IGCSE-Writing-THE-INFORMAL-LETTER--EMAIL

Well,thecountdownhasstarted.TheIGCSENovember2009sessioniscomingupsoon-actuallyendofOctober.OnWednesdays,I'lltrytohelpoutwithwritingbyprovidingtips,plansandsomeexercises.THEINFORMALLETTER/EMAILTherearemanytypesofinformalletter/email.Forexample,youcanwritealetterofthanks,adviceorinvitation.Whenyouarewritinganinformalletterorsendinganemailtoafriend,itisveryimportantfortheexaminerstotryandmakeitsoundfriendlyandchatty.However,dobearinmindthatinformalregistermeanssomethingbetweenspokenandwrittenlanguage.YouwillbelikelytofailtheexamifyourlettertoyourdearfriendBobbystartslikethis:HeyBobby!howru?OrIain'tgonnadonothingtonightorIgotapresent4uRemember,it'saBritishexamandyouareexpectedtouseeitherinformalBritishEnglishorinformalAmericanEnglish.Bothareaccepted.Onlinechatlanguagewon'tbeaccepted.YouwillalsobeseverelypenalisedifyouuseonlinechatexpressionsorifyoumixBritishandAmericanEnglishbothinexpressionsandinspelling:Example:Ican'taffordbuyingacar.Gashasgoneuprecentlyinmyareawhichmeansthatpetrolcosts£5agallon.or:Ilovegoingtothetheatrebutourlocaltheaterhascloseddown.Thefollowingphrasesmayhelpyouachievetherighttone:(a)GreetingHiBobby/DearBobby(b)OpeningI'msorryIhaven'twrittenforsuchalongtimebutI'vebeenreallybusylatelyThanksfortheemail.Itwasgreattohearfromyou.IthoughtI'ddropalineto....Ihaven'theardfromyouforalongtimeandIthoughtwecouldcatchuponournews.Hey!I'vegivenyouupforlost.What'sup?(c)MainBody(usefulexpressions)-youwon'tbelieve....-you'llneverguess....-believeitornot....-bytheway....-infact...-hey!cheerup!-don'tletitgetyoudown-listen.don'tworrytoomuchaboutit(d)Closing-that'sallfornow-Imustloveyouandleaveyou!I'vegothomeworktofinish.Writebacksoon.-Takecare-Havealovelyday/week-SayhitoSue-Remembermetoyourmother(e)Sign-offLoveLotsofloveYoursPLANNINGANINFORMALLETTER1.Greeting:Hi/Dear+firstname2.Saywhyyouarewriting3.Suggestions/advice/questionsandperhapssomemoredetails.4.Conclusion/closingremark(seephrasesabove)TIP-Alwaysmakesureyouhaveansweredtheexaminers'promptsappearingatthebottomofthetask!NOWYOURTURNWriteabout200wordsonthefollowingtopic:Imagineyouhavejustmovedtothecityfromaruralarea.Writealettertoyourfriendtellinghim/heraboutafewoftheproblemsyouarefacing.Thepicturebelowmayhelpyou.Inyourletteryoumusttellyourfriend:-aboutyourfirstimpressions-someoftheproblemsyouarefacing-whatyoudotodealwiththeseproblemsIfyouwish,youcanemailmeyouranswerandIpromisetocorrect,commentandsenditbacktoyouTHEOPINIONCOMPOSITION(a)HowtoplananopinioncompositionIntroduction::expressyouropiniononthetopic.Paragraph2:justifyyouropinionwithexamples.Paragraph3:Presenttheopposingviewpoint.Conclusion:Restateyouropinionbutdonotjustrepeatyourself.Considerwritingaboutconsequencesoranewdimensionofthesameissue.(b)Howtoplananopinioncompositionsuggestingadvantagesanddisadvantages:Introduction:Introducetheproblemandstateitscauses.Paragraph2:WriteabouttheadvantagesanddevelopthroughexamplesParagraph3:Writeaboutthedisadvantagesanddevelopthroughexamples.Conclusion:Stateyouropinionandpickupaside!.(c)BeginningsandEndingsTherearemanywaysofbeginning(introduction)andending(conclusion)anopinioncomposition.Readthefollowingmodelparagraphsandpayspecialattentiontotheexpressionsinbold.Theseareonlysuggestedwaysofbeginningandendinganopinioncomposition.IGCSEexaminerslovethem,though!Introduction:Haveyoueverwonderedwhatitmustbeliketowakeupinthemorningandrealisethatyoucannolongeruseyourcomputer?Formillionsofpeoplethisiscertainlyafrighteningthought.Indeed,theycannotpossiblyimaginetheirliveswithoutthem.Becauseofthisdependenceonthecomputerwhichwehavedeveloped,Istronglybelievethatithasbecomeindispensabletousanditisheretostay!Conclusion:Itistruetosaythatthecomputerhasinvadedourlivesandchangedthewaywecommunicateforever.Letusnotforget,though,thatthecomputerhasalsopromotedaverypassivelifestyle.BriefReminderRemembertheessentialparagraphstructure:--topicsentence:itintroducesthemainideaofyourparagraph-supportingsentences:theyprovideexamples,illustrationsorargumentswhichsupportthetopicsentence.-closingsentence:roundoffyourparagraphwithakindofconclusionRemembertousetransitionstopassonsmoothlyfromonesentencetoanotherandfromoneparagraphtothenext.Remember!UnlessyouthinkyoucanmasterEnglishbetterthanyourownlanguageDONOTattempttowriteonesentenceforaparagraph!YOURTURN!Scientistshavemadetheproductionoffoodeasierandcheaperbyusingchemicalsandotherartificialprocedures.Writeanarticlestatingyouropinionaboutthisstatement.Thecommentsbelowmaygiveyousomeideasbutyouarefreetouseanyideasofyourown.Thisistheanswertofeedingtheworld.Noonewillbehungryeveragain!Ifyouusechemicals,thenwhoknowswhatwillhappentoourhealth?ItmeansthatpeoplewhoworkonthelandwillhavenoworkIt'sareallycheapwaytogrowgood-qualityfood.DONOTWRITEMORETHAN200WORDS.YOUWILLBESEVERELYPENALISEDFOREXCEEDINGTHEWORDLIMIT!IGCSEWritingDevelopingaMatureStyleLookatthesetwoexamplesdescribingavillage:Example1:Thevillageisveryprettyandverynice.Thehousesarenotverybigbuttheyarebeautiful.Thevillageissurroundedbyhillswhichgiveaveryniceviewofthearea.Example2Thevillageisstrikinglypret