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Model letter 1: Explaining,, , requesting (semisformalistyle), , Example Task 1, , You wish to apply for a new college course,, but you are unsure about the details of cost,, duration and subjects posted on the college, website. Write an email to the relevant person in admissions at the college, asking them, to clarify these points for you. In this email,, , Say what your interest is, Explain why the website is unclear, Request the information that you need, , Begin your letter ‘Dear -------Do not write any addresses, , Write at least 150 words, , Explanation of the Task, , Recipient This is a letter to a person you do, not know; however, in reality, you would, probably know their name from the website, and this Task says ‘the relevant person,’ so it cannot be ‘Dear Sir or Madam.’, , Style Occasionally, a task will give you a, situation which is between formal and personal, which the examiners call ‘semi-formal.’ This will usually be to a person you do, not know well, but there is no need to be, highly formal.
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Model letter 1: Explaining,, , requesting (semizformalstyle), , Example Task 1, , You wish to apply for a new college course,, but you are unsure about the details of cost,, duration and subjects posted on the college, website. Write an email to the relevant person in admissions at the college, asking them, to clarify these points for you. In this email,, , Say what your interest is, Explain why the website is unclear, Request the information that you need, , Begin your letter ‘Dear -------Do not write any addresses, , Write at least 150 words
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In this situation, the recipient would be, familiar with getting many queries such as, this; you are not complaining or insisting, on a refund or a change; the recipient is, probably not senior to you in age or authority. For these reasons, you can use a slightly, less formal style than we saw in Model letters 1 and 3 in this book., , In the exam, think about these points, to, decide if the Task may be asking for a semiformal letter; if you are not sure, write it in, a formal style — that’s better than writing, in a style which is too personal!, , Remember that formal and personal letter, tasks are more common than semi-formal, letter tasks., , Content The Task asks for explaining (your, interest and the problems with the website) and requesting (the information you, still need.), , Model Answer, Dear Mr Smith,, , I’m interested in the photography course, this year, and I have seen your name on the, college website as the contact for admission queries. I have several questions for, you, and I hope you can help., , Firstly, regarding the cost of the course, is, the fee of $99 per month or for the whole, course? Is it possible to pay in monthly
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instalments, or is the fee paid in full up, front? The website says that ‘other payment methods are possible,’ but there is no, explanation., , Secondly, can you tell me what the exact, dates of the course are? Your website says, ‘Summer to Autumn,’ but I can’t see any, specific dates relating to this. I would be, grateful for the precise dates, including, when I need to pay for the course and buy, the books and so on., , Finally, I’d appreciate some information, about the course content itself, including, details of the equipment to be used and the, wording of the certificate I will receive at, the end. The website says that I should contact you for this., , Thank you for your help, and I look, forward to receiving the information requested., , Kind Regards,, Aftab Iqbal, (200 words), , Why is this a good answer?, , Recipient The letter is addressed and concluded in a suitable formal style, because, this person is a stranger; however, the content is written in a semi-formal way, for, the reasons explained above.
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Style The style is a mix of formal and personal., , The formal elements are:, , The greeting and ending, with a formal, ‘call to action,’, , Using ‘firstly/secondly/finally’ to introduce, the paragraphs., , Using an indirect question (‘Can you tell, me...’) to make a request., , Using ‘I would be grateful for’ and ‘I’d, appreciate’ to make a request (In a purely, formal letter, this would be ‘I would appreciate.’), , Using formal words including ‘monthly, instalment/specific/course content/wording,’, , You can use all of these elements in a formal letter., , The personal elements are:, , Using a small number of contractions, (I’m interested/I’d appreciate’) to make, the communication less strong and more, friendly., , Using direct questions (‘is the fee . . ./is it, possible .. .’) to request information., , Using the simple word ‘help’ rather than, ‘assistance’ or ‘attention,’
