Formative Practice Letter

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

Formative Practice Letter

A lesson series

Goal

You can write a convincing formal letter of opinion about a crime-related subject, using correct English word order, fitting formal language, a clear structure (introduction, OREO-opinion, conclusion), and well-described arguments.

Focus question

Can you explain what happened in the article 

"Hamilton family launches lawsuit after teen dies at house party."

Which vocabulary is useful?

Use Vocabulary Map - Crime & Responsibility

Homework

Read page 47: "Hamilton family launched lawsuit after teen dies at house party."

Study the vocabulary

Word order in English

Recognise errors in word order.

Mix & Match the halves of sentences

Which three sentences are incorrect?

Opening sentence

I wanna talk about something really bad that happened. 

     I am writing this letter in response to your article about the tragic death of a teenager at a party. 

       Hey, so I think it’s weird that people still let teens drink rum. 

Starting your email

Addresses: TO: [e-mail]

                         FROM: [e-mail]

Subject:        Lawsuit homeowners 

Salutation:

Known:          Dear Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. Surname,

Unknown:    Dear Editor, Dear Sir/Madam,

1st paragraph

About five sentences:

Introduce yourself

Reason for writing

(Opinion)

I am Kate Williams and I would like to react to the article in the New York Times called ‘NY DA tries to kill wife’. It caught my attention when I was reading the newspaper, because at school we talked about the topic crime for a while, so I was very interested in your article.

Conclusion

This is your last paragraph. In the conclusion, you should restate your main opinion, express what you hope for and state what you want to be done with your letter.

To sum up / In conclusion I believe stricter laws are needed to prevent binge drinking. 

Conclusion

In addition, you express what you hope for.

- I hope adults will be more aware of the dangers of underage drinking.

- I hope that this situation will not happen again in the future. 

Conclusion

Finally, you should make clear what you expect the addressee to do with your letter. This is your last sentence.

- Publish your letter

I hope you will publish my letter in your newspaper

- Receive an answer

I look forward to hearing from you. / I look forward to receiving a reply.

Example

To sum up, I agree with the punishment the DA received and I am very happy his wife is okay and was released with minor injuries the same day. I hope a tragic thing like this will never happen again in New York, or anywhere else in the world. 

I look forward to receiving your reply.

Finish

Salutation

Known: (Dear Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. Surname,) - Yours sincerely

Unknown: (Dear Editor, Dear Sir/Madam,) - Yours faithfully

End with your name

Example Known

Dear Mr. Green,

My name is Kate Williams and I am fourteen years old. Followed by the rest of the introduction, at least two body paragraphs and a conclusion.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Williams

Example Unknown

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Kate Williams and I am fourteen years old. Followed by the rest of the introduction, at least two body paragraphs and a conclusion.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Kate Williams