General Writing Task 1

Task 1 – What you have to do

• Identify the subject of the letter and decide on the appropriate tone and register.
• Think what you have to say in the body paragraphs.
• Use correct word forms and correct spelling.
• Use an appropriate opening sentence, body paragraph, which can solve your purpose.
• Suitable close phrase.

Register
The register you use in letter will depend on whom you are writing and the purpose.
There are two type of letter s:

• Informal and
• Formal/Semiformal

Here we show use of register

Informal	Formal/Semiformal
Love	Yours sincerely
Best Wishes	Regards
Yours	Yours faithfully
Fond Regards Cheers Affectionately

Concluding comments for letters

Informal	Formal/Semiformal
Keep in touch	I would appreciate a response at your earliest convenience.
Ring me soon	I look forward to hearing from you. Please advise me soon as you can. Please advise me as soon as possible.

Strategies:
Before writing the letter you have to follow these steps:

• Identify the person whom you are writing
• Some body of equal status to yourself, like a friend?
• An older person.
• Somebody you know through business?

• Identify the type of letter
• A complaint.
• An explanation.
• A request for information.
• An expression of an opinion, like or dislike.
• An expression of needs or wants.
• Identify the main points you want to talk about
• Each point will determine the content of the body.
• Think of details to support the main talk of the letter.

Tips:

• Semiformal business letter to people you do not know usually begin with ‘Dear Sir’ or ’Madam’ and conclude with ‘Yours sincerely’ or ‘Yours faithfully’.

Salutation to be use when ending a letter to the following people:

Love, Best wishes, Cheers, Best Regards, Regards, With love, Affectionately

A relative, A good friend, A classmate, Former school teacher, A colleague.

Example of writing a personal letter
Dear…..
I hope you are well. / How are you?
I had not heard from you for while….. / I am writing to tell you about …
Well, that’s all for now / Look forward to hearing from you soon. / Write back soon.
Love / Best wishes / Fond regards / Love to all the family…

Another Example of personal letter
You have just arrived in a new city where you are studying English.

• Explain where are you and why
• Describe where you are staying
• Describe how you have been enjoying yourself.

Business Letter:
A business letter is a letter to someone you may not know or know only slightly, for example a manager, a colleague, an estate agent, travel agent, or a government department.
The letter should be ‘formal’ in tone and register.

Here is an example of business letter.

• The salutation uses the formal ‘Mr.’
• Purpose of the letter.
• The body of the letter – a list of reasons why the writer wants to thank the reader.
• Concluding word –politely rephrases appreciation and thanks.
• Closing salutation – uses the more formal ‘Yours sincerely’.

Sample

• Cover Letter
• Reference Letter
• Sample Interview Thank You Letter
• Resignation Letter

Expressing Feelings:

Regret / apology I am sorry about… I regret that I am unable to… Please accept my apologies for … Unfortunately I was unable to… It is regrettable that	Pleasure / satisfaction I was very happy with … was very satisfactory It was a great pleasure to… … was very enjoyable I was delighted with…
needs/wants/desires I would like... I am keen to .. I would be grateful if you could… Would you consider…? We would appreciate it if you would.. I would be grateful if you could…	Dissatisfaction/ dislike I am not happy with… I am dissatisfied with… I am not comfortable with.. ..is not what I was expecting .. was very unsatisfactory … does not suits my needs

Gratitude I am extremely grateful for… I really appreciated your effort… Thank you very much for… I would sincerely like to thank...	Annoyance Although I stated that…. Despite my requesting a … I am very annoyed that… I am extremely angry that… I find this very irritating....
Making a complaint I would like to complain about... I would like to make a complaint about… I am very disappointed with... The service is not up to standard… I am not happy with the result…	Expressing a personal opinion In my Opinion… In my view... I believe that... I think that… I agree / disagree that...