This document provides guidance on writing informal letters and emails. It discusses salutations, openings, body paragraphs, closings, and other considerations. Sample phrases are provided for greetings, referring to or giving news, apologies, invitations, requests, and closings. The document also includes examples of informal letters and emails with notes on style.
Verb noun collocations including the following verbs:
have, organize, plan, make, get, take, catch, ask, lose, pay, run, do
There is a fill in the blanks and a word match activity included in this slide show.
There are also 3 slides that have collocations that use swear words.
How to ask and answer basic English questions. You will learn how to ask basic questions and how to answer them.
Download all we ask is you like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LearningbasicEnglish
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptxJheel Barad
This presentation provides a briefing on how to upload submissions and documents in Google Classroom. It was prepared as part of an orientation for new Sainik School in-service teacher trainees. As a training officer, my goal is to ensure that you are comfortable and proficient with this essential tool for managing assignments and fostering student engagement.
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptx
How to write informal letters or emails
1. P a g e | 1
How to write informal letters or emails
Salutation or Greeting
Start with Dear followed by the first name of the person to whom you are writing. In emails, you
can also start with Hi (and the person's name). Dear Ben, or Hi Ben,
(Don't forget to use only the first name of the person you are writing to and not Dear Mr John,
which is never used, or Dear Mr John Brown, which sounds too formal.)
Informal letters sometimes have a comma after the person's name, and the letter starts on the
line below. The important thing is to be consistent with the style that you choose to use (so if
you use a comma after the person's name at the start of the letter, use a comma after the
closing statement at the end).
Body
Openings
When writing an informal letter, you are usually replying to another letter. You would normally start
with a greeting, then acknowledge the letter to which you are replying. It is often a good idea to
acknowledge some key information given in the original letter too. You can also make a comment on
your own reply.
Useful phrases for the opening
How are you? / How have the family been? / I hope you are well.
Thank you / Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter / postcard.
It was good / nice / great to hear from you again.
I was so surprised to hear that...
I’m sorry I haven’t written / haven't been in touch for such a long time.
It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you're well / you and your family are well.
How are things? / How are you? / How’s it going?
Other useful phrases
Referring to news
Great news about … Glad to hear that … Sorry to hear about …
Giving news
Listen, did I tell you about …? You’ll never believe what …
Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that …
I thought you might be interested to hear about / know that …
By the way, have you heard about / did you know that …?
2. P a g e | 2
Apologies
I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.
I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.
Invitations
I’m / We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I / we hope you’ll be able to come.
Would you like to come / go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the weekend?
I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre / come on holiday with us.
Could you let me / us know if you can come / you’d like to join us?
Thank you very much for your invitation. I’d love to come.
Thank you for asking / inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …
Requests
I’m writing to ask for your help / you (if you could do me) a favour.
I wonder if / I was wondering if you could help me / do me a favour.
I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?
I’d be very / really / terribly grateful if you could …
Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck
I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present.
It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
I really appreciated all your help / advice.
Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results!
I wish you good luck / Good luck in / with your exams / your driving test / your interview.
Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well / pass.
Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …
Making suggestions and recommendations
Why don’t you …? / Maybe you could …? / How about …?
You can’t leave New York without (...doing sth)
I’m sure you will enjoy (...doing sth). If you like, we can …
Do visit ... / Don’t forget to ...
Closing
The end of your letter is as important as the beginning. There are some standard ways of finishing
an informal letter or email.
Give a reason why you're ending the letter: Anyway, I must go and get on with my work! / I
guess it's time I got on with that studying I've been avoiding.
3. P a g e | 3
Send greetings and/or make reference for future contact: Give my love / regards to... / Say
hello to... / Anyway, don't forget to let me know the dates of the party. / I'll try and phone you at
the weekend to check the times. / We must try and meet up soon. / I can't wait to hear from you
/ Look forward to seeing you again / Hope to hear from you soon / See you soon / Write soon
Closing statement such as Love, Lots of love, All the best, Take care, Best wishes, should be
written on a new line. If you used a comma after the opening greeting, use a comma here too.
Signing off: Your first name then follows on another new line.
Other things to consider
Range: It is important that you use grammatical expressions and vocabulary appropriate to the level
of the exam. Even if there are no mistakes in your writing, you will not be able to get a good grade if
you use only the language and vocabulary that you learnt at elementary level. Even in informal
writing, there is a good range of language you can use (conditional sentences, a range of perfect
and continuous tenses, indirect questions...)
Informal language, including phrasal verbs, informal vocabulary ("I guess you loved the pics"),
contractions, question tags.
Simpler sentence structure: I’ll be late for the party. It’s because of my French exam.
Connectors: All good writing makes good use of connectors. However, many of the connectors you
have learnt for other styles of writing are inappropriate in an informal letter or email. For informal
writing, you need to use some of the connectors that are more specific to spoken language.
To introduce a topic: Well, you'll never guess who I bumped into yesterday. / I know how much you
love tennis, so I've got us some tickets to Wimbledon. / By the way, did you know that John's got a
new job?
To go back to a previous topic: Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I really wasn't very happy there.
/ Now where was I? Oh yes, I nearly forgot, Mary asked me tell you about the cinema.
To introduce surprising or bad news: Actually, he came to the party after all. / I'm really sorry but I
can't make it. / To tell you the truth, I don't really like sports much.
To summarise what you've already said: Anyway, we had a really nice time in the end. / Well, to
cut a long story short, we didn't get there on time.
Model questions and answers
Informal email/letter 1 - Model question
TASK
You have received this email from an English-speaking boy called Simon.
4. P a g e | 4
Hello,
I would like to get to knowsomeone from your country and a friend has told me that you would like to
practise your English. Perhaps we could email each other. Could you tell me a bit about yourself and
your family? Could you suggest how we might meet sometime in the future?
Thanks,
Simon
Write your email in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
Informal email/letter 1 - Model answer
Hello Simon,
I'm glad you're interested in my country. As your friend said, I'd like us to email each other to help
me improve your English.
Let me start by telling you a bit about myself and my family. My name's Ivo and I live in Kutna Hora,
which is about 45 minutes from Prague by car. I used to work for a medical company but now I'm
learning to be a salesperson. In the future I want a job where I can travel for my work. I've already
been to a few places in Europe but I've never been to an English-speaking country.
I live at home with my parents, which is convenient, as I don't have to do much housework and my
meals are cooked for me. My younger brother is studying at university. Although he is four years
younger than me, we get on quite well. We both enjoy snowboarding and music.
What about you? Have you ever been to the Czech Republic? It would be great if you could come
over one day and we could fix up a meeting. Why don't you let me know your plans?
Anyway, I must go and get on with my work! Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes,
Ivo
(+/- 190 words)
Informal email/letter 2 - Model question
5. P a g e | 5
TASK
You have received this email from your English-speaking friend, Jean.
I hear you organised a surprise birthday party for your mother. I'd love to hear about it. What kind of
party did you organise? Who did you invite? How did it go? Do tell me.
Love,
Jean
Write your email in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
Note: The following model answer includes some notes to help
Informal email/letter 2 - Model answer
Open with an informal greeting
Hi Jean,
Start your reply by referring to the sender's email/letter.
Good to hear from you again. I hope you're still enjoying your job.
Give reason for replying
I'm glad you asked me about the party I planned for my mother's birthday. Well, I have to say it was
a fantastic success. I told my mother we were taking her out for a quiet meal at a local restaurant
with just the family, but in fact I'd(1)
hired a large room in a hotel and invited all her old friends! (2)
Start a new paragraph as the topic has changed slightly.
Use an informal linking word/phrase
Anyway, I picked my mother up and told her I'd changed my mind. We were going to have a meal in
a hotel. You should have seen her face when she walked into the room and everyone cheered! She
just couldn't believe it and burst into tear(3)
. Then the party got going and it didn't finish until four in
the morning. We were absolutely exhausted, but my mother had had a wonderful time.
When you close, make an excuse to finish.
Must dash now - I've got to go to college. Hope to hear from you (4)
.
Make sure you finish with an informal phrase
Love,
6. P a g e | 6
Tania
(1) Use contractions
(2) Use some exclamation marks (but not too many) to express emotion.
(3) Use a range of appropriate vocabulary and informal expressions
(4) Short sentences are acceptable
(+/- 150 words)
Semi-formal email/letter 3 - Model question
TASK
Your recently helped organise a college ski trip and you have received this email from a parent of
one of the students who went.
I understand you were one of the organisers of our son's ski trip. I have to say my husband and I
were extremely dissatisfied with the arrangements. My son has informed us that the ski slopes were
poor, the lessons were fewer than promised and the accommodation was inadequate.
Can you please give us a satisfactory explanation?
Yours sincerely,
Nora White
Write your email in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
Note: As you are writing to a parent the register of this letter should be semi-formal, which is
characterized by:
the use of less colloquial language - e.g. Thank you very much for your letter (instead of: Thanks a
million for your letter.)
less frequent use of short forms, phrasal verbs and idioms - e.g. I am writing to request information
about... (instead of: I thought I'd drop you a line to ask about...)
a polite, respectful tone - e.g. I was wondering if you had ... (instead of: Do you have...)
Semi-formal email/letter 3 - Model answer
Dear Mrs White,
First, let me apologize for any disappointment your son experienced on our ski trip. It is true that
there were several concerns. Since we had been led to believe by the company that there would be
sufficiente slopes for both beginners and advanced skiers, we were extremely upset when this
7. P a g e | 7
turned out not to be the case. It was also unfortunate that lack of snow meant that artificial snow had
to be used istead.
As for the question of lessons, if you look at the letter we sent you, you will see that only five one-
hour ski-lessons were included in the price and that extra hours would have to be paid separately.l
In relation to accommodation, I am not quite sure what you are referring to. I know that in one room
there were not enough beds but this was not the case in your son's room.
We would like to assure you that we take all complaints seriously. We have already decided that
next year we will change the company and the location for our trip and we hop that your son will
consider joining us again.
Yours sincerely,
Waylon Smithers
(+/- 190 words)