LETTERS

Letters can be divided into three groups:

? formal
? informal
? transactional (formal or informal letters that need a reply which are based on advertisements, otherletters etc)

General Outline for Letters

|salutation |Paragraph 1 |Paragraphs 2, 3 |Final paragraph |name |
||reason(s) for writing |development |closing remarks | |

? Letters can be formal or informal. There are quite afew types of letters such as: letters of invitation, letters accepting or refusing invitations, letters asking for or giving further information, applications, letters of complaint, letters of apology,letters giving or asking for directions, letters asking for advice, letters to a friend about the latest news, letters expressing thanks/regrets/congratulations.

? Before we start writing aletter it is important to think about who we are writing to. If we use the wrong style, the letter will look odd, silly or impolite. For example, if we wrote to a companya nd used informal language, theletter would look impolite. In the same way, if we wrote to a friend and used formal language, the letter would look odd.

? There are certain factors which help us decide whether a letter isformal or informal. These are:
? The opening of the letter (e.g. Dear Sir/Madam / Dear Mary)
? The topics in the letter (e.g. when formal, they should be only facts)
? Thelanguage used (e.g. formal or informal)
? The closing of the letter and the name at the end of it (Yours faithfully, Peter Brown / Love, Peter etc)

? Formal and informal letters arelaid out differently.

|Formal letter |Formal letter |Semi formal letter |Informal letter |
|when you do not know the…