The first thing to consider when writing the letter for Task 1 General Training is what type of letter is required. There are three types formal, informal and semi-formal. Once you have decided this then you can start to think about the subject.
A good place to begin is by asking what kind of response you would like to receive to your letter. Letters are written to elicit a particular outcome and if you consider the outcome then you will be able to write the letter to achieve that result.
Formal letters need to be very clear in their content and give specific instructions to the recipient about what you want them to do. The idea is that these people won’t have a lot of time to read your letter so you need to be precise, to the point and yet because they are a stranger polite and courteous.
An informal letter can be chatty and give personal information. Ask questions and use idioms and phrasal verbs – rather as if you were speaking to the person.
A semi-formal is somewhere in between. You’ll generally write it quite formally (perhaps more neutral than the formal letter) but with some informality as you are likely to know the person.
Here is an example of the planning process for a letter:
Your neighbours have a dog that is noisy at night. You can’t sleep. Write a letter to your neighbours. In your letter:
– describe the problem with the dog
– explain why it is important for you to sleep
– outline what your neighbours could do about the situation.
We can see that the letter is to a neighbour so it is someone that you presumably know a little, certainly their name. The letter is about a difficult problem – their noisy dog. I imagine that you would feel a little reluctant to write such a letter so you’d have to be quite polite and avoid upsetting them – they are probably not aware that the dog is annoying other people.
We want them to apologise and do something about the dog. They will probably feel embarrassed at the trouble caused and want to rectify the situation as soon as possible. This is what we want to elicit by our letter.
The letter is to a known person about a tricky topic – so semi-formal in style i.e. friendly but also wanting to reach a resolution to the problem.
Introduction – writing about dog – unfortunately/I’m afraid/bring to your attention and hope situation can be resolved
Paragraph 1 – Dog starts to bark as soon as they go to bed – continues on and off all night. Any sound triggers the dog -perhaps they don’t hear it as it’s in the room next door to your bedroom wall – been going on now for over a month and impossible to sleep. Has something upset the dog? Before never a problem
Paragraph 2 – Problem made even worse by need to study for professional exams and so getting to sleep important. Partner also busy at work during this time – having difficulty concentrating due to lack of sleep – now been prescribed sleeping tablets – need to speedily solve the problem can consult the vet or at least move the dog to another room away from this side of the house
Concluding remark – very sorry to flag up the problem but becoming unbearable and need to try and resolve as quickly and as amicably as possible
AS with other plans this form the skeleton and now the ‘flesh’ needs to go on but the basis for a good letter is there and the rest of the time can be spent focusing just on the language you use to express the ideas.
A good plan not only saves time but helps you to focus fully on the English language you want to use to get a high band without trying to come up with ideas at the same time.
Here is another example – an informal letter
You borrowed a major textbook from a classmate last season. You now realise they have returned home overseas and you still have the book. Write a letter to them.
In this letter:
-apologise for the error
-say you know how important the book is for them
-say what you will do
This letter is also a tricky subject but it is to someone that you know very well and you are the one who will apologise and put things right. In this case you can write an informal, friendly letter.
In informal letters avoid any formal words and phrases – use friendly and idiomatic language if you can. Phrasal verbs are good and also write as if you were having a conversation with them.
It helps to have one of your friends in mind – think about how you would ask this personal friend of yours about this issue – this should give you a good idea about the tone and type of language to use.
Introduction – ask how she is, how has she settled back into life in her own country, has she managed to find work yet
Paragraph 1 - you were sorting out your university stuff last week and found a book that you’d borrowed. Really sorry, didn’t remember still having it and feel bad that you forgot to give it back. Had she realised. Not sure if she needs it right now but you want to get it back to her asap
Paragraph 2 – can post it straight away if she gives address details. If not in a hurry then planning to travel to her country later in the year and can bring it – a good excuse to pop in and visit her. What does she think? She could also recommend some things to see and do during your visit.
Concluding remark – sorry again to hang on to the book – will definitely get it back. Hope her family is well and look forward to meeting later in the year in any case
As with the previous letter now expand the notes to make a good letter which is chatty, friendly but seeks a resolution to the problem. A few phrasal verbs have been suggested in the plan here.
Find models for these two tasks on the free resources page