The document provides guidelines for writing informal and formal letters, as well as talks/speeches according to the Malaysian school system. For informal letters, it lists formatting elements like including the writer's address and date, using a salutation like "Dear John", indenting paragraphs, and using a complimentary close. For formal letters, it outlines the format including sender and recipient addresses separated by a line, date format, subject header, numbered paragraphs, and ending with "Yours faithfully". For talks/speeches, it notes using the present tense and elements like greeting the audience, introducing yourself, and thanking them at the end.
The document provides guidelines for writing informal and formal letters, as well as talks/speeches according to the Malaysian school system. For informal letters, it lists formatting elements like including the writer's address and date, using a salutation like "Dear John", indenting paragraphs, and using a complimentary close. For formal letters, it outlines the format including sender and recipient addresses separated by a line, date format, subject header, numbered paragraphs, and ending with "Yours faithfully". For talks/speeches, it notes using the present tense and elements like greeting the audience, introducing yourself, and thanking them at the end.
The document provides guidelines for writing informal and formal letters, as well as talks/speeches according to the Malaysian school system. For informal letters, it lists formatting elements like including the writer's address and date, using a salutation like "Dear John", indenting paragraphs, and using a complimentary close. For formal letters, it outlines the format including sender and recipient addresses separated by a line, date format, subject header, numbered paragraphs, and ending with "Yours faithfully". For talks/speeches, it notes using the present tense and elements like greeting the audience, introducing yourself, and thanking them at the end.
The document provides guidelines for writing informal and formal letters, as well as talks/speeches according to the Malaysian school system. For informal letters, it lists formatting elements like including the writer's address and date, using a salutation like "Dear John", indenting paragraphs, and using a complimentary close. For formal letters, it outlines the format including sender and recipient addresses separated by a line, date format, subject header, numbered paragraphs, and ending with "Yours faithfully". For talks/speeches, it notes using the present tense and elements like greeting the audience, introducing yourself, and thanking them at the end.
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 7
SPM English: Directed Writing (Informal Letter)
Formats for Informal Letter in the Malaysian school system:
Include the writers address and date in the upper right hand corner. The date can be written in different forms. (examples: 7th September 2009, 7 September 2009 or 7.9.2009) Use the most common salutation. (example: Dear John) Indent paragraphs. Include a suitable complimentary close. (example: Your Loving Daughter) Do not use regards as it is considered slightly more formal and distant. Also, do not use best wishes as this is considered inappropriate. Use proper punctuation. For example, a comma should be used after the salutation and complimentary close. Use capitalisation where necessary. For example, the month of the date (10 January 2009), the salutation (Dear Maria) Lets look at some important aspects of an informal letter. 1.
Organisation Paragraph 1 include formalities; give reason for writing the letter. Paragraph 2 onwards depends on the reason for writing the letter. If your reason is to tell the recipient about your holiday, then you will include details of the holiday. The last paragraph you can give a reason why you have to stop writing such as: I am sorry I have to stop here because it is getting late. I am sorry I have to stop here because I have to stop now because Or you can simply end the letter in a number of appropriate ways as shown in #3 below. 2.
Some useful expressions on how to begin an informal letter
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you. Thank you for your letter. I was pleased to hear that you are in good health. It was really nice hearing from you. I am glad that you like your new school. I hope this letter finds you in the pink (of health). Thank you for the lovely birthday card.
3.
Some useful expressions on how to end an informal letter
I promise to write to you soon. I hope you will reply soon. Give my best wishes to your parents. I am looking forward to seeing you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Do write and tell me how you are progressing. Senders address / Your address Date
Depends on the reason for writing the letter. If your reason is to tell the recipient about your holiday, then you will include details of the holiday.
The address: There is a comma after each line, there is a full stop at the end of the address, you can include the name of your state if the person youre writing to is from another state, include the name of your country if the receiver is from overseas.
Date: Use the correct English spelling of the month.
Greeting/ salutation: Depends on how close are you with the person youre writing to.
Ending: Your name/ signature is written below the suitable complimentary close
SPM English: Directed Writing (Formal Letter)
When writing a formal letter, you must pay attention to the format/layout of the letter. Besides, you must also keep it short and to the point. Also, make sure your points or ideas are well-presented. Most importantly, pay attention to the tone and language. A formal letter must be polite. There is no need to be rude even if you are expressing your unhappiness or dissatisfaction. Remember, you should not use informal language or contractions in a letter of this nature. These days there are several formats available for writing formal letters but we will only look at the format which is used in Malaysian government departments and taught in the Malaysian school system.
Guidelines for Writing a Formal Letter
1. Your address should appear on the left-hand corner. 2. A horizontal line across the page separates your address from the recipients address. 3. The recipients address should be below your address. The postcode and name of the town should be underlined. 4. The date is written on the right along the same line as the last line of the recipients address. The month should be spelt out (i.e. it should be in words, not numbers). It must be written in full (do not use abbreviations such as Sept) and in capital letters. 5. Salutation/Greeting: If you know the name of the recipient, then do use his surname (Dear Mr Tan) If you do not know the name of the person to whom you are writing, then use Dear Sir or Madam. 6. The subject heading gives the reader an idea what the letter is about. Write the subject heading directly below the salutation and it should be underlined. 7. The body of the letter refers to the contents of your letter. It should be divided into short and clear paragraphs. All paragraphs should be numbered except for the first and last paragraphs. a. In the first paragraph, you should state the reason for writing (whether it is to inform, to complain, to invite etc). b. From the second paragraph onwards, you should include information that is deemed necessary, depending on what you are writing about. The number of paragraphs depends on what you are writing. c. In the last paragraph, state what you expect from the recipient. This is usually in the form of an action or response. It is a common practice to end a formal letter with phrases such as I look forward to hearing from you or I hope prompt action will be taken to solve this problem. A note of thanks is usually included. Remember to organise the information in a clear and logical manner. Also, do not write lengthy paragraphs.
8. Ending: You can end the letter by writing Yours faithfully. In practice, we usually use Yours sincerely, if we know the recipient but for exam purposes I would advise you to use only Yours faithfully. 9. Signature: Do not forget to sign the letter and write your name below it in capital letters with in brackets. _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ ___
Senders name and address.
A horizontal line across the
___________________________________________________________________________ page separates your address from the recipients address. _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ ___ ________________
Speeches are talks delivered in public on formal and informal occasions.
There are many types of speeches such as welcome speech, thank you speech and farewell speech. Besides, there are also speeches on topics of interest and social issues. The PRESENT TENSE IS USUALLY USED when you write out a speech.
state your hope for the issue. Do not forget to thank the audience.
SPM English: Directed Writing (Article)
Article is by far, the least complicated essay in terms of format as it has only 2 components: Title Writers name 1. Imagine what an article in a newspaper or magazine would look like in terms of layout and you will roughly have an idea of how to position the title as well as the by-line. 2. Typically, the title is written at the top of the page in the centre with capital letters and underlined. For example: The Title of This Article The by-line can be written either right after the title of the article or at the end of the article on the right. For example: The Title of This Article Written by Amber Chia (essay) or The Title of This Article (essay) Written by Amber Chia 3. Much like a speech, an article often revolves around a particular aspect of a topic, be it the causes, effects, advantages etc. As such, an article should start off with a general overview of the topic before going into the main aspect being discussed. Again, newspaper and magazine articles are great examples of how we should go about structuring the content of an article. 4. Another trick that we can learn from newspaper and magazine articles is the use of interesting titles. In real life publication, this is used to capture readers attention. In an exam, this can help to bring up ones overall language marks. Better students should be given some practice in this area. (For weaker students, a suitable title can often be found in the question itself.) For example,
You recently attended a leadership camp organised by your school. At the camp, one of your friends was chosen as best camper. You have been asked to write an article about your friend for your school magazine. (SPM 2008)
Standard title Best Camper
Interesting title Today Camper, Tomorrow Leader
While the aim is to be interesting,
titles should still be relevant to the topic of the essay and not just blindly dramatic.
SPM English: Directed Writing (Report)
General guidelines to remember when writing a report: Address it to the person concerned. Use the points given in a systematic manner use transition markers to enable your audience to follow the flow of your thoughts. Elaborate on your points with examples or illustrations. Conclude your report in an appropriate manner. Maintain a formal yet pleasant/ polite tone. Simple Past Tense is used.
