Formal Letter

GNE: Young adult competition
https://www.nuffic.nl/onderwerpen/talenonderwijs/gne-awards-nuffic

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Slide 1: Slide
EngelsMiddelbare schoolhavoLeerjaar 4

This lesson contains 23 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 1 video.

time-iconLesson duration is: 60 min

Items in this lesson

GNE: Young adult competition
https://www.nuffic.nl/onderwerpen/talenonderwijs/gne-awards-nuffic

Slide 1 - Slide

RECAP: Informal letter
What did we do last week Monday?
What did we learn about?

Slide 2 - Slide

Formal letter
What to do & what not to do!

Slide 3 - Slide

SE-2
Writing exams are among the most difficult, so: a lot of preparation is needed!
For SE-2: you’ll write an informal letter and a formal letter within 100 minutes.

 

Slide 4 - Slide

I feel confident about SE-2: writing
😒🙁😐🙂😃

Slide 5 - Poll

Common mistakes: Formal
- Dear Sir/Madame, -> Should be: Dear Sir/Madam,
- Yours Sincerly -> Should be: Yours sincerely
- Use of contractions (don’t, can’t) -> Should be: written out! (do not) (cannot)
- A lot of -> should be: much/many





Slide 6 - Slide

Common mistakes: Formal
- Too informal
- Does not respond to the assignment correctly
- Issues with punctuation:
Not using comma’s, for example: “Dear Sir/Madam” when it should be: “Dear Sir/Madam, ...”



Slide 7 - Slide

Difference between formal & informal language

Slide 8 - Slide

Slide 9 - Video

Layout:
1: Your address
2: Date
3: The name plus address of the person you are writing to
4: Dear Sir, Madam, / Dear Mrs. …, / Dear Mr. …,
5: Body paragraphs
6: Yours sincerely, / Yours faithfully,
7: Your name



Slide 10 - Slide

Content
Paragraph 1: Write why you are writing the letter.
Paragraph 2: Give details about your complaint + What / where / when / how / who / why
Paragraph 3: State what you want the company to do +
Write about any evidence you are including together with your letter + Thank the company for their time and/or following through with your request. 



Slide 11 - Slide

Who to address your email to
- If you know who you’re writing to, always use their last name! So: “Dear Mr. Jones,” or “Dear Mrs. Stevens,”
- If you don’t know: “Dear Sir/Madam,” or “Dear Sir or Madam,”

 

Slide 12 - Slide

How to open your formal letter
State your reason for writing. Example:
- I am writing to you because I have a complaint about ...
- I am writing to you because I am interested in ... and would like more information about...

Slide 13 - Slide

Structure
Separate your letter into paragraphs and use white spaces in between!

Your letter should look like this -->

Slide 14 - Slide

How to end your formal letter
Example:
- I look forward to hearing from you soon

Slide 15 - Slide

Greeting
Important: The way you open your letter determines how you end it.
If you don’t know who you’re writing to -> Yours faithfully,
If you do know -> Yours sincerely,

Slide 16 - Slide

Useful links:
https://nl.bab.la/uitdrukkingen/zakelijk/brief/nederlands-engels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdAcqC9kh0Q
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/business-english/english-for-emails/unit-4-starting-and-finishing-emails

Slide 17 - Slide

Slide 18 - Slide

Comments:
Style > too descriptive “cloudy, rainy day”, “gleaming in the horizon”, archaic “in the year 2010”.
Tone > too familiar, not serious enough “you can never be too careful”
Content > too detailed, redundant

Slide 19 - Slide

Good example
This is how the address information should look!

Slide 20 - Slide

Slide 21 - Slide

Writing prompt
Paragraph 1: State your reason for writing
Paragraph 2: Give the details of your complaint (what, why, where, when, who)
Paragraph 3: State what you want the company to do + indicate any evidence you have enclosed with your letter
• Thank the company or the person for their time and/or for following through with your request

Slide 22 - Slide

Formal Letter
Informal Letter
Never!
Can't/Don't
Cannot/Do not
Hi Chris
Dear Mr. Johnson
Yours sincerely,
Best,
 look forward to hearing from you soon
I can't wait to see you!
See ya!
Yours sincerly
Dear Sir/Madame,

Slide 23 - Drag question