Letter Writing Tips for IELTS General Test- Writing/ Task 1

LETTER WRITING

In Task 1 of the IELTS General Writing section, you must write a letter about a given situation. This letter will be one of the following types: 

Style	Characteristics	Opening	Ending
Formal	To someone you have not met, whose name you don't know	Dear Sir / Madam	Yours faithfully
Semi-formal	To someone you may or may not have met, whose last name you know & use	Dear Mr Brown, Dear Ms Stone	Yours sincerely
Informal	To someone you know well, whose first name you know and use	Dear John Dear Anita	Best regards Warm wishes
Other Openings	Dear John, A semi-formal letter will also open with Dear and then be followed by a name, (if you decide that in the situation you would know the name) or by Sir (if it's a man), Madam (if it's a woman) or Sir/Madam if you don't know, eg: Dear Mr. Phillips, or Dear Mrs. Phillips, Dear Sir, or Dear Madam, Dear Sir/Madam,

Though you see 3 types of letters in the chart, your letter writing task will ask you to write either a reasonably informal letter to a friend or a semi-formal letter. Each kind of letter requires a different style of writing, a specific beginning and ending salutation, formal or informal expressions.

A formal letter can be identified in several ways:

· the tone, which is formal and business-like and serious

· the use of Dear Sir / Madam

· the absence of contractions

· the use of formal expressions ("Thank you kindly in advance.")

· the closing salutation ( "Yours faithfully", etc.)

The Opening Greeting of the Letter

The opening of your letter should reflect which one you are writing. See the chart above. 

Dear Sir / Madam  

 The Opening Paragraph of the Letter

Semi-Formal -In a semi-formal letter, it is important to state the reason for the letter straight away. This is unlike a letter to a friend where you can be a little chatty right from the beginning, but don't ramble. 

Informal Letter -If the letter is a less formal one to a friend then you should open the letter in a friendlier way. For example:

Hi Rohit! It's been so long since I've heard from you. I hope you are doing well and I hope all you family are doing fine. I'm pretty good in spite of working hard. Anyway, the reason I'm writing is...

The Substance of the Letter

Here are some helpful phrases about language to use in the substance of the letter which will help you to answer the task well. You could use the following phrases to help you for semi-formal letters:

Asking for Help

I am writing to ask/inquire...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing with reference to...
I am writing in connection with...
I am writing in response to...
In reply to your letter, I am writing to... (if the question indicates that you
have already received  a letter)
 I would be grateful if you could...
I need to ask your advice about...
I'd like to ask for information about...
What I'm looking for is...

Apologizing

I'm very sorry that/about...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize about...
Please accept my apologies

Complaining

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction/annoyance/ about...
I'm writing to express my anger at...
I am not happy about...
... is not what I expected/was expecting.
I want to know what you are going to do about this situation.

Please note-  When complaining, don't get too angry. In a polite semi-formal letter, you should not be insulting and sound too heated and definitely not abusive. Also, do not over-exaggerate. If it's a reasonably small and understandable problem, do say that you're not satisfied but show that you understand and stay calm in your expressions.

Thanking

I'm very grateful for...
I'd like to thank you very much for...
I very much appreciated...

Ending your Letter

In English, before the sign off we often end letters with certain phrases. These can be included in most letters and will make your letter seem realistic. 

For a formal letter, you could use:

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking you in advance for your help, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

For a more informal letter you could use:

If you need to know anything else, just get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thanks a lot for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.