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[email protected], , FORMAL LETTER, ~ ( Complaining, Explaining & Suggestin/requesting), , To,, , Asenior person/ a person in authority/ a person you don't know, , DT et-s, ~ formal greetings & endings, , ~ formal style language, vocabulary and phrases, , Dyed na, ~no contractions, , ~no humour/drama, , , , ~no exclamation marks () a, Respect is important in formal letters, accordingly, choose the, , formal greetings, language, vocabulary and phrases.

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Model letter 1: Key principles in a formal style, letter (complaining, explaining, suggesting), , Example Task 1, , You are living in a University residence, and you have a, problem with the high levels of noise from a new campus, restaurant which is open late at night. Write a letter to the, governor of the University. In your letter,, , Complain about the situation, Say why this is a problem, And propose ways to reduce the noise, , Begin your letter ‘Dear -------Do not write any addresses, , Write at least 150 words, , Model Answer, Dear Mr Smith,, , lam writing regarding the amount of noise coming from, the new canteen which has just opened near my University residence. Although I am pleased that we have this, facility, the restaurant remains open up to midnight each, night, andas a result there is considerable talking, shouting and the sound of motorbikes continuing until about, 12.30 each night., , This causes me and my neighbours in the residence a, serious problem, because at that time we are either trying to sleep, or in some cases trying to study in our, bedrooms. In both cases, the noise and commotion disturbs us, making us tired in the mornings or affecting the, , , , I would like to suggest that the campus authorities restrict the canteen’s opening to 11pm at the latest on, weekdays, leaving it at midnight during the weekend. I, propose that we also put up some signs reminding users, to be considerate and to keep their noise to an absolute, minimum. These are simple steps which would make us, , Kind Regards,

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Claudia Maggioni, (206 words), , Why is this a great answer?, , Recipient: The candidate has understood that the recipient is a more senior person. She has used a greeting, (‘Dear Mr Smith’) and an ending (‘Kind Regards’) which, are appropriate and realistic for this recipient., , Style: The English used is formal in style, with formal, words such as ‘regarding, remains, considerable, commotion, appreciate, restrict.’ There are no contractions, (eg ‘don’t, can’t’ etc) and no informal phrases (eg ‘drives, me crazy’ or ‘keeps me up all night.’), , The candidate has used some classic formal phrases to, make her point, especially:, , ‘lam writing regarding...’, , The candidate has written in a calm and professional, way, and has also made a positive comment (‘Although I, am pleased that we have this facility . . .’) which is a feature of formal writing in English., , Content: This candidate has answered all the points in, the task; she has complained about the noise, explained, why it’s a problem, and suggested some ways to reduce it., , The three content ideas are separated into three paragraphs, making it clear for the examiner to see the three, ideas at work., , The candidate has invented a few details of the situation, (the motorbikes, the students trying to sleep or study);, these details are realistic, relevant and not too complicated or dramatic., , In the ‘suggesting’ paragraph, the candidate’s suggestions are realistic (meaning they could be agreed in real, life.), , The letter is over 150 words, but not excessively. Around, 200 to 220 words is the ideal length for an IELTS GT, letter.

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Summary of model letter 1, , Although this is only our first model letter, we have identified some of the most important points about writing a, Band 9 IELTS GT formal style letter:, , Decide on the recipient, the style and the combination of, different content for your Task, and organise your letter, on this basis. Use our system of the white boxes and the, blue circle to help you decide., , Use a simple but formal style greeting and ending, (model letter 3 in this book has more information about, this.), , Use formal style language, vocabulary and phrases. This, book has many examples of formal letters to help you, with this. As a general rule, don’t use phrasal verbs (eg ‘to, put up, to give in, to hand out’ etc); try to use Latin-based, words instead (‘to increase, to submit, to distribute’ etc.), , Only use contractions in a personal letter, never in a formal letter., , Write in a calm way, with no humour or drama. It is surprising how many IELTS GT candidates try to make jokes, in formal letters; you will always lose marks for this., , In formal letters, don’t use exclamation marks (‘!’) even, if you might do this in other languages. In English, this, would be confusing for the recipient. You can use exclamation marks (once only) in personal letters, as we explain in the next section in this book., , If the letter is a complaint, try to make a positive com, tives., , , , It is very important to separate your content ideas into, clear paragraphs so that the examiner can see them immediately. The best way to do this is to leave a one, line gap on the paper between the paragraphs, as in our, model letter above., , Invent some realistic and relevant content details of the, situation; this means things which would be possible in, real life, without lots of specific detail., , Remember, this was an example of a formal style letter., Our next example is about a letter for a different type of, situation.

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Formal letter, complaining, , 2. You have received a bill from a mobile phone (or cell phone), company for international call charges relating to a time, when you did not use your phone for international calls., Write a letter to the company,, , complaining about this, giving your reasons, asking for the bill to be changed, , Begin your letter ‘Dear -------Do not write any addresses, Write at least 150 words, , Before you read the explanation and model letter, ask, , yourself the questions about recipient, style and content, of this task.