Памятка "Как писать письма".
учебно-методическое пособие по английскому языку (7 класс)

                                                         Layout

         Formal

Informal

Greetings

Most commonly used salutations are as follows:

Sir,

Sirs,

Dear Madam,

Dear Sir,

Dear Sirs,

Dear Mr. Brown,

Dear Clara,

Hi Tania,

Hello Bill,

The introductory paragraph

The first paragraph will generally outline the purpose for the letter and the reason that the letter is being sent.

● I am writing to you with reference to…

● I am interested in applying for the job/position of…

● We are pleased to receive…

● This is to inform you that I have received your letter of…

● I very much appreciate having a reply from you…

● I am most grateful to you for…

should be started with a sentence that piques the interest of the reader. Make a few chatty comments or ask a few personal questions.

● How are you getting on?

● I’m really sorry for not getting in touch sooner…

● Thanks for writing back so quickly…

● I just wanted to let you know…

● Sorry I haven’t written for ages…

● Thought I’d better drop you a line to thank you for helping me…

The body

The body of the letter is the subject matter. It may consist of only one paragraph or as many as necessary to convey the message. Many-paged letters should be numbered. The body of a formal letter is brief. This is because business writing is straight to the point. When we write a formal letter, we want to hit the nail on the head, and not beat about the bush.

  The introduction should flow smoothly into the body, where you will talk about the main subject of your letter. If you are going to be discussing more than one topic, you can say “To begin with, I need to tell you…”Keep the tone of your informal letter on the conversational level.

The complimentary close

It is customary to close a letter with a closing salutation. Most commonly you will find:

●Yours faithfully,

●Yours sincerely,

●Yours truly,

●Best regards,

●Kindest regards,

Finish the letter with an excuse to stop writing. The appropriate phrases are:

● Must dash now, I have to write my History report…

● Please give my regards to…

● All the best,

● Love,

● Best wishes,

● With love from,

The signature

After the complimentary     close, leave about two  lines, and then write your full name

Yours faithfully,

Helen Lisova,

English teacher

Whether you sign only your first name, nickname or full name will depend on the relationship.

Love,

Helen

• using the passive forms

        ● I have been offered …

        ● I am prepared to come for an interview at anytime…

• Avoid contractions
• Linking words

• the use of contracted verb forms

        ● I’ve done…

        ● Why don’t we…

• The use of phrasal verbs and idiomatic language

         ● It’s a piece of cake to do the History project for me.

• Appropriate formulas for writing informal letters
• (linking words)

The formal letter sample

The informal letter sample

Dear sir,

    I am writing for the position of volunteer worker which I saw advertised in the Guardian last week . I would be interested in teaching Maths to primary children in your camp in Bangladesh. I enclose a copy of my CV.

    I would like to work for you because I am very interested in teaching. I would also like to learn about a different culture as I feel that intercultural understanding is extremely important.

    I am hard-working and committed person. For the last three years, I have done voluntary work visiting elderly people in my local area. I have also taught immigrant children so I feel confident I can get on well with people from other cultural backgrounds.

    I think I could be a good primary teacher of maths due to my teaching experience and since I have Maths ‘A’ level. In addition, I hold a certificate in first aid, which might be useful.

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Yours faithfully,

     Maureen Taylor

     Maureen Taylor (Ms)

Dear Tom,

   I’m glad to hear from you. Thanks for your letter. How are you getting on?

I’m writing to you to answer your questions about students` independence from

their parents. As a matter of fact, the allowance in Russian universities is so low that

It’s not enough for pocket money. And it’s absolutely unreal for students to get

a well-paid job, so Russian students have to be financially supported by their

parents even though they want to be independent. Students can rent a flat only if

parents give them money for that. And only nonresident students can live in university hostels.

 By the way, did you enjoy your trip to Scotland? What places of interest have you

visited? Have you seen the Loch Ness monster?

    I’m sorry but I must dash now. My mum is coming, we are gonna have dinner soon.

Best wishes,

Zina

Typical errors

1. Contractions are often used;

e.g. I`m writing to inform you of…

2. The ignorance of passive constructions

3. Formal expressions are substituted with colloquial words;

e.g. obtain-get

       inform me-let me know

       contact-get in touch

1. The questions are grammatically incorrect;

2.  Inconsistency in the tenses:

        e.g. I was going to town yesterday when a dog bite me and I ran all the way to the hospital.

3.  The apostrophe is in the wrong place;

        e.g. The dog lost it’s collar.

4.  The complimentary close is not punctuated, the name is written on the same line;

        e.g. Take care Michael

Vocabulary difference

• Formal

Inform me

Cancel

Contact

Obtain

Apologise

Postpone

Compensate

Establish

Discover

Handle

Investigate

Tolerate

Increase

Children

Many/much

• Informal

Let me know

Drop

Get in touch

Get

Say sorry

Delay

Make up

Set up

Find out

Deal with

Check up on

Put up with

Go up

Kids

A lot of

Linking words

As far as I am concerned,

Furthermore,

Nevertheless,

Despite the fact that,

Firstly,

Secondly,

In addition,

Also,

However,

Actually,

In fact,

As a matter of fact,

Anyway,

As you know,

Использованы материалы Helen Lisova “Writing Letters