FORMAL AND INFORMAL LETTERS

Letter writing is one of the tasks you may be asked to do for your PAAU exam. First of all, it's important to determine whether you're required to write a formal or an informal letter, as well as its purpose (do you have to complain, ask for a job, tell a friend about something that has happened in your life?)
I would like you to read the following ideas on formal and informal letter writing and then do the activities at the end of this article.

How to open and close formal/informal letters:

1. For formal letters when the name or sex of the recipient is not known:

OPENING: Dear Sir(s), Dear Madam or Dear Sir or Madam 

CLOSING: Yours faithfully (In American English, sometimes: Yours truly,)

2. For the more formal style of letter when their name is known but you do not know them very well:

OPENING: Dear Mr Jenkins, Dear Ms Hopkins (or, if you know their marital status and know that they prefer to be addressed as Mrs or Miss: Dear Miss Hopwell, Dear Mrs Jenkinson)

CLOSING: Yours sincerely (In American English, sometimes:Sincerely Yours, Sincerely,)

3. For informal letters to business contacts that you know well:

OPENING: Dear Tony, Dear Estelle
CLOSING: With best wishes or With kind regards 

4. For letters to friends or close family members:
OPENING: Dear Maggy, Dear Freddie
CLOSING: Yours, Your, Love, Lots of Love (Hugs and Kisses)

Here you have a list of formal expressions and their informal equivalents:

1.a. With reference to your letter of 3rd July.  (formal)

1.b.  Thanks for your letter last week. (informal)

2.a. I hope you and your family are well. (formal)

2.b.  How’re you all doing? (informal)

3.a. I apologise for the delay in replying to your email (formal)

3.b.  Sorry it took me so long to get back to you (informal)

4.a. I look forward to hearing from you soon (formal)

4.b.  Write soon! (informal)

5.a. I regret to inform you that I am flying abroad at that time (formal)

5.b. Sorry but I’ll be on a plane. (informal)

6.a. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Susan Saarland and I will be studying with you. (formal)

6.b. Hi, I’m your new classmate, Sue. (informal)

7.a. I hope we have the chance to meet again soon. (formal)

7.b. Don’t be a stranger! (informal)

8.a. How about meeting up on Monday? (informal)

8.b. I will be able to meet on Monday next week if that is convenient with you. (formal)

9.a. Send my love to John. (informal)

9.b. Please give my regards to Mr Smith. (formal)

10 good opening lines

We need an opening line in a business letter or professional email:
to make reference to previous correspondence; to say how we found the recipient’s name/address; to say why we are writing to the recipient.

• With reference to your letter of 8 June, I … .
• I am writing to enquire about … .
• After having seen your advertisement in … , I would like … .
• After having received your address from … , I … .
• I received your address from … and would like … .
• We/I recently wrote to you about … .
• Thank you for your letter of 8 May.
• Thank you for your letter regarding … .
• Thank you for your letter/e-mail about … .
• In reply to your letter of 8 May, … .

10 good closing lines

We need a closing line in a business letter or email:
to make a reference to a future event; to repeat an apology; to offer help

• If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.
• I look forward to your reply.
• I look forward to hearing from you.
• I look forward to seeing you.
• Please advise as necessary.
• We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.
• Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
• Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.
• We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom.
• I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

And remember...‘Yours faithfully’ or ‘Yours sincerely’ in a business letter?

When the recipient’s name is unknown to you:

• Dear Sir … Yours faithfully
• Dear Madam … Yours faithfully
• Dear Sir or Madam … Yours faithfully

When you know the recipient’s name:

• Dear Mr Hanson … Yours sincerely
• Dear Mrs Hanson … Yours sincerely
• Dear Miss Hanson … Yours sincerely
• Dear Ms Hanson … Yours sincerely

Activities:

- Read an informal letter and try and fill in the blanks of its equivalent formal letter, with answers: activity 1
- Another exercise on formal and informal letters, with answers: activity 2
- Read some examples of letter writing exercises on previous PAAU exams:
June, 2008:  A friend of yours wants to get married. Write to her / him giving your opinion.
(Sample answer:)
Dear Mónica,
Thank you for your letter. I think you are too young to get married, just 18 years old, and besides you have been with Jorge for only six months. I know you love him and he loves you, but these days too many people get a divorce very soon after they are married. And what would happen if you had a baby and then you separated? You should wait for at least a year because you need to be very sure. 
If you marry next year you will both have more money in the bank, and he will be in a computer company, as I know he wants to start working as soon as possible.
With love,
María
June, 2009: Write an informal letter to a friend, describing your feelings when you first practised a new activity. You can invent or imagine the new activity.
(Sample answer:)
Dear Margarita,
I want to tell you about my first game of basketball, which I played in the school team last weekend. There weren’t enough players, because one of them was ill, so if somebody hadn’t played in their place, we would have lost the game. It was very exciting and we won by 3 points, because one of our players was really good (she had been in the national team once). The crowd supported us until the end. I like basketball as you can play even if it is raining or very hot outside. Now I enjoy watching the games on television because I can appreciate it more. 
Best wishes,
Marta
June, 2011: Write a letter to a friend who is getting a bit fat telling him/her what to do in order to lose weight. Consider both diet and exercise. 
(Sample answer:)
Dear John, 
So you tell me you’re putting on weight! That’s probably because, now you’re so busy studying for your exams, you don’t do enough exercise. I expect you spend all day sitting in front of your books, which really isn’t healthy. I would advise you to take an hour’s break every day and go out for a walk with your dog, or cycling, or running or something. This will be very good for you physically, and will also help you clear your mind so that you concentrate better afterwards. If you don’t do this, you’ll just have to give up eating things like chocolate, biscuits, potatoes, bread, pasta, and above all, junk food. But life without these things is so miserable …. 
Write and tell me what you decide, 
All the best,