Yours Sincerely

INFORMAL LETTERS What is an informal letter? Why / when do we write informal letters?

Definition and Purpose  A personal letter is an informal written message between friends, relatives and acquaintances.  Deals with personal feelings and experiences  Read by a specific person

How do letters usually begin? Dear John Dear darling Dear Tommy

What are the features of a personal letter? The date of writing An opening greeting or salutation Paragraphing A sign off The writer’s signature The use of informal language to relate feelings and experiences

42 Pandan Road #06-06 Singapore October 2005 Dear John Oh, how I hate to write. Dear John, I must let you know tonight. That my love for you has died away like grass upon the lawn, and tonight I wed another, dear John. Will you please send back my picture, my husband wants it now. When I tell you who I'm wedding, you won't care, dear. Anyhow, now the ceremony has started and I'll wed your brother Don. Will you wish us happiness forever, dear John? Love Date of Writing Opening / Salutation (No punctuations) ‏ Proper Paragraphing Sign Off (Do not use slangs or closes like “See Ya”, “Gotta Go”) ‏ Writer’s Signature (Must be legible) ‏ Writer’s Address (No punctuations) ‏

What if you were to write an instead? Date: 11 November 2011, a.m. From: Jean To: John Subject: Wedding Reflection Dear John Oh, how I hate to write >:( Dear John, I must let you know tonight. That my love for you has died away like grass upon the lawn, and tonight I wed another, dear John. Will you please send back my picture, my husband wants it now. When I tell you who I'm wedding, you won't care, dear. Anyhow, now the ceremony has started and I'll wed your brother Don. Will you wish us happiness forever, dear John? :) Love Jean Date of Writing Recipient’s Address ‏ Subject of Writer’s Address Emoticon

Things to take note of… No major differences in the organisational structure between an informal letter and an except: Additional Recipient’s Address Additional Subject of Should not be misleading! Writer’s Signature Note the use of emoticons :) in s

Things to take note of… Body of Informal Letter and the same Use correct paragraphs Start with an INTRODUCTION using one paragraph. Move to the BODY of your letter with the next 2 or 3 paragraphs. Try to have a different topic or subject for each of the paragraphs. Finish with a CONCLUSION that will end the letter neatly.

When writing, you have to ask yourself … WHO am I writing to? WHAT is the purpose of this letter? / WHY am I writing it?

Consider the following … A letter to a friend in hospital needs to be c_______. A letter to your aunt thanking her for a birthday present can be very c___________ but p______ A letter to your friend suffering from chickenpox and cannot attend school should be s__________ and c_______. A letter to the parents of a friend asking if the friend can stay with you for the weekend should be p_________ and r____________. aring asualolite ympathetic aring olite esponsible

TONE Getting the atmosphere of the letter right is called using the correct.. RV Activity: Read the Thank-you letter written by Robin Klein

Personal Responses What do you like about this letter? What do you notice about those words that have been cancelled out? Why should they be cancelled out? What informal language features can you find? What effect do they create? Tag Submission!

Here’s a recap.. The date of writing An opening greeting or salutation Paragraphing A sign off The writer’s signature The use of informal language to relate feelings and experiences