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FORMAL LETTER

Reason for
writing

Dear Mr/Ms (surname),


Dear Sir/Madam/Sir or Madam,
I am writing to
// with regard to // on behalf of

I would be grateful if
I wonder if you could
Asking
Could you ?
Could you tell me something about ?
questions
I would particularly like to know
I would be interested in having more details about
Referring to As you started in your letter,
their letter Regarding
Concerning
With regard to
I am writing to complain about
You said but in fact what happened
Complaining
We were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a guest house.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Closing
I look forward to hearing from you.
Please contact me if you have any further questions.
(If Dear surname)
Yours sincerely,
Signing off (If Dear Sir/Madam)
Yours faithfully,
Yours,
First name + surname
Remember that in formal letters we use:
Formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs
(Tolerate instead of put up with)
More complex sentence structure
(Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed
with the service)
Punctuation using semi-colons
The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the
high cost involved
Remember that in informal letters we use:
Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs. go on instead of continue
Simpler sentence structure
Ill be late for the party. Its because of my French exam.
Punctuation using exclamation marks
If youd been at the wedding, youd have loved the food!
TASK. Rewrite this informal letter using formal register.
Dear Ms Denton. Thanks for your letter of 24 May. As I am sure
you will understand, I am very sorry to hear that you could not
locate my suitcase. As I said in my original letter, the suitcase
contained many documents that I need for my job. I have had to
get in touch with my publishers to get hold of copies of documents
that your airline lost. Of course, I will fill in to Claim Form, but it is
not easy to guess the value of the documents. About half of them
are irreplaceable. I hope that in the meantime you are still looking
for my case. If you find it, please contact me straight away. I am
looking forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, James Burke

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