Writing Letters English lesson

What will I learn from the lesson writing letter in English

During this lesson you will be learning how to write letters properly and structure them.  The lesson starts off with a brief history of letters and why there not used as much today. After is the basic rules you will start learning needed when writing letters.

Informal letters

Informal letter are not used as much, with people preferring to send emails, use social networks like Facebook or send a lot of people will send a text message by phone. However, at certain times you may need to write a more formal letter. It is important that you understand how to write letters as a lot of companies ask for a formal letter, when applying for a job.

Basic writing letters rules: -

Your address

The first thing you should do is put your address at the top right hand side of the page.

Address of person you’re writing to

The address of the person you’re writing to on the top left hand side, below your own address. After the person you are writing to you must add the date as well.

How to start the letter

Start the letter with ‘Dear’. If you know the person you’re writing too, you can use their first name Dear Sarah or, if the person you are writing to is more formal use their second name, Dear Mrs Bean.

Don’t know the name of the person you’re writing to

Sometimes when you write a letter you might not know the name of the person you’re writing to, you can use ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’.

Don’t know sex of the person you are writing to

And if you don’t know the name or the sex of the person you’re writing to, write ‘Dear Sir or Madam’.

Clear paragraphs

Write your letter it is important to write in clear paragraphs, do not use slang words, abbreviations and most importantly bad spelling.

Finishing your letter

When you are ready to finish your letter use ‘Yours sincerely’, but only if you started your with a name, or if no name was used  ‘Yours faithfully’ if you started the letter with no name.

Here’s an example of a letter applying for a job:-

Walker steel  Ltd.,                                                                                                                                                                      23 Korat Street,

1 The Mall                                                                                                                                                                              Blackburn BB1 8MW

Blackburn

Lancashire BB1 1KW

Tuesday 27th May, 2012

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’m writing about the job you advertised in The Telegraph which you are asking for an officer worker for an immediate start in your Manchester branch.

As you will see from my CV I have sent with the letter, I have 12 years’ experience in the field and am currently actively seeking work after a short break working abroad for a charity worker.

I would be grateful after reading my CV you give it your consideration I’m available for interview at your convenience should you be interested in my skills and experience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Smith.

Easy pace Learning online dictionary and how to use dictionaries

Click on the following link for the Online English dictionary - English lesson