Formal Letters

Do you write letters? I get birthday presents from Uncle Tom every year. I write him thank-you letters. Ben Lee is my favourite football player. I write him fan mail. The service at Yummy House Restaurant is poor. I will write a letter of complaint to the manager.

I want to visit the Space Museum and I have some questions I want to visit the Space Museum and I have some questions. I will write them a letter of inquiry. I want to go to Happy Kids Secondary School. My mother will write an application letter for me. I write a letter to my pen friend every month.

We write formal letters to companies, schools, organisations, etc. We write friendly or personal letters to friends, family members and people we love and care about.

Put the types of letters in the correct boxes. letter of complaint fan mail thank-you letter letter of inquiry application letter letter to a pen friend Formal letters Friendly letters

Let’s read a letter of complaint together.

Letterhead Letterhead is found at the top of a piece of letter paper. It usually contains the name of an organisation, the address and sometimes the logo. Letterhead

Date We put the date on top of the letter so that people know when we wrote the letter. Date

Recipient The recipient is the person who receives the letter, e.g. Miss Lee, Mrs. K.C. Ho, Mr. Patrick Poon Recipient

Organisation and Address We begin the address with the recipient’s organisation. Organisation Address

Salutation The salutation is the greeting in a formal letter, e.g. Dear Mr. Poon, If we do not know the name of the recipient, we can write Dear Sir/Madam, Salutation

Subject line The subject line tells the recipient what the letter is about, e.g. Complaint about the hiking trail Inquiry on opening hours Application to Rainbow School Subject line

Main body We write past events using the simple past tense. We write facts and opinions using the simple present tense. Main body

Closing In a formal letter, we can end the letter with Yours sincerely, Yours truly, Closing

Signature and Sender Sign and write your name at the end of the letter. Signature Sender’s name

Organisation and Address Letterhead Date Recipient Organisation and Address Salutation Subject line Main body Closing Signature Sender’s name

The End