay it.

Invitations

I’m/We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you’ll be able to come.

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

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

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

Thank you very much for your invitation. I’d love to come.

Thank you for asking/inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …

[WRITING – WS002]


Requests

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

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

I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?

I’d be very/really/terribly grateful if you could …

Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck

I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.

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

I really appreciated all your help/advice.

Congratulations on passing your exams/your excellent exam results!

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

Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll pass/do well.

Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …

Making suggestions and recommend

Why don’t you …? Maybe you could …? How about …?

You can’t leave New York without doing sth

I’m sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can …

Do visit somewhere Don’t forget to do sth (Imperative -> Strong Recommendation)

I’m told that … People say that … (If you heard sth is good)

Endings

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

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

Signing off

Love,

Lots of love,

All the best,

Best wishes,

[WRITING – WS002]


PAPER 2, Part 1 (You must write a replying letter or email, formally or informally)

Task type: Informal Letter

Determining Which Parts You Need

Most letters – not all – may have a beginning, asking, ending and signing off.

Which other parts you might need will depend on the topic and what the FCE ask

you to do. Take a look at an example:

You have received the following letter from your English-speaking friend.

.............Thanks for inviting me to stay with you when I visit your country next month.

I'm not sure how to get to your apartment from the airport. Could you write back giving me some basic instructions? What would be the best method of transport for me? I'd prefer one that isn't too expensive!

Just one other thing - what will the weather be like when I get there? (Just so I'll know what clothes to pack!) .........

This is a letter from a friend, so we

know that this will be an informal

letter.

Referring to

the news

Making

suggestions

and

recommend

Making

suggestions

and

recommend

[WRITING – WS002]


You should create an outline to organize your idea like the one below:

Beginning:

Referring to the news: excited/can’t wait

Asking: family

Suggestion 1: train across from airport Blue line to District One Marketplace St.

red apartment;

Expensive taxi = CAN$100; Cheap train = 2

Suggestion 2: jacket/gloves/scarf/extra socks Cold = 0-15 degrees = freezing

temperature=> dangerous

Ending:

Signing off:

Support your idea.

Explain how it is cold

or give examples.

Provide detail on

how to get to his

apartment.

Why?

Support your

topic or idea.

[WRITING – WS002]


Sample Informal Letter:

Hi Jenny,

I got your letter today and I am looking forward to seeing you soon in Canada. By the way, how

is your family doing? Are they excited for you?

About your question on how to get to my apartment, you should take the train that is across

from the airport. Just ride the Blue line to District One which will stop at Marketplace Street.

Across from the street is my apartment. It is purple and easy to see. I’ll be outside the train

station to make sure you don’t get lost. I think this is the best way to go because it’s much

cheaper than a taxi. If you go by taxi, it will cost over 100 dollars, but a train ticket is just 2

dollars.

Also, you must bring warm clothes to Canada. Bring a jacket, gloves, scarf, and extra socks.

The temperature in Canada can reach between 0 and 15 degrees Celsius. This can be

dangerous.

Once again, I can’t wait to see you!

Love,

Trang

Asking

Referring to the news

Beginning

Suggestion #1

Suggestion #2

Ending

Signing off

[WRITING – WS002]


Exercise 1: Write your letter in 120-150 words. You must use grammatically

correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate

for the situation.

Allotted time: 30 minutes

Your Informal Letter:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

[WRITING – WS002]


You have received the following letter from your English penfriend.

I'm really pleased you're planning

to come to England to study. Let me

know what type of course you're

interested in and I'll ring some

colleges for details. The more

information you can give me the

better!

Exercise 2: Write your letter in 120-150 words. You must use grammatically

correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate

for the situation.


Make an outline before you write.

Your Outline:

A penfriend

is someone

you often

write to.

Talk about which

course you would like

to take in England and

explain why. Perhaps

you could ask her to

find other information

for you.

Maybe you can ask her

about accommodation

or transportation?

[WRITING – WS002]



__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

[WRITING – WS002]



Dear July,

Hi! Thanks for your letter, and sorry for not replying sooner. You see, I've been planning this for a long time and I came to a conclusion: I want to take up singing classes in London! What's cool is that I don't want to join a common class, but a group of people that expresses itself through the music and lets its spirit free while singing.

I'm really excited about this, and I'd love to have your opinion about it. It'd be fantastic if you could search for the appropriate singing classes in the city for me. Just check the prices well and give me the schedule of each place.

I guess the best place to stay is in a house with a host family, but if you've got a better idea, let me know. I think I'll stay for two months. The problem is that I'm not sure if I can afford everything. That's one of the things about London that gets on my nerves: everything is so expensive!

Ok, I've got to go now, so see you soon!

Love,

August

[WRITING – WS002]


You have received the following letter from your English-speaking friend.

...We're doing a project this month

at school on eating habits and

customs around the world. Will

you be able to help me by telling me

what the traditional meals are in

your country, what people typically

eat and at what time of day?

Thanks very much!

Love Alison

Exercise 3: Write a letter in 120-150 words to your friend giving her the

information she needs. You must use grammatically correct sentences with

accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate for the situation.


Your Outline:

[WRITING – WS002]



__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

[WRITING – WS002]



Name: Magda Partyka

School: The Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland

Dear Alison,

I was very happy to hear from you. I will be glad to help you with your project, and I hope that I

can give you some details you could use.

Mostly the Polish people have breakfast before 7 am. They have some slices of bread and

butter, cheese, tomato, or cucumber and ham. They drink coffee with milk or tea.

We usually don't eat until we return home after work which is about 4 pm. Then we eat the main

meal of the day which usually consists of soup for the first course and a piece of meat, some

potatoes and a salad for the second. Sometimes we have some sweets for dessert.

Between 7 and 8 pm most Polish families have their supper which looks like breakfast but with

more food.

Good luck with your project!

Love,

Magda

[WRITING – WS002]


You have received the following email from your English penfriend.

>It's a really brave step to take a

year out of >college to come and

spend 6 months in the >UK! What

are you planning to do with your

>time? Find a job? Learn some new

skills? >Write back and give me

more details of your >plans so I

can do my best to help you have a

>good time...

Exercise 4: Write an email in 120-150 words to your friend replying to her

questions. You must use grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling

and punctuation in a style appropriate for the situation.


Your Outline:

[WRITING – WS002]


Your Informal Email:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

some basic parts of formal and informal lettersdownload.ama.edu.vn/fce/fce write ws002.pdf · you...

Documents