WRITING PROMPTS
CONTENTS
.................................................................................. ........... 3 INFORMAL LETTER.......................................................................
FORMAL LETTER. .....................................................................................4 LETTER OF APPLICATION .....................................................................5 REPORT ........................................................................... ...................................................................................................... ........................... 6 ...................................................................................................... ........................... 6 ARTICLE ...........................................................................
STORY ............................................................................... ......................................................................................................... .......................... 7 DISCURSIVE ................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........... 7
LETTER WRITING
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
(sender's address). (date). (inside address). (salutation). (opening sentence). (body of the letter). (closing sentence). (complimentary (complimentary close). (signature). (P.S. / Postscript).
INFORMAL LETTERS (Slides 13-14) If you're writing to a close friend, you should write the date, which will help your friend remember when it was received. rec eived. Start with a proper greeting. The opening should begin at the left side of the page, not the middle or up against the right r ight side of the sheet. The most common opening is " Dear" followed by the person's first name and a comma. comma. You also can write ”Hello“, or ”Hey“, or “Hi”. Write an opening paragraph. You can begin with " How are you?", "What's up?" or "How's it going? ” Construct the body of the letter. Include a closing such as "Love always" ,"Cheers", "Sincerely", “See you soon", or “Take care“. Sign your name name underneath and print your name under the signature. FORMAL LETTERS (Slide 15) Besides the date you should write your address and the address of the receiver on the right. In greeting use Mr., Miss, Mrs., Madam, Dr., Sir before the receiver's last name and a colon colon instead of of a comma, (e.g. “Dear Mr. Johnson: ”). Write an opening paragraph. Be direct about why you are writing the letter. Construct the body of the letter. Use the closing paragraph to indicate the type of response you are seeking. The closing can be on the left or the right side of the page. Regards”, “Sincerely yours” or “Respectfully” Respectfully”, and sign your name underneath. Stick with “Regards” Then print your name under the signature.
INFORMAL LETTER Dear ( first first name), name ), My dear … , / My dearest … , … , /
Darling … , … ,
Beginnings
Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last (recent/last ) letter/postcard . It was good/nice was good/nice to to hear from you recently. I‟m sorry I haven‟t written/been in touch for touch for such a long time. It‟s ages since I‟ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you hope you’re/you and your family are well. are well.
Asking
Hi! How are the things?
Referring to their news
Giving news
Apologies
How are you?
How‟s it going?
Great news about … Glad to hear that … Sorry to hear about … Listen, did I tell you about … You‟ll never believe what … Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that … I thought you might be interested to t o hear about/know that … that … By the way, have you heard about/did you know that … I‟m writing to apologise for missing your party but I‟m afraid I was with flu. I‟m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job. If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost I‟ll gladly pay gladly pay for it/replace it . Please let me know how h ow much the bill is and I‟ll gladly pay it.
I‟m/We‟re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you‟ll be able to come. Would you like to come/go to see „Room With a View‟ with me at the weekend. I was wondering if you‟d like to go to go to the theatre/come on holiday with with us? us ? Invitations Could you let me/us know if you can come/you’d like to join us? us? Thank you vary much for your invitation. I‟d love to c ome. Thank you for asking/inviting me asking/inviting me to … but I‟m afraid I won‟t be able to … I‟m wr iting iting to ask for ask for your help/you (if you could do me) me) a favour. I wonder if/I was wondering if you you could help me/do me a favour . Requests I hope you don‟t mind me asking a sking but could you (possibly) …? I‟d be very/really/terribly grateful if you could … I‟m writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present . It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you. Thank you I really appreciated all your help/advice. help/advice. Congratulations Congratulations on passing on passing your exams/your excellent exam results! results! Good Luck I wish you good luck/Good luck in/with your in/with your exams/your driving test/your interview. interview. Don‟t worry, I‟m sure you‟ll do well/pass. well/pass. Do be on time, won‟t you, and don‟t forget to … Why don‟t you …? Maybe you could …? …? How about …? Making You can‟t leave New York without doing sth suggestions and I‟m sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can … recommend. Do visit somewhere Don‟t forget to do sth (Imperative -> Strong Recommendation) I‟m told that … People say that … (If you heard sth is good) Give my love/regards to … Say hello to … Hope to hear from you soon. Endings See you soon! Write soon. Once again, thank you for all your help. I look forward to seeing you soon. Do give my kindest regards t o … See you soon
Signing off
Love, / Lots of love, / All the best Love / Lots of love / With love and best wishes / Much love With love / Love from us both Yours, Best wishes, / With best wishes, / Kindest regards, First name
/ With love to you all
FORMAL LETTER Dear Mr / Ms (surname), Ms (surname), Dear Sir / Madam / Sir or Madam, Madam , I am writing to … I am writing with regard to … I am writing on behalf of … I am writing in response to your advertisement in i n [publication] Reason for Thank you for your letter of [date] offering me the post of writing I am writing to apply for the post of I am delighted to accept the position of [job title] I should be pleased to attend an interview I look forward to starting work with you I would be grateful if … I wonder if you could … Asking Could you …? questions Could you tell me something about a bout …? I would particularly like to know … I would be interested in having more details about … As you started in your letter, … Referring to Regarding … their letter Concerning … With regard to … I am writing to complain about … Complaining You said … but in fact what happened … We were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a guest house. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to c ontact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me if you have any further questions. Closing Thank you for considering this application I should be pleased to attend an interview Please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number if you should require further information I look forward to hearing from you (If Dear surname Dear surname)) Yours sincerely, (if you know the name of the person) Signing off (If Dear Sir/Madam) Sir/Madam) Yours faithfully, (if (if you don‟t know the name of the person) person ) Yours, First name + surname
Remember that in FORMAL LETTERS we use: Formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs ver bs („Tolerate‟ instead of „put up with‟) More complex sentence structure (Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed with the service) Punctuation using semi-colons The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the high cost involved Remember that in INFORMAL LETTERS we use: Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs „go on‟ instead of „continue‟ Simpler sentence structure I‟ll be late for the party. It‟s because of my French exam. Punctuation using exclamation marks If you‟d been at the wedding, you‟d have loved the food!
LETTER OF APPLICATION
Dear Mr/Ms Dear Mr/Ms (surname), (surname), Dear Sir/Madam/Sir or Madam, Madam ,
Reason for writing
I am writing to apply for the post/position the post/position of … … as advertised in … I am writing with reference/in response to response to your advertisement, which I saw … I am writing in connection with your advertisement in the Daily Star on May 11 th … With reference to your advertisement …
I gained some experience while … I am currently working as … Experience
I have been working for … for the last four years. years . I worked part-time part-time for three years as … At the moment I am employed by …
Qualifications
My qualifications include … I have a diploma in …
CV
I graduated from Barcelona University last year with a degree in … Please find attached my CV As you can see from the attached att ached CV …
Please do not hesitate to contact me if/should you you require further information. I look forward to hearing from you. I am available for interview at your convenience. I shall be available for interview i nterview any day apart from Wednesdays. Endings
Please contact me if you have any further questions. Thank you for considering this application I should be pleased to attend an interview Please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number if you should require further information
Signing off
(If Dear surname Dear surname)) (If Dear Sir/Madam) Sir/Madam) Yours,
First name + surname
Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,
(if you know the name of the person) (if (if you don‟t know the name of the person) person )
REPORT
Initial information
To: From: Subject: Date:
Introduction
As requested, I did / have done sth done sth I summarise below / Below is a summary of the the most important relevant points as well as some recommendations.
Findings or Important points
1. … 2. … 3. …
Useful phrases
In relation to … In contrast with … As far as … is concerned … In spite of … In an attempt to …
Conclusion or recommend.
Having considered the options, … I would like to suggest to suggest / recommend … recommend … I therefore suggest therefore suggest / recommend … recommend … You may wish to consider …
or
Re:
ARTICLE
Heading
Freezing! (dramatic) My Lone Walk to the North Pole (a summary) Rescue from the rapids (a summary) What‟s the big idea? (a question) Seven banks a day are robbed in LA (a surprising) You‟re already well equipped to prevent crime (a surprising)
Opening
Did you know …? What would you do if …?
General Structure
Give your article a heading or headline which makes the subject clear and also catches the reader‟s attention. Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument. Begin with an interesting introduction int roduction – – an an example, perhaps, or a question. End with an overall comment or concluding.
STORY
Beginnings and endings
Verb tenses
Time Links
Adding variety and interest
A narrative needs an interesting beginning to catch the reader ‟s attention and encourage him or her to read on, and a clear ending to round the story off satisfactorily. A weak beginning or ending can spoil the effect of the story, so it‟s worth spending time working out how to start and finish. We use: The simple past to describe the main events: I ran to answer the phone but it stopped ringing as I picked up the receiver. The past continuous to set the scene: It was raining heavily as we set off. The past perfect to describe events which happened before the main events: When I got on the bus all the seats had been taken . Preset participles to show two actions which are linked: Noticing that she looked lost, I asked if I could help. Perfect participles to show that one action was complete before another started: Having reported my stolen passport to the police, I returned sadly to the hotel. before …. …. then … at first, … next … later … during … after that … afterwards … when … finally, … as soon as … eventually, … immediately … in the end, … once … A few days earlier … Just after that … Some time later … Following the accident … Later on … Try to use different adjectives to convey the atmosphere. For example, if you want to convey the idea of fear, you could use frightened, use frightened, terrified, scared. Varying the length of sentences can be effective. Use direct speech occasionally for dramatic effect (remember to use inverted commas correctly: “No,” he yelled, “don‟t touch that switch!”)
DISCURSIVE
Making points
Contrasting points
Giving opinions
Organising and linking your ideas
Many people feel that ... First and foremost, ... It is widely believed that ... It would be ideal if ... Another argument in favour is ... It is clear from the facts that ... The benefits of ... outweigh the disadvantages. On the whole, I think ... On the other hand ... Other people think ... An opposing argument is ... I personally feel that ... I find it hard to see why ... I certainly don't believe that ... It is difficult to believe that ... I object to the cloning of animals. First of all, … / Secondly, … In addition, … / Moreover, … / Furthermor e, e, … So … / As a result, … Therefore, Therefore, … … / However, … On the one hand … on the other hand … On the whole … While it is true to say …
