Hello. I'm Margot Politis. Welcome to Study English, IELTS preparation.
Today we're going to talk about letter writing.
IELTS Task 1 in the General Training module asks you to write a letter. We write letters
to friends, strangers, businesses, government departments and institutions.
The tone of a letter can be formal or informal, depending on who is going to read it.
There are several purposes for writing letters:
giving or requesting information
giving instructions
relating an event
giving good or bad news
complaining
describing
Some letters can include several of these purposes at the same time.
Here are some examples.
Letters for giving information might include: travel plans
arrival details what to see and do on holidays.
Letters requesting information might be for: course information
library hours timetable information.
Some letters for giving instructions include: how to get to your house
how to operate a machine how to open an account.
And relating an event: a an incident or accident
a wedding or function or a holiday.
giving good or bad news cancelling an appointment
accepting a job offer informing of the birth of a baby.
Letters complaining might include: poor service in a restaurant
loud noise in your district or a problem with faulty goods.
And letters describing might be about: lost property
a friend or a place.
OK. That's an overview of different types of letter. Now let's consider the organisation
of the letter.
Letters have a clear and familiar structure. Formal letters begin with a greeting: Dear
___, and end with a closing: Yours sincerely.
In between the top and the bottom, is the body. But what sort of body? How do we decide
about the shape of the letter between the greeting and the closing?
Well, we write because we have a purpose. It is important to indicate at the beginning
of a letter what its purpose is.
Let's consider some examples.
If your letter is for giving information, you might start with: I am writing to advise
that
or for requesting information: I am writing to request information about
for giving instructions: I am writing to explain how to
relating an event: I am writing to describe the accident I saw
giving good or bad news: I am very happy to tell you that
complaining: I am writing to complain about
describing: I am writing to describe some lost property
It's easier for the reader of the letter if it's organised coherently.
In Task 1, the way the IELTS General Training question is laid out will help you in organising
your response or answer.
For example, look at the following question - a typical question for Task 1:
You have to sit IELTS and you would like to do a preparation program to help you prepare
for the test. Write a letter to the Course Information Officer at a college that offers
IELTS preparation courses requesting information:
how long the course is how much the course costs and
course pre-requisites
You should write at least 150 words.
The way the question is constructed tells you how to organise your letter. There are
3 bullet points:
how long the course is how much the course costs and
course pre-requisites
This tells you that you should construct 3 body paragraphs, one for each bullet point.
Thus your letter should look something like this.
First a greeting:
Dear Sir or Madam,
Then an introduction stating a purpose:
I am writing because
Then the body:
1.how long the course is 2.how much the course costs
3.course pre-requisites
And then finally, the closing:
Yours sincerely,
So when writing your IELTS letter, it's a matter of being logical and organising your
ideas.
Let's look at another question and decide how to tackle it.
You recently went to a conference in another city and stayed in a hotel. When you returned
home you discovered that you had left your briefcase in the hotel.
Write a letter to the manager of the hotel, explaining the problem:
explain where you left your briefcase describe the briefcase
advise how to inform you, and where to send it, if found
You should write at least 150 words.
If we follow the same strategy as last time, our letter organisation will look something
like this.
First a greeting: Dear Sir or Madam,
Then an introduction stating a purpose:
I am writing because
Then the body:
1.explain where you left your briefcase 2.describe the briefcase
3.advise how to inform you, and where to send it, if found
And then finish with the closing:
Yours sincerely,
The last thing to discuss about the letters you'll be writing is the level of formality.
The two IELTS letters we looked at should be formal.
There will be times when you will have to compose a less formal letter, with different
language choices.
Here are some examples:
more formal: I am writing to enquire about the cost of your IELTS Preparation Program.
less formal: I am writing to ask about the cost of your IELTS Preparation Program.
more formal: This is due to the fact that teaching costs have increased.
less formal: This is because teaching costs have increased.
more formal: If you require further information less formal: If you need more information
more formal: Please find enclosed less formal: Here are
more formal: We have been forced to increase fees.
less formal: We've had to increase fees.
more formal: I regret to advise you. less formal: I'm sorry to tell you.
more formal: I will not be able to attend. less formal: I cannot come.
Well, you should now be able to practise letter writing. Remember, each letter you write will
have a different purpose, and a clear purpose statement will convey your intent to the reader.
Organise the letter into several short paragraphs, and choose the tone carefully. Should it be
more or less formal?
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That's all for now. I hope to see you again for another episode of Study English. Bye
bye.