Task. B1 level.
Hi Mates,
How’s it going?
Today I bring you an informal letter. As you probably know, this is a very important type of writing at the language school. So, I will show you a good example.
I hope you find it interesting.
Task. B1 level.
Write about 150-180 words following the corresponding instructions. At the end of this post, you will find information about the structure of a letter.
A friend in England has asked your advice about learning Spanish. Write an email giving advice based on your language learning experience. Including ideas for self-study if your friend can’t come to your country, ideas for learning the language in your country and your own experiences of learning a language.
And this could well be an example…
Hi Mary!
How are you? I’m glad to hear from you. Lately, I’ve been studying a lot and I couldn’t call you.
Concerning your email, I should know if you can come to Spain. If so, you could do a lot of activities such as theatre, talks, etc, at the language school where I go, I have learnt a lot there. Besides, they organize a trip every weekend and we have the great opportunity to talk to each other. In addition, they could find a job with children for you.
If you can’t come to Spain, I suggest that you watch Spanish films and plays, for instance “La Casa de Papel” or “El Ministerio del Tiempo”, they are very interesting. In addition, you should read a little every day, that is a good way to improve your vocabulary. Regarding the speaking skill, you’ll find a lot of people on the internet who want to practice languages with you, in fact, I have some friends from Scotland and I try to talk to them once a week.
But I think, it’ll be better if you came to Spain. I look forward to seeing you, I have a lot of thigs to tell you.
Love,
Aixa.
Structure of a letter.
As you probably know, there are several kinds of letters such as:
- Letters of complaint.
- Letters of request.
- Letters asking for, giving, refusing or accepting information, an advice or an invitation.
- Letters expressing congratulations, thanks or regret.
- Letters of apology.
- Letters of application for a job.
- Letters to the editor or authorities, giving your opinion or suggestions.
The style of the letter depends on who it is addressed to. It is not the same to write a letter asking a university for information as it is to write an email to a friend. The passive voice can be used in formal letters, as well as complex sentences, no abbreviated forms, non-colloquial English and so on. Whilst informal letters can include, idioms, colloquial English, abbreviated forms, etc.
Be that as it may, a successful letter consists of:
- A suitable greeting, depending on the style: Dear Mr Smith, Dear Anne, Dear Sir or Madam…
- An introductory paragraph, where the reason for writing should be clearly exposed using expressions such as, I am writing to express my strong, I am writing in response to, I am writing to request, I was terribly sorry to receive…
- A main body, explaining the subject into separated paragraphs using, firstly, according to, as you can imagine, as we all know, for all that, not only, but also…
- A conclusion, in which you sum up the subject or express what you expect from them using, I expect to hear from you, I hope that this matter can be, without adding I would appreciate…
- An ending, depending on the style and the greeting. If you have begun a formal letter with “Dear Sir or Madam” as a greeting, you have to end with ”Yours faithfully” or alternatively, you decided to begin with “Dear Mr Smith”, you have to end with “Yours sincerely”. But there are others formal and informal endings such as: best wishes, with love, sincerely, regards, yours…
Here, you will find more examples of letters or click on Tag Cloud, in the sidebar menu.
