Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
INFORMAL LETTER
Beginnings
Asking
Referring to
their news
LuckThank you
FORMAL LETTER
Reason for
writing
I would be grateful if
I wonder if you could
Asking
Could you ?
Could you tell me something about ?
questions
I would particularly like to know
I would be interested in having more details about
Referring to As you started in your letter,
their letter Regarding
Concerning
With regard to
I am writing to complain about
You said but in fact what happened
Complaining
We were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a guest house.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Closing
I look forward to hearing from you.
Please contact me if you have any further questions.
(If Dear surname)
Yours sincerely,
Signing off (If Dear Sir/Madam)
Yours faithfully,
Yours,
First name + surname
Remember that in formal letters we use:
Formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs
(Tolerate instead of put up with)
More complex sentence structure
(Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed
with the service)
Punctuation using semi-colons
The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the
high cost involved
Remember that in informal letters we use:
Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs. go on instead of continue
Simpler sentence structure
Ill be late for the party. Its because of my French exam.
Punctuation using exclamation marks
If youd been at the wedding, youd have loved the food!
TASK. Rewrite this informal letter using formal register.
Dear Ms Denton. Thanks for your letter of 24 May. As I am sure
you will understand, I am very sorry to hear that you could not
locate my suitcase. As I said in my original letter, the suitcase
contained many documents that I need for my job. I have had to
get in touch with my publishers to get hold of copies of documents
that your airline lost. Of course, I will fill in to Claim Form, but it is
not easy to guess the value of the documents. About half of them
are irreplaceable. I hope that in the meantime you are still looking
for my case. If you find it, please contact me straight away. I am
looking forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, James Burke
LETTER OF APPLICATION
Dear Mr/Ms (surname),
CVonsQualificatiExperience
Reason
for
writing
Ending
s
Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully,
Yours,
First name + surname
REPORT
To:
From:
Initial
Subject:
information
Date:
Introductio
n
Findings or
Important
points
Useful
phrases
or
Re:
ARTICLE
Heading
Opening
Freezing!
(dramatic)
My Lone Walk to the North Pole
(a summary)
Rescue from the rapids
(a summary)
Whats the big idea?
(a question)
Seven banks a day are robbed in LA
Youre already well equipped to prevent crime
(a surprising)
(a surprising)
Give your article a heading or headline which makes the subject clear and also
General catches the readers attention.
Structure Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument.
Begin with an interesting introduction an example, perhaps, or a question.
End with an overall comment or concluding.
STORY
Beginnings
and endings
Verb tenses
The past perfect to describe events which happened before the main events:
When I got on the bus all the seats had been taken.
Preset participles to show two actions which are linked:
Noticing that she looked lost, I asked if I could help.
Perfect participles to show that one action was complete before another started:
Having reported my stolen passport to the police, I returned sadly to the hotel.
Time Links
Adding
variety and
interest
before .
then
later
during
when
finally,
immediately
A few days earlier
Following the accident
at first,
after that
as soon as
in the end,
Just after that
Later on
next
afterwards
eventually,
once
Some time later
Try to use different adjectives to convey the atmosphere. For example, if you want
to convey the idea of fear, you could use frightened, terrified, scared.
Varying the length of sentences can be effective.
Use direct speech occasionally for dramatic effect (remember to use inverted
commas correctly: No, he yelled, dont touch that switch!)
DISCURSIVE
Making
points
Contrasting
points
Giving
opinions
Organising
and linking
your ideas
Secondly,
In addition,
Furthermore,
As a result,
Therefore,
On the one hand on the other hand
While it is true to say
To summarise,
In conclusion