Salutation (Informal Letters):

Personal Letter: Dear Rohan, My dear Rex.

Do not write: Rohan, Hi Rex, Hello Nicole, Rini, is everything fine?

N.B. Personal letters are also called informal letters where you address a friend or relative. You might
have built a habit of writing a short email or a message using styles like "Hi Elizabeth, Rohan, Hi Rex,
Hello Nicole, Rini, is everything fine?, You would not believe what happened today", but these are not
recommended styles while writing a letter (even not in a personal or informal letter).

Salutation (Formal Letters):

Official Letter: Dear Sir or Madam, Sir or Madam (If you don't know who are you writing to; use only sir
or madam)

Do not write - My Dear Sir, My Dear Madam, Dear Mr Alex, Mrs Cathy, Sir Rex.

Business Letter: Dear Sir or Madam, Sir or Madam. (If you don't know who are you writing to; use only
sir or madam)

Do not write - My Dear Sir, My Dear Madam, Dear Mr Alex, Mrs Cathy.

Beginnings (Personal/Informal letters)

Thank you for your (recent/last) letter.

Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter

It was nice to hear from you recently/lately.

I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for such a long time.

I’m sorry I haven’t written you for such a long time.

It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your family are well.

Beginnings (Formal letters- Describing the Purpose):

I am writing this letter to you ...

I am writing to you ...

I am David Moore and writing you to ...

I am writing to…

I am writing with regard to…

I am writing on behalf of…

Example:

1) I am writing you to inform the problem with the library of our University...

2) I am writing to you for informing you about the problem with our new debate team...

3) I am David Moore, a local resident at the Canterberry area, and writing you to explain the reason I'm
against the decision to establish a new supermall in our locality.

Describing the Purpose with Reference:

Proposed Starting: (formal and semi-formal letters)

In response to your letter/ invitation/proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/ written claim ......

In reply to your letter /invitation/ proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/ written claim ......

With the reference of your letter/invitation/proposal/ complaint/ advertisement/written claim ......

Example:

1) I am writing you in response to your invitation..........

2) With the reference to your proposal..........

Situation:

Apology:
• I am very sorry but..........

• I am terribly sorry, but..........

• I must apologise about..........

• Please accept my apologies..........

• I'd like to apologize for..........

• Please accept my sincere apologies.......... (very formal)

Request:

• Could you please..........

• Could you possibly..........

• I would be great full if you..........

• I would highly glad if you..........

• Would it be possible to..........

• I wonder if you could..........

• Would you be kind enough to..........

• would you mind doing..........

Seeking Help:

• I would appreciate it if you could..........

• I would be grateful if you could..........

• Could you please..........

• I was wondering if you could help me.......... (informal)

• I would like you to..........

• I feel something should be done about..........

• I must complain about..........

• I can not resist myself to inform you that..........

• I am very much unhappy with..........

• I want you to know that..........

• I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction about/with..........

• I'm writing to express my annoyance with..........

• I am not happy about/because..........

• ..........was very disappointing.

• .......... was utterly disappointing.

Satisfaction:

• I was very happy to learn that..........

• I was very happy to hear that..........

• I was delighted to hear that..........

• I was thrilled to find out that..........

• I was glad to hear that..........

Suggestion:

• Perhaps we could...........

• Perhaps you can............

• I would like to suggest that...........

• May I suggest that............

• I would highly appreciate if you...........

• Would it be a good idea to...........

• Perhaps it would be a good idea to...........

Asking for Information:

• I would like to know about/if...........

• I am writing to inquire about...........

• I am writing to find out about...........

• What I am looking for is...........

• I would like you to inform me...........

• I would appreciate if you could provide me...........

Providing Information:

• I would like to inform you that...........

• Perhaps you should be informed that............

• I guess you would glad to know that...........

• Please be informed that............

• For your kind notification...........

• I should let you know that...........

Giving good news:

• I am happy to advise you that... (formal)

• I am delighted to tell you that... (informal)

• I thought you might like to know that... (informal)

• I am happy to inform you that... (semi-formal)

Giving bad news:

• I regret to advise you that... (formal)

• I regret to inform you that... (semi-formal)

• I am sorry to tell you that... (informal)

• I am afraid I have some bad news... (informal)

Conveying regards:

• Please convey my greeting and best wished to your parents.

• Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.

• Please give my best regards to your family.

• Please give my regards to your parents.

• My best wishes for your parents.

Concern/sympathy:

• I am/was sorry to hear about...

• I am writing to express my concern about...

• It breaks my heart to hear that... (informal)

• I wish I could revert it in any way... (informal)

o End the letter:

• Once again, I am sorry for any inconvenience caused..........

• I hope I did not cause you too much problem..........

• Please accept my apologies once more..........

• I am so sorry for the whole thing..........

• I hope you will accept my apologies..........

• Kindly accept my apologies ..........

Complaint:

• I expect to hear from you soon..........

• Hopefully, you will pay immediate attention to this matter ..........

• I highly expect your kind attention about the situation..........

• I want you to take immediate action about the misunderstanding..........

Request:

• Thank you again for your attention to this matter..........

• Could you possibly resend the papers?..........

• I expect to hear from you again..........

Thanking:

• Thanks.

• Thank you.

• Thanks a lot for.

• I can't thank you enough.

• I am extremely grateful for.

• No words can express my gratitude.

Wishing Good Luck:

• I wish you a good trip ahead.

• I wish you good luck with your interview.

• Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well.

• Wishing you all the best.

Providing Information:

• I would like to inform you that I have already sent the papers you asked me to...........

• Perhaps you should be informed that the last date has already been over............

• I hope this information will be helpful for you, please contact me for any other information ...........

• This is all I would like to inform you.Please feel free to contact me for any information............

Expecting a reply from someone:

• I am looking forward to hearing from you .......

• I am waiting to hear from you soon...........

• I look forward to hearing from you soon............

• I am expecting to hear from you soon...........

• I am eagerly waiting for your response............

• I look forward to hearing from you.

• I look forward to seeing you.

• I look forward to meeting you.

• I look forward to getting a reply from you soon.

• I really look forward to your cooperation in this.

Signing off:

Personal Letter: Yours truly, Yours ever, Best regards, Best wishes, Many thanks, Love, Lots of love, All
the best, Best wishes.

Official Letter: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours obedient.

Business Letter: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully.

IELTS Vocabulary Test: Writing a letter

Below, you will see eleven common situations that people encounter when they are writing a formal
letter. Choose the sentence or phrase (A, B or C) that would be most appropriate in each situation.

1. You are writing a letter to the headteacher of a school or college, but you don't know their name.
How do you begin your letter?

A. Dear Headteacher.

B. Dear Sir / Madam.

C. Dear Sir.
2. You have received a letter from the manager of a company which buys computer components from
your company, and you are now replying. What do you say?

A. Thank you for your letter.

B. Thanks a lot for your letter.

C. It was great to hear from you.

3. You recently stayed in a hotel and were very unhappy with the service you received. You are now
writing to the manager. What do you say?

A. I had a horrible time at your hotel recently.

B. I would like to say that I am unhappy with your hotel.

C. I would like to complain about the service I received at your hotel recently.

4. You have sent a letter of application to a college, together with your curriculum vitae which the
college requested. What do you say in the letter to explain that your curriculum vitae has been
attached?

A. You asked for my curriculum vitae, so here it is.

B. As you can see, I've enclosed my curriculum vitae.

C. As you requested, I enclose my curriculum vitae.

5. You have applied for a job, but you would like the company to send you more information. What do
you say?

A. I would be grateful if you would send me more information.

B. I want you to send me more information.

C. Send me some more information, if you don't mind.

A. Write back to me soon, please.

B. Please drop me a line soon.

C. l look forward to hearing from you soon.

7. In a letter you have written, you want the recipient to do something and are thanking them in
advance for their action. What do you say?

A. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

B. Thanks for doing something about it.

C. I am gratified that you will take appropriate action.

8. The company you work for has received an order from another company and you are writing to them
to acknowledge the order and let them know when you can deliver. What do you say?

A. About the order you sent on 12 January for...

B. I would like to remind you of the order you sent on 12 January for...

C. refer to your order of 12 January.

9. In a letter, you explain that the recipient can contact you if they want more information. What do you
say?
 A. Give me a call if you want some more information.

B. If you would like any more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

C. If you would like any more information, why not get in touch?

10. You began a letter with the recipient's name (e.g., Dear Mr Perrin). How do you end the letter?

A. Yours faithfully.

B. Yours sincerely.

C. Best wishes.

11. You did not begin the letter with the recipient's name (see number 1 above). How do you end the
letter?

A. Yours faithfully.

B. Yours sincerely.

C. Best wishes.

Useful Application Writing Vocabulary:

This section deals with vocabulary and phrases that are particularly useful to write an application. In GT
writing task 1, you often need to write an application and the purpose of the application varies.
Sometimes it is a simple job application, and sometimes it is a more complex. You will find the following
vocabulary list useful for your application writing. Applications are generally formal and can be semi-
formal in some special occasions.

Salutation:

Dear Mr/Ms ..., (... should be replaced by the surname ...)

Dear Sir/Madam,
Sir or Madam,

Reason for writing:

I am writing to apply for the post/position of ….... as advertised in the Daily …... on (...date...)

I am writing in connection with your advertisement in the Daily ...... on (...date...)

With reference to your advertisement ......

Stating Experience/qualification:

My qualifications include …

I have two years job experience in the related field...

I have been working for ...… for the last five years.

I worked part-time for three years as …... at .......

At the moment I am employed by …... and my job responsibilities include .....

I have experience in ......

I have a post-graduation degree on .......

I have a diploma in …...

I have hands-on experience in ......

I graduated from ...... University three months ago and my major was......

I have finished my post-graduation from the ...... University and have been awarded .......

Curriculum Vitae (CV):

Please find attached my Curriculum Vitae

I am attaching my CV for your kind consideration

Endings:

I look forward to hearing from you.

I can further discuss my candidacy for the post in a formal interview.

I am available for an interview at your convenience.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if/should you require further information.

Please contact me anytime for any other information you might require.

I shall be available for interview any day apart from Saturday.

Signing off the letter:

Yours sincerely, (if you start the letter with "Dear + Surname")

Yours faithfully, (if you start your letter with "Dear Sir/Madam/ Sir /Madam")