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IELTS PREPARATION COURSE

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GENERAL
WRITING
HANDOUT2

TASK1
INTRODUCTORYAND
CLOSINGPARAGRAPH


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HANDOUT 2
THE INTRODUCTION OF LETTERS
In the introductory paragraph, there are several things that you can do:
Formal
Less formal
Greet the addressee
• Dear Jack,
(only in informal letter)
Hi. How are you?
• Dear Annie,
Hello. I hope everything is
fine.
Tell the addressee who
• Dear Sir,
you are (if he/she does not I was a guest at your hotel

know you)
from 23 to 25 May.
• Dear Mr. Parker,
I am a student at your
college, enrolled in the
cookery course.
Thank the addressee (if
• Dear Mr. Lopez,
• Dear Peter,
he/she has sent you a
Thank you for your
Thanks for the invitation.
letter or done something
invitation to the reunion
else for you)
party on 15 January.
• Dear Mr. Hendrix,
• Dear Alan,
Thank you for your letter
Thanks for your letter. It
asking me about studying in was nice to hear from you.
Australia.
Explain your reason for
• I am writing to complain • I must tell you about a new
writing (Keep it short)
about the poor service at
movie I saw last week.
your restaurant.
• I’d like to inquire about
• Can you help me?

course details.
• I am writing to advise
• I am very sorry I forgot to
you of the loss of my credit send you a birthday card.
card.
Formal phrases
Salutation
• Dear Mr. Brown
• Dear Ms White
• Dear Sir
• Dear Sirs
• Dear Madam
• Dear Sir or Madam
• Gentlemen
Starting
• We are writing to inform you that ...
to confirm ...
to request ...
to enquire about ...
• I am contacting you for the following reason.


I recently read/heard about . . . and would like to know . . .
• Having seen your advertisement in ... , I would like to ...
• I would be interested in (obtaining/receiving) ...
• I received your address from ...
and would like to ...
• I am writing to tell you about ...
Referring to previous contact
• Thank you for your letter of March 15 ...

• Thank you for contacting us.
• In reply to your request ...
• Thank you for your letter regarding ...
• With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday ...
• Further to our meeting last week ...
• It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.
• I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.
• I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed on Tuesday . . .
Making a request
• We would appreciate it if you would ...
• I would be grateful if you could...
• Could you please send me . . .
• Could you possibly tell us/let us have...
• In addition, I would like to receive ...
• It would be helpful if you could send us ...
• I am interested in (obtaining/receiving...)
• I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
• Please let me know what action you propose to take.
Offering help
• We would be happy to ...
• Would you like us to ...
• We are quite willing to ...
• Our company would be pleased to ...
Giving good news
• We are pleased to announce that ...
• I am delighted to inform you that ...
• You will be pleased to learn that ...
Giving bad news
• We regret to inform you that ...
• I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...

• Unfortunately we cannot/we are unable to ...
• After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
Complaining
• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
• I am writing to complain about ...
• Please note that the goods we ordered on (date) have not yet arrived.
• We regret to inform you that our order number … is now considerably overdue.
• I would like to query the transport charges which seem unusually high.
Apologising
• We are sorry for the delay in replying ...
• I regret any inconvenience caused
• I would like to apologize for (the delay/the inconvenience) ...
•


Orders
• Thank you for your quotation of ...
• We are pleased to place an order with your company for ...
• We would like to cancel our order number...
• Please confirm receipt of our order.

EXERCISES
Exercise 1

Thank you for your letter/ inviting/ offering/ confirming
I am very grateful to you for letting me know/ offering/ writing
I am delighted to announce that
I was so sorry to hear that
I was delighted to hear that
I am writing to enquire about …

I am writing in response to your advertisement in (publication)
After having seen your advertisement in …, I would like …
Thank you for your letter regarding …
Thank you for your letter about …
I am sorry to inform you that
I am writing to the post of …
Many thanks for sending/ inviting/ enclosing
I should be pleased to attend an interview …
Thank you for your letter of (date) offering me the post of …
I am delighted to accept the position of (job title)
I look forward to starting work with you
It was so kind of you to write (to me)/ invite (me)/ send (… to me)
I am writing to tell you that
I am writing to complain
I wish to inform you that
I am writing to express my
I am writing to inform you that
dissatisfaction with

Put the phrases above into the appropriate categories:
Formal

Application
letter

……………………………………..
……………………………………..

Informal

Referring
to
previous
contact

…………………………
…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………


Referring to
previous
contact

Making a
request

……………………………………..

………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………..

…………………………

……………………………………... Giving

…………………………

……………………………………... good news

…………………………

……………………………………...

…………………………

……………………………………...

…………………………

……………………………………...

…………………………

Giving

……………………………………... bad news
……………………………………...

…………………………
…………………………

……………………………………...

Giving good
news

……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………... …………………………………………

Giving bad

news

……………………………………...
……………………………………...

Complaining

Others

…………………………………………
…………………………………………
…………………………………………

……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………... …………………………………………
……………………………………...
……………………………………...

…………………………………………
…………………………………………

Exercise 2
Write the opening paragraph of a letter to:
1. A friend who has sent you a present for your birthday.
.........................................................................................................................................................
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2. A relative who has invited you to an important family celebration.
.........................................................................................................................................................


.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
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.........................................................................................................................................................

3. Someone who has advertised a room to let in his house.
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.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
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.........................................................................................................................................................
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4. You are planning to go and study English at a school overseas. You would like
some information about their courses.
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................

5. Your parents are arriving to visit you next week but you are working at the
time they arrive. Write a letter to a friend to ask him/her to meet your parents at
the airport.
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................

THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH
The content of the closing paragraph depends on what you have written in the rest of
your letter, but some possibilities are listed in the following table.
Formal

Informal

If your letter is making a
request:
Mention what the addressee
will do

• Thank you for your
attention to this matter.
• I look forward to your
prompt response.

• Thanks for your help.

If your letter is giving an
apology:

Make a final apology

• Once again, I am sorry
for any inconvenience
caused.
• Please accept my

• I hope I did not cause you
too much trouble.
• Sorry again!

• Please write soon


If your letter is making a
complaint:
Mention what the addressee
will do
If your letter is giving
information:
• Say you hope you
have been helpful.
• Offer more help
If your letter is making
suggestions:
• Say you hope you
have been helpful.
• Offer more help
Referring to future contact

apologies once more.
• I expect to hear from you
very soon.
• Please give this matter
your immediate attention.
• I hope this information
• I hope all this helps.
will help you.
• Please fell free to contact • If I can tell you anything
me for more information.
else, please call me.
• I trust these suggestions
will be helpful.
• Please let me know if I
can help any further.
• I look forward to seeing
you next week
• Looking forward to
hearing from you
• Looking forward to
receiving your comments
• I look forward to meeting
you on the 15th
• I would appreciate a reply
at your earliest
convenience.

• I hope these suggestions
will help.
• If there is anything else I

can do, please call.

Key notes:
Ending a letter:
1) Yours faithfully,
If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.
2) Yours sincerely,
If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.
3) Sincerely yours,
4) Regards, (for people who you already know much)
5) Best wishes/ With best wishes/ Kindest regards,
6) All my love/ With love/ Lots of love/ Much love,

EXERCISES
Exercise 1:
Put the closing phrases below into the appropriate categories:
See you soon.
Once again many thanks.
Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Do give my kindest regards to…,


Thank you for considering this application.
I should be pleased to attend an interview.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number if you should require further
information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to hearing your response.
I hope you can settle this matter to my satisfaction.

I would be most grateful if you would look into this matter as soon as possible.
Please let me know as soon as possible what action you propose to take.
Please contact me if you require further details.
Formal
Informal
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...
………………………………………………………………… ………………………………...

Suggested answers for Exercise 2:
1. A friend who has sent you a present for your birthday.
Dear Jenny,
I am writing to thank you very much for your lovely present. I was very surprised when I
received your present. How beautiful watch it is! It was a present in my dream.
Dear Lucy,
I am writing to thank you very much for the nice present you gave me for my birthday. A
new tennis racket just what I wanted and I know I am going to enjoy playing with it.
Maybe it will help to improve my game!
2. A relative who has invited you to an important family celebrations.
Dear Aunty Lucy,
I have just received your invitation this morning. How lucky for me to be invited to your

birthday! I look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Dear Uncle Minh,
Thanks for the invitation to your anniversary. You are very kind to invite me. I look
forward to seeing you and aunt next Saturday.


3. Someone who has advertised a room to let in his house.
Dear Sir,
I saw your advertisement on the daily newspaper “Saigon news” yesterday. Your house
is the one I am looking for. It is so close to my university that I can walk to school. I
have called you during yesterday but you were not at home.
4. You are planning to go and study English at a school overseas. You
would like some information about their courses.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter to enquire about your school and the courses you offer. I am
considering the possibility of traveling to your country to take an English course, but
before I do this, I would like some more detailed information.
5. Your parents are arriving to visit you next week but you are working
at the time they arrive. Write a letter to a friend to ask him/her to meet your
parents at the airport.
Dear Annie,
Hello. I hope everything is fine. My parents are going to come here to spend this
Christmas with me. Unfortunately, I have an important meeting in my office on the day
they arrive. I wonder if you are free next Saturday morning, could you meet my parents
at the airport and take them to my home?