Session 11 Writing an e-mail

(a)Formal emails:

 Formal emails are similar to letters. Here are the parts of an e-mail when writing to someone you do not know his/her name:

 Opening:

Dear Sir or Madam    /   Dear Sir/Madam

Closing:

Yours faithfully (UK) /  Sincerely (US)

Writing to someone when you know the name:

Opening:

Dear Mr Thomas  /    Dear Dr Thomas    /   Dear John Thomas

Closing:

Regards   /    Your sincerely (UK)   /  Sincerely(US)

Contractions

When writing formal e-mails, do not use contractions such as I'm, didn't, I'll, etc.

 Informal emails

Opening

Hi John   /    Hello Ann

Sometimes we start with Hi or Hello without mentioning the other person's name.

Closing:

Best wishes,  /   All the best

Formal e-mails use different vocabulary from informal e-mails.

Formal	Informal
Thank you I would like to apologize for I would appreciate if you… Unfortunately, I will not be able to… I would rather not…..	Thanks Sorry for Can you…? I can't I don't want to….

 How can you make your e-mail more effective?(b)

To make your e-mail more effective, you have to:

•Use an informative subject line, which says what the email is about.

• Write the most important information first.

• Use numbers and bullet points to make the message clearer.

• Use simple grammar. Avoid things like the passive. (As emails are a fast means of communication, they tend to be less wordy and complex than formal letters.)

• Write short sentences.

• Use paragraphs to keep the email clear and easy to understand

Here is the format of the e mail:

To :         …….…

From:      ……….

About (Subject):……….

Dear …….,     The body     Love, ……………

You have received this email from your English-speaking friend, Jean. Write an appropriate reply.

To :  Tania @yahoo.com

From : Jean @yahoo.com

Subject : Asking about a birthday party.

 Dear Tania,

How are you? I hope you are fine. 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? How did you mum feel? Do tell me.

Love,

Jean

Write a reply to the previous email in an appropriate style. Open with an informal greeting / Start your reply by referring to the sender's email/letter.

 Hi Jean,

Good to hear form 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 hired  (1) 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,

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 

Home assignment

 Write a letter to your friend Tom inviting him to visit Egypt next month. Telling him about the places he can visit when he comes. Your name is Hassan and you live at 10, Ahmed Orabi Street, Nasr City, Cairo.

After writing this letter, answer the following questions:

1.How much did you know about the subject before we started?

2.What have you learnt from writing this letter?

3-What would you change if you had a chance to write this letter again?  

Session 10 writing formal and informal letters

a-What are the parts of a letter?

We write letters for different purposes such as complaint, invitation, apology, application, giving or asking for advice. The most important element of writing a good letter is your ability to identify and write to your audience. If you are writing a letter to your love interest, it will be crafted in an entirely different manner than if you are writing a letter to the human resources department of a large corporation. Learning to write a good letter also takes practice, knowledge about proper form and the ability to put into words your feelings, thoughts, and/or ideas. If you learn the basic parts of a letter, it will help you to create letters for a variety of audiences and occasions. Here are the parts of a letter:

1-Your address
At the top right of your letter, you will put your address, so the reader will know where to send their reply to.

2-Date
Put the date on which the letter was written in the format Month Day Year i.e. June, 7, 2014.

3-Inside Address
The inside address is only required for a business letter and will include the address of the person you are writing to along with the name of the recipient, their title and company name. If you are not sure who the letter should be addressed to either leave it blank or try to put in a title, i.e. "Director of Human Resources".

4-The Greeting
The greeting will address the individual that the letter is being sent to. This is usually completed in the form of "Dear Anne" or "Hey Anne", for less formal letters.

5-The Introductory Paragraph
The first paragraph and will generally outline the purpose for the letter and the reason that the letter is being sent, that is to say the  introduction should clearly state the reason you are writing   . This can address any issues that are outstanding and is used to set the tone for the entire rest of the letter. In this first paragraph, the summary of the letter can be found and the intentions which will be displayed through the rest of the letter should be outlined. From the first paragraph of the letter, the introductory paragraph, the individual should be able to note the tone of the letter.

6-The Body
The body of the letter will expand upon the introductory paragraph and the individual can extend their thoughts and feelings further when it comes to the letter. The body of the letter can be anywhere from multiple pages for personal letters, to one page or two pages for most business letters and other types of proposals. In this part of the letter, the subject is developed

7-The Closing
In the closing of the letter, the individual will close the letter and finish any thoughts that have been mentioned. It is something like a      final paragraph in which you sum up the topic or express your wish for something to be done

8- An appropriate ending (Yours/Best wishes, + first name, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, + full name).

b-The characteristics of formal and informal styles in letters.

The characteristic of formal style in letters are:

- The greeting (Dear Mrs Lee, Dear Sir,)

- Frequent use of the passive

- Formal language ( complex sentences, non-colloquial English)

- No abbreviated forms

- The ending (Yours sincerely,/Yours faithfully)

The characteristic of informal style in letters are:

- The greeting (Dear Alex, Dear Dad)

- Informal language and style (idioms, colloquial English)

- Abbreviated forms, pronouns omitted

- The ending (Yours/Love/Best wishes/Regards,Anthony)

 REMEMBER!!!

- Informal (friendly) letter have only one address (yours) whereas formal

Letters have two (yours and the recipient's)

- Friendly letters begin with Dear + first name and end with Love/Yours/Best wishes + first name

- Formal letters begin with:

a) Dear Sir/Madam and end with Yours faithfully + full name

b) Dear Mr/Mrs + surname and end with Yours sincerely + full name

- Semi-formal letters can begin with Dear Mr/Mrs + surname and end Best wishes/Yours + first

name/full name

 Here is an example of a friendly letter:

   Write a letter to your friend Susan telling her about your summer holiday and how you spend the weekends. Your name is Ann and your address is 506 Country Lane, North Baysville, CA 53286

                                             506 Country Lane
                                                              North Baysville, CA 53286
                                       July 16, 2007

Dear Susan,

It feels like such a long time since the last time I saw you. I know it's only been several weeks since I saw you. So far my summer has been great!

I spend my all my weekends at the beach. I am getting a nice tan and you can no longer say I am paler than you. I have been playing lots of volleyball, surfing and building a nice collection of sea shells. Just this past weekend I took second place in a sandcastle building contest!

On the weekdays I work. I drive an ice cream truck around and sell ice cream to the kids. It is so cool. It is a combination of the two things I love most, ice cream and kids. The pay isn't too great but I love the job so much.

I hope the summer's been going well for you too. There's only a month and a half left in summer vacation and after that it's back to school. Would you like to meet up some time before school starts?
Your friend,

Ann

P.S. John Austin says hi.

Home assignment

Future tenses exercise: choosing from mixed future tenses

Complete the following sentences choosing the correct future tense form for the verb in brackets. There are many possible future tense forms to choose from, including simple present,present continuous, will-future, going to-future, will+present perfect, andwill+present perfect continuous.

 Future Tenses Exercise

1.          The train __________ (to arrive) at 12:30.

2.          We __________ (to have) dinner at a seaside restaurant on Sunday.

3.          It __________(to snow) in Brighton tomorrow evening.

4.          On Friday at 8 o’clock I __________ (to meet) my friend.

5.          Paul __________ (to fly) to London on Monday morning.

6.          Wait! I __________ (to drive) you to the station.

7.          The English lesson __________ (to start) at 8:45.

8.          Are you still writing your essay? If you __________ (to finish) by 4pm, we can go for a walk.

9.          I __________ (to see) my mother in April.

10.      Look at the clouds – it __________ (to rain) in a few minutes.

11.      When they __________ (to get) married in March, they __________ (to be) together for six years.

12.      You’re carrying too much. I __________ (to open) the door for you.

13.      Do you think the teacher __________ (to mark) our homework by Monday morning?

14.      When I __________ (to see) you tomorrow, I __________ (show) you my new book.

15.      After you __________ (to take) a nap, you __________ (to feel) a lot better

16.      I’m sorry but you need to stay in the office until you __________ (to finish) your work.

17.      I __________ (to buy) the cigarettes from the corner shop when it __________ (to open).

18.      I __________ (to let) you know the second the builders __________ (to finish) decorating.

19.      Before we __________ (to start) our lesson, we __________ (to have) a review.

20.      We __________ (to wait) in the shelter until the bus __________ (to come).

21.      I’m very sorry Dr. Jones __________ (not be) back in the clinic until 2pm.

22.      This summer, I __________ (to live) in Brighton for four years.

23.      I don’t think you __________ (to have) any problems when you land in Boston.

24.      The baby should be due soon, next week she __________ (to be) pregnant for nine months.

25.      By the time we get home, they __________ (to play) football for 30 minutes.

26.      In  three years I __________ (to live) in a different country.

27.      When you __________ (to get) off the train, I __________ (to wait) for you by the ticket machine.

28.      __________ (to take) your children with you to France?

29.      This time next week I __________ (ski) in Switzerland!

30.      Now I __________ (to check) my answers.

Exersices on session 9

Exercises(1)-

Choose the correct verbs, using each tense once.
Future I (will or going to), future II, simple present or present progressive

1.                            The train    will arrive is going to arrive will have arrived arrives is arriving  at 11:20.

2.                            Wait! I    will help am going to help will have helped help am helping  you.

3.                            As we want to get better marks in English, we    will study are going to study will have studied study are studying  harder in the future.

4.                            Josh    will go is going to go will have gone goes is going  to the cinema with his friends tonight.

5.                            I am afraid they    will eat are going to eat will have eaten eat are eating  everything by the time we arrive.

Complete the sentences for situations in the future. Decide which tense you need to use.

1.                            Aaron is carrying two tyres – he(change)  the tyres on a car.

2.                            Next week (be)  the beginning of winter and the weather forecast says that there (be)  snow tomorrow.

3.                            That’s why many of the garage’s customers have made an appointment and(call in)  today to get their winter tyres.

4.                            By the end of the day, Aaron(mount)  about 80 tyres.

5.                            He (be/probably)  tired after that.

6.                            It’s a lot of work for one day, but his customers promise that next year they (have) their tyres changed earlier.

7.                            That’s what they always say, but they(forget/surely)  about it by next year.

8.                            Some customers have agreed that they(pick up)  their cars tomorrow.

9.                            They have decided to go home by bus, which(stop)  in front of the garage every hour.

 Exercises(2)-Put the verb in brackets in the correct future form:

Top of Form

1.            The train  at 11:45. (to leave)

2.            We  dinner at a nice restaurant on Saturday. (to have)

3.            It  in the mountains tomorrow evening. (to snow)

4.            On Sunday at 8 o'clock I  my friend. (to meet)

5.            They  to London on Friday evening. (to fly)

6.            Wait! I  you to the station. (to drive)

7.            The English lesson  at 8:45. (to start)

8.            I  my sister in April. (to see)

9.            Look at the clouds - it  in a few minutes. (to rain)

10.       Listen! There's someone at the door. I  the door for you. (to open)

Exercises(3)-

Choose the most appropriate answer.

1. Mary wants to speak with you. – Please tell her that I…….. her as soon as I'm free.

 will call will have called will have been calling

2. Let's meet at eleven o'clock tomorrow. – Sorry, I………….  at eleven o'clock.

 will be working will have worked will have been working

3. Say goodbye to Ann now. By the time you return, she……….for New York.

 will be leaving will have left will have been leaving

4. By 2020, he………as the director of this company for thirty years.

 will work will be working will have been working

5. Why don't you ask Jim for help? I'm sure that he………..you.

 will help will have helped will have been helping

6. Please don't ring the doorbell when you get here. My baby………..

 will be sleeping will have slept will have been sleeping

7. Where are you going to spend your vacation? – I don't know yet. Maybe we ……..to Italy next summer.

 will go will have gone will have been going

8. She promised that she ……….him about it.

 won't tell wouldn't tell won't have told wouldn't have told

9. Oh, you'll recognize him. He……….a brown leather jacket and a red scarf.

 will be wearing will have worn will have been wearing

10. She buys too many things. She………all her money long before her next pay.

 will be spending will have spent will have been spending