LETTER WRITING When writing letters decide if they

LETTER WRITING

When writing letters decide if they are going to be

FORMAL INFORMAL Ø To people you don’t Ø To people you know such as friends or relatives know ØTo an organisation such as a bank or the council ØPossibly letters of complaint or letters asking for information

Writing a formal letter • One side of the paper only • Plan before you write • Keep it simple

45 Orange Close West Burnham West Yorkshire 23 rd March 2000 The Manager Barclay Building Society Long Street West Hartlepool Dear Sir Thank you for your letter dated 15 th March. I am afraid I cannot agree with your letter. I have studied my bank statement and still cannot find the charges you say are outstanding. This is the third letter I have sent and if no action is taken within the next five days I will contact my solicitor. I hope this matter can be settled as soon as possible. Yours faithfully Ann Angry

NOTE 45 Orange Close West Burnham West Yorkshire ADDRESSES AND DATE 23 rd March 2000 The Manager Barclay Building Society Long Street West Hartlepool Dear Sir Thank you for your letter dated 15 th March. I am afraid I cannot agree with your letter. I have studied my bank statement and still cannot find the charges you say are outstanding. This is the third letter I have sent and if no action is taken within the next five days I will contact my solicitor. I hope this matter can be settled as soon as possible. Yours faithfully (Ann Angry) Space for signature but write or type your name clearly underneath

When writing formal letters Always • Keep to the point be precise • Use short sentences and simple words • No commas outside the main body of the letter. • Use proper paragraphs Never • Use slang • Use jargon

Writing formats • Say Dear Sir or Madam if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to. • This would end in Yours faithfully • If you know the name write • Dear Mr. . . /Dear Mrs. . . / Or Dear Ms. . . • These would end in Yours sincerely • Type or print your name at the bottom and leave a space just above it for your signature. Put Mr Mrs or Ms in brackets next to it.

Remember Layout of formal letters • • • Your address on left hand side Date under address Their address under date • Greetings Dear Sir/ Mr Jones • • • 1 st Paragraph introduction 2 nd and maybe 3 rd paragraph what you are writing about Final paragraph what you want them to do about it. • Endings Dear Sir – Yours faithfully Dear Mr Jones – Your sincerely

Exercise 1 The Government has to save money and are making a lot of cuts to services. • Write a formal letter to your local MP putting a case what cuts you think they should reconsider.

Exercise 2 You bought a second hand car for £ 700. It had only been running for a week when the engine broke down. Another garage says it will cost over £ 400 to repair. Write a letter: To the garage where you bought the car asking for your money back.