1、Unit 4 Exploring literature Integrated skills (II) How to write a formal letter Formal letters A formal letter can refer to any written letter for a 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
2、 heads or managers of civil, public organizations or private companies. Follow a certain structure Make the message to the point and short Use polite and formal language Structure of formal letters Salutation It is a greeting to whom the letter is addressed. Dear Sir/Madam This is used when you do n
3、ot know the name of the person you are writing to. Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms . This is used when you know the receivers 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 draft
4、ed carefully so as to create a convincing and appealing impact on its readers. Introductory paragraph: State 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
5、 It is a polite way of ending the letter. Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours truly, Respectfully yours 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 De
6、ar Librarian,Salutation I am writing to recommend two types of books that I think the library should buy. 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 l
7、ibrary would be The Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series. Information paragraph A letter 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 librar
8、y, students should be encouraged to read more of them. Good biographies such as Marie Curie: A Life will 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 Ste
9、ve Jobs. Closing Name and signature I look forward to reading more of the librarys fantasy novels and biographies 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. Inappropri
10、ate This is not what we would expect from a professional service. Appropriate 2. Do not use abbreviations. I got the info from your ad in the newspaper. Inappropriate I got the information from your advertisement in the newspaper. Appropriate 3. Limit the use of active verbs with the first person si
11、ngular pronoun. I will send you all the relevant information asap. Inappropriate All the relevant information will be forwarded to you as soon as possible. Appropriate 4. Avoid the use of informal degree modifiers. This is really annoying for me. Inappropriate This is extremely/highly/entirely annoy
12、ing for me. Appropriate 5. Avoid using idioms and slang. Im not losing any sleep over that. Inappropriate That does not worry me at all. Appropriate He really gets on my nerves. Inappropriate He irritates me. Appropriate 6. Do not leave out words. Look forward to hearing from you. Inappropriate I lo
13、ok forward to hearing from you. Appropriate 7. Avoid informal discourse markers. By the way, the wine was in poor quality either. Inappropriate The wine, incidentally, was in poor quality either. Appropriate 8. Limit the use of phrasal verbs. We will make up for the money youve spend. Inappropriate
14、We will compensate you for your expenses. Appropriate 9. Use sophisticated transitions. And there is another point to make. Inappropriate There is, in addition, one further point to make. Appropriate Salutation Body Introductory para. Information para. Concluding para. Closing Name and signature Avo
15、id 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.
