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Up until the introduction of cheap phone calls to other cities and abroad, millions of people wrote letters to their friends, family members and loved ones in an attempt to keep in touch. This practice however was stopped in the late 70s as more and more people found that telephoning was a much better way to be in touch as it involves immediate response
FORMAL LETTERS page 1 © Panayota Lioupi Introduction to letter writing In the FCE examination students are asked to write one letter or an email message in the first part; this task is compulsory - many times there is the option of another informal or formal letter in the second part. Clearly, it is very important to master the techniques of writing letters if you want to maximize your chances of going through the examination successfully. The history of writing letters Up until the introduction of cheap phone calls to other cities and abroad, millions of people wrote letters to their friends, family members and loved ones in an attempt to keep in touch. This practice however was stopped in the late 70s as more and more people found that telephoning was a much better way to be in touch as it involves immediate response. Letter writing remained the standard form of correspondence in the field of business mainly because a letter is a legal document which can be used as evidence in court in the case of a dispute. Business letters and the letters we still must write to people we do not know in order to complete a transaction are quite formal. How formal they are depends on the receiver and our relationship with him or her. In any case, all letters keep to a basic format which is outlined below. PARTS of a letter 1. Opening (reference to PAST communication) 2. Main Message (presentation of the PRESENT situation and request for action) 3. Close (reference to FUTURE communication) Modern formal letters tend to be short and to the point, rather than lengthy reports using very formal language. However, there are some simple rules that apply to all types of letters nowadays. 1. The layout: BLOCK style vs. traditional forms Although some people still use indented paragraphing (old-fashioned type of companies/the Greek Civil Service), the introduction of word processors in the work place in the 80s has changed the style of letter writing. Nowadays most formal letters are typed and so… they use double space to indicate a change in the paragraph. Also… the close remains on the left hand side of the page. There are, of course, exceptions to the rules i.e. American vs. British English but on the whole, the main idea is the one of opening/main message/close. The main message, which is the REASON FOR WRITING should not be too lengthy. Different paragraphs are used to show different subjects. The language used should be as clear as possible. EXAM TIP: Although it is quite OK to use the old style of paragraphing in the FCE exam, you must take into consideration the fact that you are your letter and that your handwriting may not be the best one or the easiest in the world to read (!!!)…. so, it might be a better approach to use block style as it makes your letter look neat. FORMAL LETTERS page 2 © Panayota Lioupi This is an actual BUSINESS letter. Look how it looks when it’s HAND-written in block style: FORMAL LETTERS page 3 © Panayota Lioupi Block style helps us create neater, prettier, easier to read letters! Now look at the same letter HAND-written in the old style of paragraphing: FORMAL LETTERS page 4 © Panayota Lioupi 2. Conventions: Before you start writing a The date In Britain and most of Europe 06/09/09 means the sixth of September 2009 …BUT… in the United States the same thing (06/09/09) means the ninth of June 2009! Because you can't be certain how the person you're corresponding with will read the date, it is better to write 6 September 2009 ….and there will be no misunderstandings! * Most computers record the date the American way (month-day-year). Check that you have the correct date when you have received e-mail messages or copied something out of web pages! b Subject Heading This is a very clear way of showing what the letter is about. The use, or not, of subject headings in real life usually depends on a company’s or an organisation’s standard practice. Usually, subject headings help the person who receives the letter if the letter is about a particular order/invoice. You do not need to use a subject heading in the FCE exam unless you are writing a letter of complaint for faulty goods or bad service, in which case, it is considered a plus. If you would like to use a subject heading make sure that it goes before the opening salutation, in the centre of the page and is underlined. C Planning the paragraphs An FCE task is typically a page with the situation e.g. you have received a letter and are required to answer it (you must decide what kind of letter is required and to whom) and some notes that you have made on that with the things you shouldn’t forget to include in your task. What you need to do first of all, is: 1. Look at the task carefully and number the points you must cover on the exam paper. 2. Make a rough draft on your notebook/rough paper with what each paragraph should contain and the order in which it should go. At this stage you must be careful to include all the points asked by the task and in the correct order (just group the points and use common sense!) 3. Check that you know what action you are going to ask people to take as a result of your letter. FORMAL LETTERS page 5 © Panayota Lioupi ALWAYS start with one of the following phrases… 3. Conventions: The opening and the close A. The OPENING SALUTATION: This may depend on the relationship between the two people involved as this often changes the tone of the letter/email to a more personal one. When you open Dear Sirs/Sir/Madam Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms Spock you should close Yours faithfully Yours sincerely When you open Dear Ben, you should close Best wishes/Best regards/Kind regards This is how you decide which OPENING SALUTATION you are to use: Dear Sirs, - to a company (you don't know anybody's name- first contact) Dear Sir, - to a man if you don't know his name Dear Madam, - to a woman if you don't know her name Dear Mr. Anderson, - to a man Dear Ms Rush, - to a woman (it is preferred nowadays unless a woman asks to be called otherwise) Dear Mrs. Delande, - to a married woman who’s using her husband’s surname Dear Miss Coath, - to a young unmarried girl Dear Don, - to a friend or somebody you know well/ have been doing business with BUT: you can not start a letter with "Dear Mr. David", or "Dear Mr. David Evans" !! B. The 1 st sentence of paragraph 1: The opening of a formal letter depends on whether you are asking or giving information… I am writing to enquire about your letter of 15 May regarding…. whether you had previous contact with the person you are writing to…. I am writing in connection with your email message of today concerning… I am writing with reference to our telephone conversation of 10 June about… With reference to your letter of 6 June the advertisement which appeared… In connection with … our telephone conversation earlier today FORMAL LETTERS page 6 © Panayota Lioupi whether this is an answer letter…. Thank you for your letter (enquiring) about phone call of 10 May concerning fax asking if e-mail message enclosing C. The 2 nd sentence of paragraph 1: You have now set the tone of your letter. Now continue … I am interested in and I would like to know We are a school of … we are examining the possibility … We are in the process of buying… are thinking of (…-ing) I would like to receive/book/order/apply … C. The close The way you close a formal letter depends on the way you open it. Below, there are some examples of different ways to close a letter. If you gave information at the letter you can close: I hope that the information will help you. and add Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information. or Please, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. There should always be reference to future communication… I look forward to receiving your reply/order (FORMAL) to hearing from you to meeting you on Thursday (I’m) looking forward to hearing from you soon (INFORMAL) You will do the same things in a formal email message; The ONLY thing that’ll change is the fact that you MUST use a subject heading in the header! FORMAL LETTERS page 7 © Panayota Lioupi Practice: Write the first and the last paragraph of the following letters. You don’t need to use the addresses. A You saw this TV commercial on CNN about a new printer (HP 3500L), that has not been imported to Greece yet. Write to the company in the UK. (info@PrintersRUs.co.uk) B Write to World Expeditions (76 Piccadilly E1 45F, London). You want to know if they are organizing a trekking holiday in Tibet next Easter. C You go to school in the American college in Athens. You heard about this company (Syriani Catering Ltd., 112 Kifissias Ave., 124 62, Halandri) that does catering for several companies. Write to the owner about the next school party (the only thing you know is that the manager is a woman). D You received a letter from an old professor of yours asking if you plan to go to a conference he is to give a speech. His name is Humphrey Loser (24 Beck Rd, Oxford OX34FL). E Write to MEGA Channel (media.planning@megatv.com), to Ms I.M Bemba at the Media Planning Department, asking for the price of TV commercials (weekends/before the 8 o’clock news). * Note that even though no addresses are necessary in the examination you should remember that they are vital in real life! FORMAL LETTERS page 8 © Panayota Lioupi D. The main message. The main message deals with all the above reasons for writing but it should be, as we mentioned before, as brief and accurate as possible. Never write a letter that is longer than one page! Here are some standard ways of SAYING THINGS in modern correspondence: 1. Giving good news When the news is good, here's how you could give it: I am happy to tell you I am delighted to inform you that I am pleased to announce 2. Giving bad news Sometimes, the news is bad! Then here's how you could give it politely! I am sorry to tell I regret to inform you that 3. Requesting action (always in the last paragraph of the main message!!!) When you want information you can write Please could you give me some further details about I would be grateful if you could let me know about/if I would appreciate it if you could (possibly) inform me about… I would like to know if Could you inform me about Could you fax/email me the price for … When you ask people to do something for you, you can write Please could you I would be grateful if you could I would appreciate it if you could… …and add… …as soon as possible …without delay (…if it's URGENT!) …immediately FORMAL LETTERS page 9 © Panayota Lioupi 4. Giving the reason Good or bad news, you've got to give the reason(s): This has been/is because of as a result of due to (the fact that) owing to* (* FOR BAD NEWS ONLY!!!) And when you don't really want to tell the reason … This has been due to unforeseen circumstances. Practice What would you write in the following situations? Choose a standard phrase. Work with a partner and write the opening and the main message. 1 You have seen a large UK department store's (Dixon’s electronics) advertisement for their new catalogue on the web. Write an email to ask for it to be sent to your home in Greece. 2 You need to find out if your father’s company will fund your English summer course in London. Write to the Human Resources Manager. 3 Write to somebody who applied for a job at your father’s company (the name of the person is Mr. Sotiris Hassouras) informing him that his application has not been successful. 4 Write to a travel agent, asking for the new brochures for Caribbean cruises to be sent to your home. You want to leave in 15 days time and need to book as soon as possible. 5. Answer the letter of the Englishwoman who will be putting you up while you are doing a summer course in London, telling her what your allergies and food preferences are. FORMAL LETTERS page 10 © Panayota Lioupi