Tone / Formality for Better Letters and Emails – C1 Advanced

Emails are considered to be less formal than letters, but these days letters are not used very often, so formal emails are common too. As a result, the tone / register or formality is often difficult to get right and has to fit in with the task. This article explains how to use this to write better letters or emails in C1 Advanced Writing Part 2.

Home > C1 Advanced > Writing > Part 2

---

C1 Advanced Writing Part 2 Quiz: Are You the Best?

---

There are three basic registers: formal, semi-formal and informal.

There is a range within each, for example you could write an informal email to your best friend and to someone who you have met once or twice. The former would be much more informal because you know each other so well.

As for semi-formal, there is a difference between writing to your neighbours (who you know) and to your child’s teacher who you do not know well. So you have to try and

Formal email differences would start to change to semi-formal as a relationship is established over a period of time. Formal letters, on the other hand, would not change.

Let’s go through each part of a letter / email task

Greetings are an important part of letters and emails because it lets the reader know what you think your relationship is like.

Formal
For formal greetings, you should use one of the following:

To whom it may concern – A traditional greeting, not used so much now when you have no idea who is going to open your letter / email. Most people these days expect to read one of the other two formal greetings below.

Dear sir / madam – when it is to someone you don’t know, and you don’t know if they are a man or a woman. This could be to a bank manager, a shop, an insurance company etc.

Dear Mr. Smith, Mrs Jones, Miss Brown – similar to ‘dear sir / madam’ but when you know the person’s second name. Mr. is for a man, Miss is an unmarried woman, Mrs. is a married woman, and Ms. means we don’t know if she is married or not.

Semi- formal
Because semi-formal is a mix of formal and informal, it is difficult to address people in this way. Usually you would use an informal greeting with a first name. Using a second name would make it far too formal. In the case where you want to complain to people you know (neighbours for example). then it would be better to have an informal greeting with some kind of a reference, such as

Ref: The noise from your party on Saturday night.
Dear James,

Informal
Dear Jim, Jane …… – This is to someone you know as a friend or acquaintance. This could be a good friend, a school friend or a work colleague you get on well with.

Hi, …. – This would be to someone you are very close to, so close that you don’t even need to use their name. People like this would include your best friend, a brother or sister and so on.

The introduction says who you are and why you are writing. This is very important, and you should imagine the person receiving your letter and after reading the introduction, they know what the letter is about.

For example:

Formal – My name is Alan Grumbleson and I am writing to you to complain about the way my wife was insulted in your shop last Friday the 28th of January.

Semi-formal / Neutral – It’s Alan Grumbleson, I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for such a long time, but I have been abroad. I am just writing to see how you are and to catch up with everything.

Informal – It’s just me. What are you up to? I’m bored out of my mind and was hoping you would be able to come over to my place on Friday afternoon for a natter and a cuppa.

In each letter or email writing question, there should be 2 or 3 points given for you to write about. Each point can have its own paragraph, although if two are similar, then you can put them in the same paragraph.

Each letter MUST have a conclusion, which summarises what you have written.

For example:

Formal – Just to repeat, I expect your company to write a full apology to my wife about the incident, otherwise I will contact the police.

Semi-formal – Anyway, that’s about all that’s been going on with me, please write and tell me what you have been doing.

Informal – Can’t wait to hear from you. Hope you’ll think of something brilliant to do of Friday.

Then you should add something after the conclusion and your signature at the end.

Formal

Yours sincerely – if you have never written to the person before

Yours faithfully – if you have written to them before

Kind regards

Best regards

Semi-formal

I am looking forward to your reply

Thank you very much for your time

All the best

Informal

See you

Hope to see you soon

Love

Lots of love

So what are the differences between formal and informal writing in letter and emails? There are several, and most of them are quite easy to remember.

What not to do	What to do
Do not use slang, phrasal verbs, jargon, colloquialisms, or sexist language, such as Hi, dude, bitch etc	Use formal language, such as hello, man, girl
Do not use shortened verb forms (contractions), such as they’re, isn’t, can’t	Use the full verb form instead, e.g., they are, is not, cannot
Do not use common vocabulary, such as have got, a lot, nice, the other thing.	Make more formal vocabulary choices, e.g., have found, a great deal, attractive/ advantageous, the other issue/problem/notion/idea/topic etc.
Do not use conversational opening phrases, such as Well, you see, Yes …, Let’s move on.	Leave out conversational phrases. Use appropriate connectors and introductory phrases, such as Furthermore, in addition, however
Do not use personal pronouns e.g. I, you, we (unless specifically required), i.e. do not write We think that you should be able to compete.	Be non-personal, e.g. It should be possible for everyone to compete.
Do not use sweeping generalisations	State main ideas clearly and concisely in your own words in topic sentences.
Do not use bullet points or lists, unless it is in a report.	Use complete sentences and link these into logical paragraphs.
Avoid waffling or repeating yourself.	Be clear and concise.
Do not pose (direct) questions in the running text, that is, do not write, for instance: Can carbon emissions be reduced?	Convert questions into statements, for example, The possibility of carbon emissions being reduced is questionable.
Do not mix words and numbers unsystematically.	Use words for numbers nine and below and numbers for 10 and above.

From this list, if you want to be less formal, then you use more of the points on the left, perhaps adding contractions and some phrasal verbs to make a letter sound semi-formal. Doing this can make it seem like you are trying to be more friendly to the person you are writing to.

So, when you are writing to your best friend (informal), it should sound the same as if you were chatting on the phone.

For someone that you don’t know so well, it would be better to add some more formal points, such as using some more formal vocabulary or being non-personal in some parts.

For sending a letter or email to your neighbour or someone you know to complain, then use an informal greeting, but mostly formal language.

For someone who you want to help you, such as a shop manager or a neighbour you don’t know very well, then use a more formal greeting, but add contractions and personal pronouns to make it seem more personal.

To write to a bank manager, a large company or a government department, then be completely formal.

The secret is to think about who you are speaking to. You would speak to someone like your boss or your headmaster at school in a completely different way than your best friend’s mum or the shopkeeper you meet every day. That again would be different to the way you speak to your classmates or colleagues and again to your best and closest friends and relatives.

Formal

You are a university student, and you want to spend a month doing work experience at an international company. You decide to write a letter to the Recruitment Manager at the company explaining why you want to do work experience there and saying how the company would also benefit.
Write your letter.

Dear Ms Jackson,

My name is James Barton and I am a third year Finance and economics student at Oxford University.I am writing in the hope of convincing you to consider me for a one month’s work experience placement at The Globe Investment Company.

As you can imagine, I am eager to gain work experience in a relevant company before I graduate so my chances of employment are increased. However The Globe Investment Company is my first choice for several reasons. The most pertinent of these is that your company is exactly the types of company that I would like to spend my career working in. I have targeted my subject choices towards investing and have a small but successful personal portfolio.

In addition, your company has an extremely good reputation for treating both its investors and employees well, unlike some others. I have been following your company since I was at school due to your success with my family’s investments, and so have some understanding of the way you work.

If I were to spend a month on a work placement, you would gain a willing and in some ways able intern, who would do their utmost to be a good fit into your workplace. I would also attempt to show that my good scores on my course have not just come from theory by showing my practical abilities too and would aim to impress so a full time position could be considered. Of course, I would not expect to paid for such a short term placement, so the least I can ask for is an interview.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely

James Barton

---

Semi-Formal

You recently helped to organise an arts day in your area, promoting local musicians and artists through performances, workshops and exhibitions. You read the article below in a local paper:
Local arts day – a disappointment
Last week’s arts day didn’t attract many people, had limited appeal to young people and was a waste of council money.
You disagree with the negative opinions expressed by the reporter, and decide to write a letter to the Editor, explaining why you disagree and saying what you feel was achieved on the day.
Write your letter. You do not need to include postal addresses. 220 to 260 words.

Dear editor,

My name is Jenny Cratchet and I am writing to reply to the article on the Camden Arts Day that was published in this paper on Monday 18th July. I was one of the event’s organisers and your reporter waas wrong.

Let’s start with the fact that many of the performances of the musicians were sold out and we struggled to keep the audience within the venue safety limits. As for the artists, many contributed to the exhibitions which were very well attended as the photographs (where were yours) can testify. The same can be said of the workshops, at which lots of local kids tried something new. Yes, I would say this was a disappointment, because it was obvious your reporter wasn’t even there!

Apart from the event being a success as far as the musicians and artists were concerned, it was wonderful to see how many locals, both young and old, got into the spirit of things and created something of their own. The abstract painting workshop and the beginner ukulele class were so popular, they had to have two classes instead of one. In such a run down area with social issues, many of the locals could use a way to channel their experiences and feelings, so in every one of the opinions I heard, it was a huge success with the next one in a few months being planned now.

It would be great if you would send another reporter to this next event, so that the true picture of the wide variety of amazing talent in the area can be showcased.

Yours sincerely

Jenny Cratchet

---

Informal

You are a university student and you want to spend a month doing work experience at an international company. You decide to write a letter to the Recruitment Manager at the company explaining why you want to do work experience there and saying how the company would also benefit.

Write your letter of 220 to 260 words.

Hans,

How’re you doing? It’s great to hear you’re coming here for a month. It’ll be good to see you again and catch up on all the news. Nice one! Before I start on how many fantastic things there are to do around here, I’d just like to say that you’re welcome at mine anytime. Well anytime I’m not working, which would rule out afternoons during the week.

So, let’s start with the indoor stuff because as you probably know the weather can be a bit wet here, regardless of the time of year. There’s a reasonably priced cinema here that shows all the main stream releases most days, and also a little art cinema that is only open over the weekend that shows classics. It can be a vibe. A theatre for plays, a library, cafes galore.I tell you, one of the cafes even has a speed dating night which can be a hoot the first time. Ever tried that? I’ll keep you right!

As for the great outdoors, I’m kinda hoping you won’t think hiking is a sport.It’s just walking mate, and we all do it. You can walk up the mountain, it’s not that high. Walking along the river or around then lake is really peaceful if the weather’s nice too. If you can do that, you could go fishing too, maybe even catch something and bring it back here so my mum can cook it and we can have it for dinner.

Anyway, if these don’t inspire you, get back to me and tell me what will.

Can’t wait to see you Buddy

Al