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Guidelines for Writing a Formal Letter 1. Your address

Your address should appear on the left-hand corner. 2. A horizontal line across the page sepa rates your address from the recipients address. 3. Address of the person to whom you are writing

The recipients address should be below your address. The postcode and name of the town should be underlined. 4. Date The date is written on the right along the same line as the last line of the recipients address. The month should be spelt out (i.e. it should be in words, not numbers). It must be written in full (do not use abbreviations such as Sept) and in capital letters. 5. Salutation/Greeting If you know the name of the recipient, then do use his surname (Dear Mr Tan) If you do not know the name of the person to whom you are writing, then use Dear Sir or Madam 6. Subject heading The subject heading gives the reader an idea what the letter is about. Write the subject heading directly below the salutation and it should be underlined 7. The body of the letter The body of the letter refers to the contents of your letter. It should be divided into short and clear paragraphs. All paragraphs should be numbered except for the first and last paragraphs. a. In the first paragraph, you should state the reason for writing (whether it is to inform, to complain, to invite etc). b. From the second paragraph onwards, you should include information that is deemed necessary, depending on what you are writing about. The number of paragraphs depends on what you are writing. c. In the last paragraph, state what you expect from the recipient. This is usually in the form of an action or response. It is a common practice to end a formal letter with phrases such as I look forward to hearing from you or I hope prompt action will be taken to solve this problem. A note of thanks is usually included

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Remember to organise the information in a clear and logical manner. Also, do not write lengthy paragraphs. 8. Ending You can end the letter by writing Yours faithfully. In practice, we usually use Yours sincerely, if we know the recipient but for exam purposes I would advise you to use only Yours faithfully. 9. Signature Do not forget to sign the letter and write your name below it in capital letters with in brackets.

Above is a letter of job application. The numbers refer to the notes above. Read the sample question below You are the Secretary of the Residents Association in your housing estate. Write a letter to the director of the local municipal council to complain about the problems you and the other residents are facing. In your letter, include the details below: rubbish not collected

causes terrible stench

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stray cats and dogs scatter rubbish clogged drains breeding ground for mosquitoes

increase in cases of dengue fever street lights not working cause accidents at night

increase in crime playground not well- maintained overgrown grass

playground equipment damaged When writing your letter, you should remember to: set it out in the correct format

include all the points given

address the letter to the director of the local municipal council

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Rajvind Gill, 10, Jalan Jujur, Taman Jayadiri, 68000 Ampang, Selangor __________________________________________________________________ The Director, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, Bangunan Mentari, Ampang Jaya, 68000 SELANGOR. Dear Sir, Poor Maintenance of Taman Jayadiri I am writing this letter on behalf of the residents of Taman Jayadiri to complain about the dismal conditions we have been putting up with for the past three months. 2. One of the main grouses of the residents concerns uncollected rubbish (point 1). Initially, rubbish was collected three times a week. However, since June this year the garbage collectors have only been coming once a week. Our litter bins are always filled to the brim and we have no choice but to leave our bags of rubbish next to the bins. The rotting waste causes a terrible stench (point 2). Worse still, stray cats and dogs scatter the rubbish (point 3) while looking for food. This is not only unpleasant but also unhealthy. 3. Most of the drains in Taman Jayadiri are clogged (point 4) with rubbish resulting in the water becoming stagnant. It is not uncommon to see plastic bags, bottles and dry leaves in these drains. There is an urgent need to clear these drains as the stagnant water is an idealbreeding ground for mosquitoes (point 5). The residents are worried as there has been a sharp increase in dengue cases (point 6) in the last two months. 15 SEPTEMBER 2009

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4. The street lights along several roads are also not working (point 7). This has caused several accidents at night (point 8), mostly involving motorcyclists as they are unable to see in the dark. Unfortunately, the dark streets have also led to another problem an increase in crime (point 9). Several residents, especially women, have fallen victim to snatch thieves. 5. The one and only playground in our area is also not well-maintained (point 10). The grass is overgrown (point 11) as it has not been cut for almost three months. Besides, the playground equipment is damaged (point 12). Many of the see-saws and swings have been spoiled by vandals. I hope the council will look into our complaints and take prompt action to solve our problems. Thank you. Yours faithfully, RajvindGill (RAJVIND GILL)

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INFORMAL LETTER include the writers address and date in the upper right hand corner. The date can be written in different forms. (7th September 2009, 7 SEPTEMBER 2009 or 7.9.2009) use the most common salutation. (Dear John) indent paragraphs. include a suitable complimentary close. (Your loving daughter) Do not use Regards as it is considered slightly more formal and distant. Also, do not use Best Wishes as this is considered inappropriate. use proper punctuation. For example, a comma should be used after the salutation and complimentary close. use capitalisation where necessary. For example, the month of the date (10 January 2009), the salutation (Dear Maria) Under normal circumstances, it is perfectly acceptable to use informal language (e.g. stuff, jam-packed) and contractions (Ill, wont) in an informal letter, but this is usually not acceptable in the local examination system. Lets look at some important aspects of an informal letter. 1. Organisation Paragraph 1 include formalities; give reason for writing the letter. Paragraph 2 onwards depends on the reason for writing the letter. If your reason is to tell the recipient about your holiday, then you will include details of the holiday. The last paragraph you can give a reason why you have to stop

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writing such as: I am sorry I have to stop here because it is getting late. I am sorry I have to stop here because I have to stop now because Or you can simply end the letter in a number of appropriate ways as shown in #3 below. 2. Some useful expressions on how to begin an informal letter I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you. Thank you for your letter. I was pleased to hear that you are in good health. It was really nice hearing from you. I am glad that you like your new school. I hope this letter finds you in the pink (of health). Thank you for the lovely birthday card. 3. Some useful expressions on how to end an informal letter I promise to write to you soon. I hope you will reply soon. Give my best wishes to your parents. I am looking forward to seeing you. I look forward to hearing from you. Do write and tell me how you are progressing.

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Sample Question Your younger sister, who is studying in a boarding school, has written to complain that she finds the compulsory co-curricular activities very tiring. Write a letter to her to explain the benefits of co-curricular activities. Use the notes given below to write your letter. help you become a better person instil discipline

learn good values cooperation respect for others develop leadership skills learn to organize activities provide opportunities - to develop social skills to take part in competitions keep you healthy get a good testimonial When writing your letter, remember to include the following: your address a proper salutation/greeting a complimentary close all the notes given above

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Sample answer 10, Jalan Mega Minang, Taman Minang Sari, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. 7th September 2009

Dear Wani, Thank you for your last letter. All of us miss you very much. Mum and Dad are happy that you will be coming home next month. In your letter you complained that co-curricular activities are very tiring. Well, let me tell you that these activities have many benefits. Firstly, they will help you become a better person (point 1). They will instil discipline (point 2) in you. This is important if you want to become a good citizen. Besides, you will learn good values (point 3) such as cooperation (point 4) and respect for others (point 5). Co-curricular activities will help you to develop leadership skills (point 6). You will also learn to organise activities (point 7). Moreover, co-curricular activities provide you with opportunities (point 8). They help you develop social skills (point 9). Extra-curricular activities also give you opportunities to take part in competitions (point 10). Cocurricular activities can keep you healthy (point 11). Most importantly, you will get a good testimonial (point 12). I hope you will take co-curricular activities seriously. I have to stop here. Till I hear from you, take care.

Your elder brother, Izzan

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The sample above is meant to show weak students how they can get marks for format and content. Most of the sentences are simple sentences and the points are not elaborated. If you are a weak student, try to insert some sentences to elaborate on the points given. Remember when you write an informal letter: Do not uses slang words? Do not use words which are in a language other than English. This means you cannot write Dear Abah, or Dear Amma even if that is how you address your parents. Do not sign off with Love and Kisses. Keep that for your personal letters.