1、Unit 4 Exploring literature Integrated skills (II) How to write a formal letter Letters Formal letters Informal letters (to friends, family members, etc.) Official letters (making complaints, requests or suggestions, etc.) Business letters (Making inquiries, placing/ cancelling orders, etc.) To the
2、editor (expressing views on public matters or making suggestions, etc.) To the teacher, principal or other school authority (asking for leave, making recommendations, etc.) To the employer (applying for a job) Letters of complaint Formal letters A formal letter can refer to any written letter for a
3、formal purpose, whether that be a recommendation letter, an invitation letter, a complaint letter and so on. It is usually meant to be addressed to the heads or managers of civil, public organizations or private companies. Follow a certain structure Make the message to the point and short Use polite
4、 and formal language Structure of formal letters Salutation Body Closing Name and signature Salutation It is a greeting to whom the letter is addressed. Dear Sir/Madam This is used when you do not know the name of the person you are writing to. Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms . This is used when you know the receive
5、rs name. In case of a woman, use Ms if you are not sure whether the woman is married or unmarried. Body Your message or the purpose of writing the letter comes in this part. So, it must be drafted carefully so as to create a convincing and appealing impact on its readers. Introductory paragraph: Sta
6、te the purpose of writing. Information paragraph: Give details of the issue or problem (causes, effects, solutions, etc.) Concluding paragraph: State your hopes, requests, comments, etc. Closing It is a polite way of ending the letter. Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours truly, Respectfully you
7、rs are commonly used. It is written just below the closing. Sometimes the senders designation (职位，头衔) may be added in brackets. Name and signature A letter to the librarian to recommend books Dear Librarian, Salutation I am writing to recommend two types of books that I think the library should buy.
8、 Introductory paragraph The first type is fantasy novels. I think the library needs more fantasy novels because they are very popular with students. Some examples of good fantasy novels for the library would be The Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series. Information paragraph A letter
9、to the librarian to recommend books Information paragraph The second type of book I would like to recommend is biographies. Although they are one of the least popular types of books in our library, students should be encouraged to read more of them. Good biographies such as Marie Curie: A Life will
10、inspire students to study harder and reach their goals. In addition to biographies of historical figures, I believe our school library could buy some biographies of contemporary figures, like Steve Jobs. Closing Name and signature I look forward to reading more of the librarys fantasy novels and bio
11、graphies soon. Yours faithfully, Edward Zhang Edward Zhang Concluding paragraph Language of formal letters 1. Avoid contractions. This isnt what wed expect from a professional service. This is not what we would expect from a professional service. 2. Do not use abbreviations. I got the info from your
12、 ad in the newspaper. I got the information from your advertisement in the newspaper. 3. Limit the use of active verbs with the first person singular pronoun. I will send you all the relevant information asap. All the relevant information will be forwarded to you as soon as possible. 4. Avoid the us
13、e of informal degree modifiers. This is really annoying for me. This is extremely/highly/entirely annoying for me. 5. Avoid using idioms and slang. Im not losing any sleep over that. That does not worry me at all. He really gets on my nerves. He irritates me. 6. Do not leave out words. Look forward
14、to hearing from you. I look forward to hearing from you. 7. Avoid informal discourse markers. By the way, the wine was in poor quality either. The wine, incidentally, was in poor quality either. 8. Limit the use of phrasal verbs. We will make up for the money youve spend. We will compensate you for
15、your expenses. 9. Use sophisticated transitions. And there is another point to make. There is, in addition, one further point to make. Salutation Body Introductory para. Information para. Concluding para. Closing Name and signature Language Structure Formal letters Avoid contractions. Do not use abbreviations. Limit the use of active verbs with the first person singular pronoun. Avoid the use of informal degree modifiers. Avoid using idioms and slang. Do not leave out words. Avoid informal discourse markers. Limit the use of phrasal verbs. Use sophisticated transitions.
