hi there it's me Asiya with a new video on how to write a perfect letter
or do you prefer this beginning good morning I would like first to introduce myself before
outlining what I intend to demonstrate in this video my name is Asiya Miart and the purpose of
my video today is to explain how you can both are perfectly reasonable introductions for two very
different situations the first is informal when I'm talking to friends the second would be fine
if I were giving a presentation at a conference for people I don't know just as my fashion styles
differ so do my speaking styles and that applies to not only our social lives but also to IELTS
General training writing task one the letter which we'll be discussing today the tone of the letter
must fit perfectly with the context so let me show you what phrases what language you should
use in different types of formal and informal letters it's Asiya let's get started [Music]
when you're talking about the IELTS General training letter we should be absolutely clear
about two things the first is the level of formality it's something we have to work
out for ourselves by reading the task details look at this example you tell me is it formal
or informal you're preparing for an event in the countryside write a letter to your
friend and ask for help with the arrangements in your letter describe what the event is and
why it has been held what Arrangements have already been made how your friend can help
that's right it's dear friend it's got to be informal what about this one your company is
preparing an event for its employees write a letter to an event management company requesting
their services in your letter describe what they want is and why it has been held give details of
what Arrangements will be required ask for their suggestions and proposals writing from one company
to another is definitely formal both tasks are about an event but the tone is very different
the second point to be clear about is the type of letter we are writing what's the main purpose
of the letter to thank someone to apologize to apply for a job perhaps to complain suggest or
as in these two examples request something we'll be talking about several of these letters today
writing a good letter means identifying the type of letter you have to write and making absolutely
sure you cover all three bullet points as well as of course using the right tone and expressions
let's take a closer look at the language you can use in informal and formal contexts starting right
at the beginning using the two example tasks about the planned event we have in case of the informal
letter the beginning is Dear John what comes next with the informal letter I like to greet and make
some kind of comment before stating our real purpose for you it's a great opportunity to show
off your grammar as well as your use of colloquial expressions notice the use of the present perfect
tense how are you it's been a while hasn't it the last time must have been Susan's wedding
after that we should add our reason for writing or should we say getting in touch
whenever you can in informal letters use less formal expressions
anyway I'm getting in touch because at work I'm organizing the annual company get together
note that it's perfectly alright to use contractions in this informal letter let's
switch to the formal letter Dear Sir or madam the opening paragraph must go straight to the point
I am writing to you let's look at two nice and easy ways to continue this sentence
I'm writing to you in regard to something or to request something
kind of hook to attract the reader's attention could continue it like this I'm writing to you
in regard to our annual company anniversary event to be held the second weekend of July this year
notice the difference in vocabulary the Casual get together turns into an anniversary event
the very personal I'm organizing it becomes the grammatically more distant and complex
passive voice the event is to be held where the collocation to hold an event maintains this level
of formality I've already mentioned how important it is to cover the three bullet points you are
given in my courses we discuss how to write each part of formal informal and semi-formal letters
and I'll link the general pack in the description if you'd like to check it out now let's
concentrate on those moments when we are really communicating with the person we are writing to
for example the third of these bullet points always involves some kind of action that needs to
be taken the idea is to ask for your friend's help this we can do with a very casual tone look I know
you have contacts in the event business so could you help us out on this how about this it will be
great if you can help us out on this detergent so can you get back to me as soon as you can compare
how we might Express a request in our formal letter we'll use Expressions that are very formal
and almost fixed I mean used so frequently that they become the most common way to say something
therefore I would be very grateful if you could send details of your services I would
very much appreciate it if you could send those details could you please send the details notice
here the extra layers of politeness expressed through the use of modal verbs would and could
I would be grateful I would very much appreciate it if you could this brings us to how to close the
letter very often in a letter to a friend we make some kind of comment let's keep in touch or say
hello to so have a look at these anyway let's meet up soon let me know when you're free to meet up
how about meeting up for a meal sometime soon give my love or give my best regards to the
name of person to Jane compare those to the formal letter options I look forward to hearing from you
I look forward to your reply and if a face-to-face meeting is planned I look forward to meeting you
so look forward to followed by gerund meeting hearing or a noun this is a practically Universal
way to close the letter after closing we need to sign it off and there are some general
rules in case of formal letters in the UK If you don't know the name of the person you're
writing to it's Yours Faithfully followed by your signature and full name whereas if you have the
name say it's a Mr Brown who's the event company managing director then we'll write Yos sincerely
in the United States however the tendency is to write sincerely yours in both contexts
of course our personal informal letter is much more open not only do you use your first name
but you have a choice of phrases to sign off with all the best best regards lots of love speak soon
choose whichever you feel comfortable with today we've started by looking at
one type of letter making a request that's because it's a very common type in task one
now let's move on to the letter of complaint or making a suggestion after describing some kind of
a problem you make suggestions to help solve this problem look at this example you use the local
swimming pool often and during one of your visits you have encountered a problem write a letter
to the manager describe what the problem was and suggest your own solution to this problem so let's
go with this problem other swimmers have been entering the pool covered in Sun cream because
of the recent heat wave this has caused the water to go cloudy and you have felt some eye irritation
so how can you make a suggestion as a solution I would suggest that your place notices both
in the changing rooms and at poolside informing all swimmers that no sun creams are allowed or
might I suggest that you place notices or one way to prevent this problem would be to place notices
again the use of modal verbs would might makes it more polite and formal here is another topic
you bought something and it's broken say what you would like the shop manager to do the easiest
thing to ask is to replace the item as a result I should like the item to be replaced as soon as
possible I therefore request that you take the necessary steps to replace the item as soon as
possible if you're really dissatisfied with the shop you can substitute more
diplomatic requests with a stronger insist I insist that you replace the item as soon
as possible now let's take a more friendly topic a thank you and or invitation letter
have a look at this one you recently went to visit a friend in their new home write
a letter to your friend in the letter tell your friend what you liked about his or her new house
say what you enjoyed most about your stay with your friend suggest when and where you
could meet your friend next so of course our tone is informal let's start with a thank you
thank you so much for having me over at your new place last weekend I just wanted
to say a big thank you for having me for your hospitality notice the Simplicity of the verbs
want having me not inviting me or allowing me to stay and next why don't we get together again soon
next month there is the Arts and Music Festival down here it would be great if you could make it
of course there are lots of possibilities when it comes to inviting someone most don't include would
you like to when there are friends involved more like how about or I'd love it if you could come
here what about the more formal level well writing a thank you to a restaurant for its
excellent service is one possibility an invitation to someone to come and give a talk at your college
or workplace is another once again the more formal the context the more likely it is that we use a
kind of fixed expression let's try it out I should like to express my thanks and congratulations to
all the staff at your restaurant for the outstanding service they provided
I would like to express my gratitude for the first class service your restaurant provided
and here is a formal invitation I would like to formally invite you to our College to give
a speech to before you start writing your letter read the task instructions and read them again
then use a couple of minutes to plan your letter organize your paragraphs
think of the context give precise details when you have to be clear and be consistent remember
what the Task 1 descriptors tell us band 7 clear purpose and tone consistent and appropriate band
8 and 9 assume your tone is fine and expected you either fully satisfy all requirements
or sufficiently satisfy them when it comes to achieving your purpose how can you satisfy all
these requirements let me show you this using a full sample letter in this video here please check
it out and thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye