English Formal Language and Formal Writing: In Letters and Essays

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Bertina Fitzgerald
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1 English Formal Language and Formal Writing: In Letters and Essays Rules for Formal English Form, Language and Content Regler för formellt språk, form och innehåll på engelska 1

2 Content and Form of Letters and Essays... What is formal and informal language? What should a formal essay contain? What should a formal letter contain? Differences between English and Swedish essays/letters? 2

3 What is formal language? Discuss, in pairs (then share): What does formal / informal mean? Who should you communicate formally with? When? In what situations can it be used? Why do you need to communicate formally? How do you communicate formally? Try to give examples. Who can you communicate informally with? When? In what situations? Why? How do you communicate informally? Try to give examples. 3

4 Letters and s Letters and s can vary from personal/ informal letters written to good friends to formal letters written to companies, authorities or people you have never met. 4

5 Formal vs Informal? (Formell vs informell / Skriftspråk vs talspråk) Typical informal situations are writing to family members, close relatives, friends, and partners. Others are for example ing, chatting, gaming, texting (SMS) with these people. Another informal situation is talking to friends or family members. The rest is considered formal situations, such as writing or talking to strangers, elders, teachers, co-workers, bosses, etc. 5

6 FORM: The first impression The lay-out and way your essay looks. Font: Times New Roman. Size: 12. Text always on left-margin (not centered unless it is a song lyric or a poem). 6

7 BAD FORM 7

8 GOOD FORM 8

9 Form - in Formal Letters and Essays: What it should include 1. Date and place (sometimes optional) This is the date and place when the letter is written. 2. Greeting and Name of Recipient The greeting usually starts with the word Dear followed by the given name of the recipient or relationship and it ends with a comma. For example: Dear Ronald, Dear Uncle, (etc). 3. Introduction* This is the opening of a letter/essay. In a letter, it may include greetings or introducing yourself and sometimes you may refer to a previous letter. 4. Body* This is the main body of the letter/essay. It includes the main message that the writer wants to say. It is always divided into paragraphs. 5. Conclusion* This part indicates the letter/essay is going to end. In a letter, the writer may ask the recipient to reply here. 6. Complimentary Close (Closing) This short expression includes a few words on one line. It ends with a comma. Some examples are: Yours sincerely, Best regards, Love, (etc). 7. Signature/Name (and class) the signature of the writer. ATT! *When writing an essay you only use the 3 points in red! 9

10 Form - in Formal Letters: How to write dates There are several ways to write dates in english. These are the three most commons ones! The date and place should always be on the right side of the letter. Monday 22 March, 2010 (B.E = British English) Monday 22 nd March, 2010 (Standard English) Monday March 22, 2010 (A.E = American English) 10

11 When you write to Greetings (How to begin a letter) Closings (How to end a letter) an unknown person or company (BE: British English) (AE: American English) Form - in Formal Letters: How to use greetings and closings Dear Sir/Madam, (BE) (AE) Dear Sir or Madam, (BE) (AE) To whom it may concern: (AE) Yours faithfully, (BE) Yours truly, (AE) Truly yours, (AE) a woman whose name you don't know a man whose name you don't know an adult whose name you know Dear Madam, (BE) (AE) Dear Sir, (BE) (AE) Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Fisher, (BE) (AE) Yours faithfully, (BE) Yours truly, (AE) Truly yours, (AE) Yours faithfully, (BE) Yours truly, (AE) Truly yours, (AE) Yours sincerely, (BE) Very truly yours, (AE) Sincerely, (yours) (AE) Best wishes, (BE) (AE) a person of the same age or a person you know well Dear Ann/John, (BE) (AE) (ATT! Always informal: Hi, Hello, Bye, Later, etc.) Notice, they always end with a comma! Yours, (BE) Love, (BE) All the best, (AE) Kindest/Best regards, (AE) 11

12 Form - in Formal Letters & Essays: How it should be divided Introduction/First paragraph: The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter/essay (to make an enquiry, complain, request something, research, etc). Body: The paragraph(s) in the middle of the letter/essay should contain the relevant information. Keep the information relevant to the subject and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical manner. Conclusion/Last Paragraph: The last paragraph of a formal essay should summarise what you have written about (in a letter: what action you expect the recipient to take - to refund, send you information, etc). 12

13 Form - in Letters & Essays: How to use English Paragraph Division Enter + Tab Spoken language is different from written language. There is, you could say, a difference in style. Spoken language is mostly informal, but you tend to keep written language more formal. An informal letter is the kind of letter you write to friends and people you know well. In a letter of this kind it is important to remember to include some polite and friendly phrases at the beginning and at the end. This is also true for s, although these are less strict in their formal structure. However, a formal letter is stricter in its form and language. In English speaking countries, writers of letters and s are generally more polite than in Sweden. It has occurred that a Swedish did not receive an answer because those at the other end felt offended by the lack of polite phrases and references to earlier contacts or s. 13

14 14 Good Form Letters

15 Summarize! 2 minutes: In pairs, summarise what you have understood/learnt so far. 15

16 Compared to a Swedish Letter L- L- Clasg... Red Fox School King's Road Ireeds l-l o t t t t ' t-- t-- SnowdonEanger Youth Hostel Caernarfon 6vfmedd WaLes L- l-- Dear Sir/liladan, ItuDils in Class "'t""" we are... at Red Fox School' is called ::.:::. : : : : : :.:::::.111::.::::::: an aöventure holiday in Wa1esf,or... to......"o""""' We are planning frgt...o. daye' aaaaaaaaaaaaaa""'t"' If, you have room, re would like to book " " " ' bede for beös for teachers, for " " " nights' students anö... We would like brea}fast, packed lgnchee and an evening neal every day. Please send us details of Prices' We look fonuard to hearing fro you soon' l- t- YourE faithfully' lr L (signatwe) L t t : t 16

17 LANGUAGE The language you use in your texts. 17

18 Language - in Letters & Essays: How to use Linking Words (examples) Order/Time Result Addition Contrast Example Summary First/Firstly As a result Moreover But For example Finally In the first place Consequently Furthermore Still For instance In conclusion To begin with So What is more However Thus In short Second/Secondly Therefore In addition Yet Explanation To sum up Lastly Thus... also... Nevertheless Finally Accordingly Nor On the other hand On the contrary In other words That is to say In spite of 18

19 Language - Tips for Formal Writing: Here are some important guidelines for how to go from informal to formal language/writing: Always write with full sentences. (e.g with the question in the answer.) Avoid casual expressions: He didn t seem to get (the hang of) the problem He did not seem to understand the problem. Use sophisticated vocabulary/synonyms: It was a cool party It was a wonderful party. (You can use a a dictionary or a thesaurus, like thesaurus.com) Avoid contractions: he s he is, don t do not, it ll it will. Write numbers with letters: 3 three. At least up to ten or twenty. Use linking words to make your language and text more formal. Think about your punctuation! And use it properly. Triple-check your spelling and grammar, as well as your lay-out (form). Use indents (tab-button) for structuring paragraphs. 19

20 Language - in Formal Letters: How to use Abbreviations (extra) CC = Carbon Copy (when you send a copy of a letter to more than one person, you use this abbreviation to let them know) ENC. = Enclosure (when you include other papers with your letter) P.S = PostScript (when you want to add something after you've finished and signed it) PP = Per Procurationem (a Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter on somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc) RSVP (from french) = Please Reply ATT! = Attention! (when you want someone to pay attention to something important) (= OBS!) PTO (slightly informal) = Please Turn Over (to make sure that the other person knows the letter continues on the other side of the page) No other abbreviations or contractions are used/allowed in formal situations! 20

21 Checklist for when Writing a Letter/ or an Essay Form - Does the text look the way it is supposed to? Does it have all the parts it should? - Have I written the full date correctly?* - Have I chosen a suitable greeting and closing?* Language - Have written with as full sentences as I can? - Have I avoided all contractions? - Have I used several linking words? - Have I checked my spelling? and grammar? - Have I checked my vocabulary and tried to improve it (using dictionary/thesaurus)? Content - Have I read and followed all the instructions properly? - Have I focused on writing about what I am asked to write about? ATT! * The points in blue do not apply for writing essays, only for letters/ s! 21

MY TEACHER ONLINE BRITISH LETTER

MY TEACHER ONLINE BRITISH LETTER BRITISH LETTER PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER: Your Address Your address, also known as the return address, comes first (leave this off if you re using letter-headed paper). Your return address should be right-justified.