WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER Read the following …

WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER ? Read the following e-mail and let ter:

From: Mar?a ( maria@t er ra. es ) To: Alice (alice@hot ) CC: Subj ect : My family

Hi Alice, How are you? I hope you' re well. Thanks f or your last e-mail. This t ime I' m writ ing t o t ell you about my family.

My mot her' s name is Amparo and my fat her' s name is Juan. My mot her is 45 years old and my fat her is 55. My mot her is a doct or and my f at her is a dancer. I love t hem bot h very much. I have a horrible lit t le brot her and no sist ers. His name is Fernando. He goes t o t he same school as me. He is 8 years old. He loves playing f oot ball, video games and annoying me! I like playing basket ball and going out wit h my f riends. I don' t like school because my t eacher is always angry. We have one dog called Bobbi. He is always happy.

Well, t hat ' s all f or now. I hope t o hear f rom you soon.

Love, Mar?a xxxxxx

41 46th St reet New York 11104

February 12 Dear Miguel,

How are you? I'm f ine. Here's a let t er in English. It 's good pract ice f or you and me! I' m writ ing t o t ell you about my school, t he girls I live wit h and New York.

I have classes in English at La Guardia Communit y College. I'm in a class wit h eight st udent s. They're all f rom dif f erent count ries: Japan, Brazil, Swit zerland, Poland, and It aly. Our t eacher's name is Isabel. She's very nice and a very good t eacher.

I live in an apart ment wit h t wo American girls, Annie and Marnie Kass. They are sist ers. Annie's t went y years old and a dancer. Marnie's eight een years old and a st udent . They're very f riendly, but it isn't easy t o underst and t hem. They speak very fast !

New York is very big, very excit ing but very expensive! The subway isn't dif f icult t o use and it 's cheap. It 's very cold now but Cent ral Park is lovely in t he snow. I'm very happy here.

That ' s all my news. Writ e t o me soon. Best wishes, Dor it a

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WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER

* We begin an e-mail or let t er wit h t he greeting. We begin let t ers wit h Dear ..., (we use a comma, not a colon (: )). But we can begin an email not only wit h Dear..., but also wit h Hi ...or Hello...(followed by a comma).

* The introduction is t he first paragr aph. Here we ask about our f riend' s healt h, we t hank her/ him f or his previous let t er/ email, we ment ion t he reason for writ ing, et c.

1. Where does t he introduct ion begin and finish in the e-mail? And in t he le t t e r ?

* The body is t he most import ant part of a let t er or e-mail. Here we writ e t he main subj ect / s of our let t er/ email, for example, we cancel somet hing, we t alk about our school/ work/ family/ holidays, et c. When we t alk about t wo subj ect s, we wr it e t wo body paragraphs; when we t alk about t hree, we writ e t hree paragraphs, and so on.

2. Where does t he body begin and finish in t he e-mail? And in the lett er ?

* The conclusion is t he last paragraph (t hird, f our t h, fift h... paragraph). Here we writ e our closing remarks: we say goodbye, ask t he ot her person t o wr it e back, send her/ him or her/ his family our love, et c.

3. Where does t he conclusion begin and finish in the e-mail? And in the let ter?

4. What are the main differences between e-mails and lett er s? Write L (let ter) or E (e-mail) next to each sent ence:

1. You writ e your address (st reet / cit y or village/ post code) in t he t op right -hand corner.

2. You writ e your name and/ or address in t he f irst box bef ore your composit ion.

3. In t his t ype of composit ion, you don' t include your name in your address.

4. You writ e t he name of t he person you are writ ing t o in t he second box.

5. You can send t his t ext t o ot her people. You j ust writ e t heir address in t he box " carbon copy" .

6. You writ e t he dat e under t he address.

7. You don' t need t o writ e t he dat e.

8. You can t ell t he reader what your t ext is about in t he " subj ect " box.

9. The greet ing always begins wit h Dear... and we use a comma af t er it :

Dear Est ef an?a,

Dear Mr Squires,

10. The greet ing can begin wit h Dear... or Hi...:

Dear Est ef an?a,

Hi Est ef an?a,

11. We use a comma af t er t he greet ing.

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WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER

12. We say Best wishes, / Regar ds, wit h people we don' t know much. But we say Lot s of love, / Love, wit h close f riends and relat ives.

13. We sign t he t ext at t he end.

14. We writ e our name at t he end.

5. Write the following words and phrases in the corresponding place:

Regards,

It was great t o hear from you.

Hi Sarah, *

We look f orward t o hearing f rom you.

Love,

Thanks f or your e-mail.

Dear Herman, That ' s all f or now.

Writ e soon! Best wishes,

Lot s of love, Dear Mr whit e,

How are you? I' m f ine.

Well, t hat ' s all my news. Give my love t o your sist er.

Give my regards t o your parent s. I look forward t o hearing f rom you.

I hope you' re well. My mot her sends her love. Writ e soon.

I hope t o hear f rom you soon. Thank you very much f or your let t er of December 1st.

How' s your f amily?

I have some good news. I' m writ ing t o t ell you about my last holidays.

* This expression is used only in e-mails.

Gr ee t i ngs:

Int r odu ct ion:

Conclusion:

Closing an e-mail:

6. The date in let ters: t her e ar e dif ferent ways of writ ing t he dat e:

18t h Mar ch, 2007

18 March, 2007

18th March

18. 3. 07

March 18t h, 2007

Mar ch 18, 2007

Mar ch 18th 18. 3. 2007

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WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER

KEY:

1. Where does t he introduct ion begin and finish in the e-mail? And in t he le t t e r ?

e-mail: How ar e you? ...my f amily. let t er: How are you? ... New York.

2. Where does t he body begin and finish in t he e-mail? And in the lett er ? e-mail: My mot her ' s name...He is always happy. let t er: I have classes ...I' m very happy here.

3. Where does t he conclusion begin and finish in the e-mail? And in the let ter? e-mail: Well... f rom you soon. let t er: That ' s all ... me soon.

4. What are the main differences between e-mails and lett er s? Write L (let ter) or E (e-mail) next to each sent ence: 1. You writ e your address (st reet / cit y or village/ post code) in t he t op right -hand corner. L 2. You writ e your name and/ or address in t he f irst box bef ore your composit ion. E 3. In t his t ype of composit ion, you don' t include your name in your address. L 4. You writ e t he name of t he person you are writ ing t o in t he second box. E 5. You can send t his t ext t o ot her people. You j ust writ e t heir address in t he box " carbon

copy" . E 6. You writ e t he dat e under t he address. L 7. You don' t need t o writ e t he dat e. E 8. You can t ell t he reader what your t ext is about in t he " subj ect " box. E 9. The greet ing always begins wit h Dear... and we use a comma af t er it : L Dear Est ef an?a, Dear Mr Squires, 10. The greet ing can begin wit h Dear... or Hi...: E Dear Est ef an?a, Hi Est efan?a, 11. We use a comma af t er t he greet ing. L and E 12. We say Best wi shes, / Regards, wit h people we don' t know much. But we say Lot s of

love, / Love, wit h close f riends and relat ives. L and E 13. We sign t he t ext at t he end. L 14. We writ e our name at t he end. E

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WRITING AN INFORMAL E-MAIL or LETTER

5. Write the following words and phrases in the corresponding place:

Gr ee t i ngs:

In t r oduct ion:

Hi Sarah,

Thanks f or your e-mail.

Dear Herman,

It was great t o hear f rom you.

Dear Mr Whit e,

How are you? I' m f ine.

I hope you' re well. Thank you very much f or your let t er of December 1st.

I have some good news. I' m writ ing t o t ell you about my last holidays.

How' s your f amily?

Conclusion: Writ e soon! Writ e soon. That ' s all f or now. We look f orward t o hearing f rom you. I look f orward t o hearing f rom you. I hope t o hear f rom you soon. Give my love t o your sist er. Give my regards t o your parent s. My mot her sends her love. Well, t hat 's all my news.

Closing an e-mail: Re gar d s, Lot s of love, Love, Best wishes,

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