Formal letters – Personal letters
•
-Letters of Acceptance and Refusal
• - Letters of Invitation
-Letters of Thanks (Bread and
butter)
- Letters of Apology
-Letters of Congratulations
(Postcards)
Formal letter
Letters of Acceptance and Refusal
Letters of Invitation
Letters of Thanks
Letters of Apology
Letters of Congratulations
A person in an English-speaking country usually writes
an informal letter when he would like to:
• find new pen-friends (among people of his own age).
• apologize for something.
• send a formal invitation.
• send an informal invitation.
• accept a formal invitation.
• accept an informal invitation.
• thank his friend for something.
• thank the people who have invited him to a party or to
visit a school or university.
• refuse a formal invitation.
• refuse an informal invitation.
STRUCTURE PLACE LANGUAGE
ELEMENT
1. The return address In the top right-hand
corner. It is not
necessary if the sender
of a letter knows the
person very well
2. The date It is placed under the e. g. Monday, March
heading (the return 1st, 1993 Saturday,
address) September 21st 9th
Sept. 1994
3. Salutation In the top left-hand Dear...
corner. It is flush with the Dear Uncle Arthur
left-hand margin Dear Mrs Crips
Dear Mr Farrow
Dear Professor
Middlebrown
4. First lines of the letter You may thank the person
you are writing to for
his / her letter, postcard,
invitation, etc.: Thanks for ...
Many thanks for ... Thank
you very much for ...
If you haven't written to the
person for a long time,
you should apologize for
this in the first lines of
you letter:
I must apologize for not
writing you at once...
5. The ending (before I would like to
the close) apologize for not having
written you before... I
really should have written
sooner... I feel very guilty
about not having written
be-fore... I hope you will
forgive me... Use social
formulas like the following:
I hope you write back soon.
Please write back soon. Do
write again soon. Hope to
hear from you soon. I'll be
looking forward to a letter
from you. We're longing to
hear from you. My husband
(wife) sends his(her) kind
regards (best wishes). I
hope you and your family
are all well.
Sincerely yours
6. The close
Yours
Yours truly
All the best
Lots of love
Best wishes
Much love
I love you so much
7. The signature The writer's name should
be in his own handwriting
(if the letter is typed) and
should be placed below
the close
Writing Help
I A Personal Letter (1) (page 17)
Layout
Your address
The date
Greeting
Hi Tania!/Dear Tommy,
1 Introductory questions
How are you? Have you decided where to go on holiday? Did your mum pass her driving test?
2 Describe where you are (the place/the weather)
Anyway, we're camping in the Isle of Skye. It has rained every single day...
3 Say what you are doing
We're very busy. We go walking every day and ..
4 Mention the people in the group
Our news: Predictably, ...
5 Ending. Make up an excuse to stop writing.
Well, I must finish. It's my turn to cook tonight. Write back soon.
Say goodbye and sign your name.
All the best,/Lots of love, Janet.
Useful Vocabulary
Weather: changeable, cloudy, cold, freezing, hot, rainy, sunny Accommodation: cabin,
campsite, farm, guest house, hotel, rented cottage, tent, youth hostel Locations: in a
forest, in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains, on the coast, near a river, near a town
Activities: canoeing, diving, horseriding, parachuting, rafting, sailing, skiing,
snowboarding, trekking, windsurfing
Informal style
Involve the reader with questions: How are you?/Can you believe it?/That skiing break
sounds the best, doesn't it? Refer to the reader: / hope the summer job is going
well/Here's some news for you/So you can imagine what he's like/Tell me all your news!
Linking
Begin sentences with informal linkers: Anyway, we're .../ Luckily, we didn't... /Actually,
there isn't.../Unbelievably, .../Predictably. .../But then we're .../And Tom has .../Well, I
must finish ...
Checking
Style: Have you used informal linkers, words and expressions? Grammar: Check your
letter for verb tenses.
Демонстрационный вариант ЕГЭ 2007 г. АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК, 11 класс.
You have 20 minutes to do this task.
You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend Steve who writes
… At school we are doing projects on reading habits of people in different countries. Could you tell
me what kind of books you and the members of your family like reading?
As for the family news my sister got married last week…
Write a letter to Steve.
In your letter
- tell him about the kind of books you and your relatives like to read
- ask 3 questions about his sister’s husband
Write 100 – 140 words.
Remember the rules of letter writing.
C2
You have 40 minutes to do this task.
Comment on the following statement.
Some people think that science plays the most important role in the development of our civilisation, others believe
that our world would be impossible without poetry.
What is your opinion? Which is more important in our lives, science or poetry?
Write 200 – 250 words.
Use the following plan:
- make an introduction (state the problem)
- express your personal opinion and give reasons for it
- give arguments for the other point of view and explain why you don’t
agree with it
- draw a conclusion