Building skills Structure Formality in a letter, for example, means beginning and ending in specific ways that you would not use in an email to a friend. Imagine your head teacher has written a letter inviting you to give a speech to new students about your positive experiences at the school. A formal reply would look something like this:
Dear Mrs De Witt,
standard opening for a formal letter
I am writing in reply to your letter of the 17 May, inviting me to speak to new students at the
refers back to Mrs De Witt’s letter
school. I am extremely honoured to be asked and would like to
reminds reader of the subject
thank you for offering me this opportunity.
polite tone
I would be delighted to accept the invitation and will arrange to meet with you at a mutually convenient time, as requested. Yours sincerely, Sinitta Long
response to the request next action
standard closing when a name is used in the opening full name
The order of information is a natural and logical one: subject, thanks for the invitation, acceptance, further action, close of letter.
2 Write a comic, informal reply to replace the formal letter. Think about what you would need to change in the order and content. You could start like this:
Hi Tanya! How ya doin? Ta for the invite‌
Top tip p Be careful that your informal letters do not come across as rude. Make sure you are confident about how the recipient will react to this style and tone. Formal language can also seem comic or rude if exaggerated or used in the wrong situation. For example, you would not ask someone to move on a bus by saying, Excuse me, my good man, could I trouble you to shift your position so that my bodily form can be located alongside yours?
Chapter 2 Key technical skills
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