Task. B1 level.
Write about 100-120 words following the instructions. At the end of this post, you will find information about the structure of a letter.
Finally, you have chosen to take part in a two-week linguistic immersion this summer. You received an email from Katherine, the person who will give you free accommodation, where she explains that the first fortnight of August has been assigned to you. You have answered showing your enthusiasm, explaining why you can’t go before August 8th and suggesting what I could do.
And this could well be an example…
Dear Katherine,
How are you? I am glad to hear from you. I am very excited about my trip to England and I look forward to being there. This year I have made progress with my English and I am sure that this summer will be amazing for me.
Regarding my trip, I will just say that, I have a great problem with this date, the first fortnight of August, because my sister is getting married and as you can imagine, it will be impossible to stay there until 8th August.
As you can see, I can not change my plans because it is impossible. It would be a pleasure, if you found a solution. I will be able to stay there from 8th until 22nd August.
I expect to hear from you.
Best wishes,
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.
