An informal letter...

The introduction
In this section we use opening expressions and the reason of our email. We can also thank or answer a previous email which we received. A veces nos cuesta empezar una carta o email. Una buena forma es mencionar la razn por la que escribimos despus de un opening expression. Esto ayuda a que el compositor y el lector entiendan el propsito principal de la carta o email. El prrafo de introduccin solo consta de algunas lneas. Openings How are you? How have you been? Hows everything going? I was glad to hear from you. I hope things are going well with you these days. I hope you are doing fine. Hope you are well. Whats new? Reason one is writing: Im writing to ask you a favour. Sorry for not writing for so long. I am writing because The reason I am writing is because I wanted to I would like to Opening Expressions when we answer an email / letter Thanks for your email / letter It was great to get your letter. It was great to hear from you It was so nice to hear from you. Sorry for not writing earlier I hope you and your family are well Responding to news Sorry to hear about Glad to hear that youre all well Good luck with Hope you feel better soon

Body

This is the most important part. Here we talk about the main subject and expand with details about the reason of writing the email. If we talk about two different things it is best to write another paragraph.

I am writing to tell you that

Intenten ordenar sus ideas en el cuerpo principal para que puedan desarrollar un patrn lgico para ordenar sus ideas. Cuando tienen ms de una idea podran empezar con: First, I wanted to let you know Esto ayuda a que el lector pueda entenderlo mejor. Then if you need to ask for something I suggest the following expressions: Asking for something Can you please? Is it ok if you ? I want to Would you mind ? I was wondering if

Conclusion
Closing expressions Anyway, / Well thats all for now I must go now. Hope to hear from you soon / Looking forward to hearing from you (soon) Send my regards (love) to Take care / Best wishes / Regards / (Lots of) love from Sincerely, Stay in touch / Keep in touch Bye for now See you PS Please send me the photos of our last trip Antes de mandar el email o carta asegrense de leerlo completamente para ver si hay algn error ortogrfico. Tambin analicen si cumplieron con el objetivo de mandar el mensaje que queran y que tenga un patrn lgico.

EXAMPLES OF INFOMAL LETTERS

10th December Hi Vic, How are you? What are you doing this New Years Eve? Jean and I have decided to hold a party at home this year, and wed love it if you could come. Were planning quite a small party with our old school friends, so youll know all of the guests. Therell be lots to eat and drink. Weve decided to give the party a Mexican theme, with lots of spicy food. Youll probably be coming by train wont you? Just give us a ring from the station and Ill pick you up. As the party will be quite late, youll need to stay the night. Dont worry theres plenty of room for everybody. Well, I really hope you can make it. It seems ages since we last saw. Please let me know as soon as possible. Lots of love, Mark

Dear Maria, I thought you'd never reply to my last letter! Anyway, back to your question. Well, if I were you, I'd choose the museum job.

Working in a restaurant would be very tiring. Trust me I've done such a job, and I quit within a month! However you talk to lots of people, listen to their discussions which can sometimes be very interesting but still you get really tired. Working in a museum though can be really interesting. You just have to explain to the visitors what is what. You may think that you will have to talk all day, but that's not true. You see many people just like to browse through the museum. You also have to remind the rules of the museum to some that disobey them, but these people are usually very few; not something you should worry about. I heavily suggest you take the museum job. It's easier and less tiring. I'm looking forward to get your reply. Lots of love, George

2nd May Dear Scott, Hi, how are you doing? I know that youve just moved up a year at school. Whats your new teacher like? I bet hes really cool. Does he teach you how to write letters? Ours does. Today, my teacher taught us how to set a personal letter out correctly. Im in the top group for Literacy which is great. My two best friends in class are in the group too so we have a lot of fun. Ive just started to use a fountain pen to write with, so my handwritings getting really neat. I have to be very careful not to smudge my work; do you have fountain pens at school? Weve been swimming nearly every day since Easter. Our school has an outdoor

5th November 2000 Dear Paula, Oh, how I missed being with you during the holidays this year! Everything in London is so different from Spain that I don't know if I'll ever get used to living here. I'm so glad that my father's job at the Spanish Embassy will only last until June. Then we will come home, and you and I can spend the summer on the beach. (I hope you'll spend your holiday in Spain, as usual. ) I've already made some very nice friends, but don't worry - no one could ever replace you as my best friend! After school, I sometimes go to my friend Fiona's house. She enjoys listening to the same music and watching the same clips that you and I like. In fact, Fiona and I have tickets for Bon Jovi's concert next month. I wish you were coming with us! Life is very different here. Would you believe that we have to wear a uniform to go to school? It's awful! A blue skirt and blazer, a white blouse and a ridiculous checked tie, not to mention a pair of horrible, long, white socks. Besides, there is nothing to do in the evening. All the shops close by 4.30 p. m. and pubs are only open till 11 p. m. Thats all for now. I must start my homework for my English class tomorrow. The teacher wants us to write an informal letter to a friend and I don't even know where to begin! Please write soon and tell me all the news. I miss you.

Love,

December 6th Dear Jane, I hope you are feeling better Are you able to sit in the garden and enjoy the sunshine? We all miss you in the office and look forward to your return. There have been a few changes since you went into hospital. Eric Johnson has now retired (lucky man) and Matthew has taken over Eric's job. He is struggling at the moment. He hopes you will return soon to rescue him from the muddle. I thought you would like the book I'm sending you with this letter I saw it in the bookshop and thought it would make you laugh. I know youve always wanted to live-in Greece. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and find time to read it before you return to work Take it easy and look after yourself I'll write again soon. Best regards Sheila

Dear Adam, Hi! Hows it going? Thanks a lot for your postcard. Sounds like you had a great time in Switzerland. Well, we went back to school today for the first day of the winter term. Boring! I cant believe how quickly the summer holidays went. Actually, it wasnt that bad. There are a couple of new guys in my class this year and they both seem really nice. One of them is really good at football. Im going to try and get him on the team! Talking of Football, weve got our first match next week. Were training hard at the moment, and I think weve got a good chance of winning. Wish us luck! Anyway, Id better go now. Ive got loads of homework to do tonight (unfortunately). Write soon! All the best, Gary
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London, April 2003 Dear Montserrat, I thought you would like to know what my new life here is like. I arrived in London two weeks ago and Im staying with a family called the Noltons. They live in Newington, a quiet suburb near London, and theyre very nice. Mrs. Nolton works in the council offices, but Mr. Nolton hasnt got a job now. He used to be a teacher in the local comprehensive school but the school closed down last summer. He has been unemployed since then. Next month he is doing a short course in business management. Im having a great time in London, but the work is very boring. I would like to change and find a more interesting job. Apart from working I also try to have a bit of fun. I was travelling on the underground the other day, when I met (meet) Pedro. Do you remember him? He hasnt changed a bit! He still has the same piercing on her left eyebrow. Now hes learning English at a private school here. We had a long talk together and tomorrow we are going to see an art exhibition. Im really looking forward to it. I like London but it is very expensive. Could you lend me some money? Ill pay you back when I see you next month. There are so many things to do here. Have you seen the new film by Scorsese? I saw it yesterday in a cinema in Leicester Square. Its very good, but it was in English and I couldnt understand everything! Well, thats all for now, Ill see you in May. Take care. Lots of love.

Julia