iTrackR Ed

Formal LettersInformal or formal language

Plan, draft and edit formal letters

Using a thesaurus to improve writing

What do you know about writing formal letters?

Write a short phrase

Formal Letters Part One

Objectives:

Reading: To identify the differences between formal and

informal English

Writing: To produce first draft letter To use a thesaurus to

improve vocabulary

The following session has been designed to help you to develop your independent study skills, Functional English writing content and to set your own goals and targets through self assessment.

Formal Letters Part One

You need to be able to understand and produce different types of texts that either: inform, instruct, persuade or describe something.

Persuasive texts really want you

to DO something (eBay)

Instructive texts want to tell you

HOW to do something (set

up PC)

Descriptive texts want you to picture what

they are describing (holiday

postcard)

Informative texts really want to

TELL you about something or to

ADVISE(inform parent)

When you write a formal letter, you don’t only have to make sure it looks right. You have to use the right type of language as well.

A formal letter needs to give the information you want to give in the clearest way, using formal language.

Understanding Informal and Formal Language

Is this formal or informal language?

nd sme }xx sn!

I mizd u vry mch, I cwtcu 2nite.

If your purpose is important and you do not know the reader very well, you usually write in formal English.

If your purpose is not important and you do know your reader well, you usually write in informal English.

Informal Formal

Box A

College application form

Letter to college requesting course information

Email to a friend

Letter to your local MP

Holiday postcard to friend

Email complaining to local council about recycling

Note to neighbour

Text message to parent/guardian

Text message to teacher

Memo to all staff

Letter cancelling subscription, ie gym membership

In pairs, list items from Box A into either formal or informal columns.

Formal letters“I can just make

a call on my mobile. Why

write a letter?”

Writing a letter is often better than making a phone call because:

You can plan what you

want to say.

Your letter can be kept in a file and saved as a

record

Some things are easier to

write than to say.

Your letter can be

read again and again.

Draft as many times as you like,

until it is just as you want

it.

For your FS English writing assessment, you may be asked to write a formal letter on general topic that will not necessarily be linked to your vocational area. It could be any topic.

Formal letters

The assessment for writing letters follow a strict set of rules, which are described in the following slides.

In pairs, list the errors in the letter above.

How not to write a formal letter

1 mistakes waysutton

surrysm1 1bx

hello sir

I see this job advertised for bar staff in your pub. I have put my applications form and CV in the envelope. I has very good people skills and hope to here from you soon shorty.

Yours sincerely

I D Know

Formal Letter Layout

Don’t jump in and get all those ideas onto one page, make a plan first or you could end up in a muddle.

 

Stage 1 – Plan your letter

Plan your letter by using a either a mind map or bullet points;

write the main topics and

arrange them under headings.

This will help me to organise ideas,

where I can plan what I want to say in

my letter.

Stage 1 – Plan your letter

Topic

Why am I writing?

What are are the facts?

Who am I writing

to?

What do I want to happen?

When you are making your plan, you do not need to write in full sentences.

Stage 2 – first draft

Once you have done your planning you are ready to start writing, using your notes to begin your first draft.

Organise your letter so that each paragraph covers a different point in your list.

Make sure the first sentence of each paragraph contains the most important point.

Don’t worry about it being perfect just yet, just have a go at writing a first attempt.

Remember to use effective adjectives and verbs.

A thesaurus book looks like a dictionary with the words placed in alphabetical order, you look up the word and it has a list of synonyms next to it.

Using a thesaurus

Synonyms are words with similar meanings.

Nice adj. Agreeable, attractive, charming, delicate, delightful, fine, good, lovely, pleasant, polite.

Don’t repeat the same word, over, over and over again. Try using a ‘thesaurus’ to help you vary your vocabulary.

If you are using a PC follow the instructions below to access the ‘thesaurus’ to help you vary your vocabulary.

Using a thesaurus

Firstly, place the cursor over the word you would like to change and right

click.Secondly, click on

‘synonyms’ and a list of alternatives will be given.

Finally, click on the selected word, which will replace the original word

in your document

Stage 3 - Redrafting

Read sentence by sentence, making sure that each line makes sense.

You may find that some sections are unnecessary and can be deleted, while you may find that other sections will require a bit more text.

Tick where you have covered a point in the bullet point list.

Tick where the order of paragraphs follow each other in logical order.

Stage 4 - Proofreading

Hlleo

I am wtrinig you tihs cvoer ltteer bceusae i ralely wnat tihs job. I'm a

good wroekr and can tpye vrey radealbe paeprs. Smoetmies i do mix up the

mdidle ltteers thugoh.

Tahnks for yuor cnosdireaiton. Hpoe to haer form you soon shorty.

Notice how you can read the whole thing even though most of the words are spelled wrong?

Remember

If you proofread your own work it is easy to read what you think is there rather than what you have

actually written.

Miss Marks The Examiner

Mistakes to avoid ......

All sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full

stop. Think about them when you write…

particularly the word ‘I’. Ensure that you have used a capital for the pronoun ‘I’

Remember: that a formal letter needs at

least three paragraphs!

Plan and draft writing (Wt/L1.1)

Present information in a logical sequence (Wt/L1.3)

Use language suitable for purpose

and audience (Wt/L1.4)

Proof-read and redraft writing for

accuracy and meaning (Wt/L1.6)

Formal Letters

Independent Study choose your task from “complaints” section

“Formal Letters Part I” Workbook

Home Improvement

How can your partner’s letter be improved?

Why would your changes be an improvement?

Goal SettingSet own goals by creating a chart showing:

What I know about the topic...What I want to know...What I have learnt...

Plenary & Self Assessment

Review learning objectives:

Reading: Were you able to identify the differences between formal and informal English?

Writing: Were you able to plan and draft a formal letter?

Did you use a thesaurus to vary your vocabulary?

Did you complete your goal setting chart?