The Informal Letter
Informal letters are usually personal letters, written to describe experiences and feelings, often to family or friends. They are expected to follow a particular layout and style to be most effective.
Layout:
_______________________________________
21 Cook Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin 14
3 September 2008
Dear Mary
[MAIN BODY – PARAGRAPHS]
Love
David
_______________________________________
The language of a personal letter is chatty in tone. You should try to create a warm and friendly tone where appropriate.
You may begin with the greeting ‘Dear’ but sometimes depending on how close you are to the person, you can say ‘Hi’. Close with a phrase such as ‘Love’, ‘Best wishes’ or ‘Take care’. Sign off with your first name only.
Punctuation and spelling are important for your letter to be clear.
In an exam, you may have to pretend to be somebody when writing a letter (i.e. adopt a persona), for example a soldier or a football supporter. Try to get into the mind of this person and use the kind of language you would expect them to use.
Don’t keep using the word ‘I’, and try to vary your phrases throughout.
Layout:
_______________________________________
21 Cook Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin 14
3 September 2008
Dear Mary
[MAIN BODY – PARAGRAPHS]
Love
David
_______________________________________
The language of a personal letter is chatty in tone. You should try to create a warm and friendly tone where appropriate.
You may begin with the greeting ‘Dear’ but sometimes depending on how close you are to the person, you can say ‘Hi’. Close with a phrase such as ‘Love’, ‘Best wishes’ or ‘Take care’. Sign off with your first name only.
Punctuation and spelling are important for your letter to be clear.
In an exam, you may have to pretend to be somebody when writing a letter (i.e. adopt a persona), for example a soldier or a football supporter. Try to get into the mind of this person and use the kind of language you would expect them to use.
Don’t keep using the word ‘I’, and try to vary your phrases throughout.