Formal Letters and Emails

7/30/2019 Formal Letters and Emails

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INSTITUTOSUPERIOR DEENGENHARIA DOPORTO DEPARTAMENTO DEENGENHARIAINFORMTICA

LAPR2 MDULO DECOMPETNCIASLINGUSTICAS DOCENTE: ANAB ARATA

Formal Letters and e-mails in English ABT1

Formal Letters and E-mails in Engl ish

Introduction:

1. Look at this business e-mail.

1.1. What is i t aski ng the reader to do?

1.2. Identify the dif ferent parts o f the e-mail body ( opening greeting; contents; clos ing remarks )

Opening greeting : .

Closing remark :

1.3. Which part of the e-mail is the most formal and polit e? Underline the expressions t hat refer to this

style. ..

1.4. Identify in the e-mail body three different verb structures:

Imperative : If -clause (conditional sentence)

Conditional : ..

2. What are the following extracts about? Underline the REQUESTS for action.

A. Thank you for your e-mail. Please, change your reservation as soon as possible. If you wait untilthe day of travel, you will have less chance of obtaining a place on the later sailing .

B. Please contact me urgently on 0124 347767 concerning your account. Alternatively if outside normaloffice ours, contact customer care on the above number, which offers a 6am to 9pm service .

C. Thank you for your kind inquiry. We have one room left on 28 th August with en-suitshower and sea view. The rate is 86.00 inclusive of breakfast. If you could give us a creditcard number, we will reserve the room for you.


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2.1. In the thi rd extract ( C ) above, the writer used a condit ional form. Change it in to a direct request

using an imperative form. How does this change the effect?

..

..

Language Summary:

Writers of formal letters may need to request an action by the reader. Conditional clauses areuseful because they allow the writer to make a request that will fit a number of differentcircumstances:

If you have already paid this bill, please ignore this letter. (Phrased in this way in case the reader

is offended by the request for late payment.)

Conditional sentences are also used to encourage readers to do a wide range of things which thebusiness or organisation wants:

If you have not yet used all your tax allowance for the year, let us know and we recommendfurther investment opportunities. (The writer wants to do more business with the customer andmakes a suggestion of something the reader might want to do.)

Writers need to be able to vary their sty le to suit the request.

Imperatives are used when the action by the reader is expected or understood:

Thank you for your request for an application pack. Please complete the enclosed and return bythe closing date. (The action by the reader is expected, because they have asked the applicationpack.)

Actions in which the writer can demand from the reader are also expressed as a simple

imperative:

Please telephone your account manager to discuss the lack of funds in your account. (The writerdoes not need to soften this, because the reader is in the wrong!)

Both uses of imperative are generally preceded by please.

Actions which are more difficult or are unexpected are requested through conditional forms andmodals. They are built around a basic imperative clause:

Please e-mail us, and we will send your password.- If you e-mail us, we will send your password.- If you could e-mail us, we will send your password.


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Combining conditionals and modals to make requests

A. Match the statements i n column 1. to the act ions that are requested in column 2..

1 21. If you could sign the enclosed contract, we will complete

the necessary arrangements.

2. We would be glad to send further information if you could

confirm your contact details.

3. We would be very grateful if you could complete the

attached questionnaire. It should not take more than 20

minutes.

4. If you could possibly ask your friends to take part too, we

will send you some additional sponsorship forms.5. If you are having problems, please read the FAQ page on

our website first.

6. We would be extremely grateful if you could enclose two

passport-sized photographs with your signature on the

back.

_____ a) Dont e-mail us!

_____ b) Send your address

_____ c) Fill in a form

_____ d) Add your signature to a legal

document.

_____ e) Find more people to help a charity.

_____ f) Send evidence of your identity.

B. Which are the easiest actions and which are the most di fficul t for the reader to accomplish? How isthis reflected in the language?

Language Summary:

In English direct instructions are often avoided because they can be considered rude. The form If you could is a very common polite form of request for an action by the reader.

Requests for difficult actions are preceded or followed by conventional forms such as we would be(very / most / extremely) grateful; we would be glad; we would be pleased; if you could poss ibly

E.g.: We would be extremely grateful if you could send us your passport number.If you could possibly make an appointment next week, we would be grateful.


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Language Practice

1. Imagine you work for an online bank. You have made these notes on some possiblecustomer problems. Write an appropriate request for these actions so that a standard e-mailcan be sent to every cus tomer.

customer enquiry: action:a) customer requires more informationb) customer wants free virus protection

softwarec) customer receives request for account

details and passwordd) customer wants to know when the new

account is ready for use

fill in details belowdownload from our website

ignore and contact us immediately

send a daytime contact number or e-mailaddress, we will confirm when the new accountis live

2. Think of a situation when you need to writ e a formal letter or e-mail requesting an action .

Make notes on the key information to include.

If you are working in class, give your notes to a classmate and ask them to write the letter or

e-mail.

Have a look at the following unit section for tips on structure and organisation of formal letters.


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E-mail abbreviations

E-mail users have adopted abbreviations with enthusiasm, primarily because they enable users to insert

common phrases into their correspondence quickly and easily. This is a list of the most commonly used

abbreviations in semi-formal e-mails :

AFAIK

AKA

ASAP

F2F

FWIW

FYA

FYI

As far as I know

Also known as

As soon as possible

Face to face

For what its worth

For your amusement

For your information

IMHO

IMO

IOW

IRL

NRN

PLS

POV

In my humble opinion

In my opinion

In other words

In real life

No reply necessary

Please

Point of view

Expressiveness in online communi cation

Ever since the early days of e-mail, Internet correspondents have devised a series of emoticons using

typed characters to convey feelings, to suppress the absence of F2F immediate understanding of the

state-of-mind. Characters such as :-) , :-O or :-( are universal. Conveying other types of emotions,

such as raising the voice, or lowering it and emphasising a certain expression, can also be done by

using the keyboard:

As ter isks : Enclosing a statement in asterisks can add the same sort of light emphasis given by the useof italics . Instead of saying:

I t i s r eal l y i mpor t ant t hat you r epl y to t hi s message ,

you can say:

I t i s *r eal l y* i mpor t ant t hat you r epl y to t hi s message.

Notice how changing the placement of asterisks produces a different message:

I t i s r eal l y i mpor t ant t hat *you* r epl y to t hi s message.

Capitalization: Capitalizing a word or phrase can also emphasise the point:

We ar e sor r y f or t he i nconveni ence, but you r eal l y have t o make t he

payment TODAY.Overuse of capitals can be offensive. Be sure to avoid typing messages in all uppercase letters, whichcreates the impression of shouting:

I WOULD LI KE TO APPLY FOR THE POST OF COMPUTER TECHNI CI AN WHI CH WASADVERTI SED I N


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Letters

Tips for writing letters:

If you are writing to a friend of yours, or to your brother / sister / cousin / niece, you address him/her

using: Dear and his/her name (e.g. Dear Sam ; Dear Claire ).

If you are writing to an aunt / uncle, you address him/her using Dear + kind of relation + name : e.g.

Dear Uncle John.

If you are writing to your mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, you write Dear + kind of relation

(e.g. Dear Mum, Dear Grandma )

In formal letters, if you know the name of the recipient, you sign using Yours sincerely and your full

name. If you dont know the name of the recipient, you sign using Yours faithfully and your full name.

Study these formats of formal letters:

Formal letter when you know the name of therecipient:

3, Bridge St.,Carlisle.2nd March 2007(senders address)

Tom Potts,Personnel Manager,Wrights Paints,46 Cannon St.,London.(recipients address)

Dear Mr Potts,

Yours sincerely, J ames Rogers

Formal letter when you dont know the name of the recipient:

3, Oak St.,Newcastle,England5th J une 2006(senders address)

The Manager, The Grand Hotel,12, J asmine Road,Sydney,Australia.(recipients address)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Yours faithfully, J ane Winters

Semi-formal letter showing respect for therecipient with whom you are on friendly terms:

6, Burns St.,Bath.17 February 2007(senders address)

Dear Mr Fox,

Regards/Best wishesAlison


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Useful language for letter writ ing


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Adapted fr om:

Ronald B. Adler & George Rodman. Understanding Human Communication . (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)Virginia Evans, Successful Writing, Proficiency Teachers Book , (Express P ublishing)


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Documents

Formal Letters and Emails