Блок 1.1.3. Writing. Letters/Emails

Dear Friend!

Welcome to our lesson. Today we will be introduce to formal and informal styles, their similarities and differences. At the end of our lesson we will be able to differentiate various types of writing as well as plan our own letters according to their purpose. Good luck!

General Introduction

Letters/Emails can be formal, semi-formal or informal depending on who we are writing to. Reason for writing them include: giving news, invitations, accepting or refusing invitations, complaining, asking for or giving information, applying for a post/course, expressing apology, asking for/giving advice, giving news, suggesting etc.

General outline for letters/emails:

Greeting

Paragraph 1. Opening remarks, reason for writing

Paragraph 2, 3. Development of the topic

Paragraph 4. Closing remarks

Sign off

Informal Style

Greeting: Dear Sally/Aunt Marry/Tom, etc.

• friendly, relaxed, personal style (e.g. Thanks so much for your last email)
• frequent use of colloquial expressions, idioms, phrasal verbs, short forms (e.g. It’s been ages since we last saw each other.)
• pronouns are often omitted (e.g. Thought I’d drop you a line.)
• chatty language (e.g. I hope you’re OK.)
• simple linking words (e.g. and, but, so)

Sign off: Best wishes/Yours/Regards, (our first name)

Semi-Formal Style

Greeting: Dear Mr Smith,

• polite respectful tone (e.g. I would like to thank you for your help.)
• use of less colloquial language (e.g. Thank you so much for your email instead of Thanks a million for your email)
• less frequent use of short verb forms, linking words, phrasal verbs (e.g. Also, I was wondering if I could arrange a meeting with you.)

Sign off: Regards/Kind regards, (our full name)

Formal Style

Greeting: Dear Sir/Madam, (Dear Mr Smith),               

• serious, impersonal style (e.g. I would like to congratulate you on your promotion.)
• complex sentence structure – frequent use of passive voice – formal linking words – no colloquial English – advanced vocabulary – no short forms (e.g. The trousers, which I received last week, were torn. I would be grateful if a replacement could be dispatched as soon as possible.)

Sign off: Yours faithfully/ Yours sincerely, (our full name)

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5