What Should You Say In Your Letter?

What Should You Say In Your Letter?

Asking yourself a few basic questions can be an excellent way to approach letter writing. Jot down answers for your questions. You can incorporate these answers into the body of your letter. Remember to keep the letter short, simple, and to the point. Here are some questions you could ask yourself:

Who are you? (An obvious question, but you may need to identify yourself right away if the reader does not know you or does not know you well.)

Why are you writing this letter? What do you want? Keep your wording positive--for example, say what you want, rather than what you do not want.
What are your concerns? Be specific. After you identify yourself, focus on the primary reason for your letter in the first few sentences.

What are your questions? Ask them clearly. Be polite, but don't make your letter saccharine in tone. You don't want any misinterpretation of your purpose--someone might think an overly sweet letter expresses sarcasm.

How would you like the reader to respond to your question or situation? Suggest the response you would like: a letter, a meeting, a phone call, an email, etc. State exactly when you would like to receive the reader's response.

Rules to a complaint letter

Rules to a complaint letter

Got a complaint? Why not? Life’s full of them. Did your hand phone fail to provide the services you expected? Face it, at some point in life you’re going to have a complaint that needs to be put in writing. Rather than dread the inevitable, keep in mind that writing a complaint letter can be easy if you just follow five simple rules.

Rule One - Keep in mind that no matter how upset you are, don’t let your hostility spill over into your writing. To be taken seriously it is essential to keep a calm and professional tone in your letter. This means no blaming, no name calling, and definitely no foul language.

Rule Two - Use a three point approach. This approach breaks down your letter into three paragraphs with each one having a specific purpose.

Paragraph one – Introduce your self, State your purpose and you’re your letter in a positive light. Remember, the reader must be in a positive mindset in order to be able to digest and understand your needs in the letter.

Paragraph two - explains the problem. Remember, don’t blame. Everyone makes mistakes so keep this assumption in your mind as you write. Mention any important details if it helps to substantiate your claim.

Paragraph three - is the resolution. Many people have a bad habit of stopping after the second paragraph. They can easily state what they wanted and even more easily point out the flaws, but the third paragraph is critical. This is where you tell the reader exactly what you want them to do. Don’t ever assume that a complaint alone is enough. Many times it isn’t. If you want a check for refund sent, say so! If you need a replacement of poor quality merchandise, tell them!

Rule Three - Give contact information. If there are questions regarding your letter, on who should be contacted and how, List a valid phone number or email address. This should be at the end of the third paragraph.

Rule Four – Make sure your format is right. This will help bring the reader’s respect and add credibility to your writing.

Rule Five - As you close your letter thank the reader for their assistance. People respond better when they feel they are being asked and appreciated, rather than ordered.

Writing FORMAL LETTER

Instructions:
1) Spot the errors that can be found in this letter with regards to Tone.
2) What can be done to make this letter appear more diplomatic; without being offensive or overly reactive
3) Replace phrases where you feel is harsh / inappropriate
________________________________________________________________


Dear Mr Luigi,



I am returning the enclosed skateboard for a full refund. I believe it is not only a bad product, but a dangerous one. I am shocked that a company supposedly dedicated to making good products would sell such a thing. I demand not only a refund, but an explanation.

When I purchased the ‘Smokey Thunder’ skateboard, I asked the salesperson whether it was, indeed, designed to enable me to kick-flip on curbs without injuring myself. He assured me that if the parts were assembled properly, I will get the best experience out of my skateboard.

I followed the instructions exactly in assembling it and assumed that it would be safe. Instead, while cruising around my neighbourhood and going up and down slopes, the wheels suddenly gave way and I stumbled forward like a cannonball. I sprained my ankle and almost broke my neck!!! It was awful!!

This is absolutely unacceptable. Thank God my injuries are not that bad, but others may not have been so lucky. I could have been seriously injured, or worse, and it would have been your fault.

I want my money back, but more important, I want a letter from you, assuring me that this dangerous product has been taken off of the market. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll be forced to take further action to ensure that teenager like myself gets hurt or killed as a result of your negligence!!!


Sincerely,
Mi Puah Ting

DRAMA RAMA! Just check this out!

Dear boys,

VS DramaFest will be held on 18th Apr(Fri) at the Jubilee Hall.
It is a cultural tradition since time immemorial and one that showcases
some of the brightest drama stars in VS.

We are now currently in the process of gathering and selecting
scripts from students.

IF you can't sing, paint or play an instrument, showcase your talents in writing. We are expecting the budding writers to give it a go! Before you know, your master pieces are being staged at Jubilee Hall! Bear in mind, a script writer is different from a director, you may not even be involved in acting. Just write and allow your imagination to go wild!

As each EL class is expected to submit ONE script by 31/1 (Thur). If you truly want me to submit yours for the DRAMA Committee, I hope you can write a short synopsis of the story as precursor for the ease of reading.

****Some guidelines for you****

- Duration of play (10-15min)
- Synopsis (What is it about? Characters? Where is the setting/place?)
- Structure of a Play (Beginning/Middle/End)
- Genre/themes eg, comedy, spoof, musical, school, internet, crime etc


Though this is optional a task, I still hope to see those createive juices put to work. Hope to see them scripts coming in soon by end of next week.


To our future...millers, grishams, minfongs....even Shakepeare!

Oh behalf of Mr Tan,
Thanks!
Daniel
ELDDS - Drama

Commonwealth Essay Competition

Please submit your entry by next Monday.

You have the weekend to complete it.

DO some brainstorm and research. Post it with the title in this attempt, indicating it is for Commonwealth Essay. Please do not confuse this with your 3 separate CA posts.

Ms Neo

CA 1 Assignment

Dear boys of 2D

This blogging adventure should be taking off by now. I hope to see real engagement with writing and more conscientious effort in using proper grammatical sentences, punctuation and spellings which are acceptable in this perfect English blog. Any language teacher can identify with me that it is a joy to see you learn and improve your expressions. Through the process of reading others' blog and writing comments, you will learn to be more critical a reader and writer. Knowing that you are publishing for a specific audience, you would be spending some time editing before publishing a piece of work, with pride.

Well, ironically, I have to emphasize that although this adventure will ultimately faciliate your language learning experience, I will be using it to assess your mastery of this genre - BLOG - as well as your linguistics spontaneity. Also, let me remind all that this CA assignment is primarily a NARRATIVE and not a random, mindless rattling of your personal emotions ( although Blog does have this element).

Hence, in your attempt to be spontaneous, please remember to align your story to :

1 Vivid characters and settings
2 Engaging plot; with a genuine(or realistic) complication
3 Sequential rising actions which lead appropriately to a climax
4 Well thought-through resolution (complimentary to the introduction)

Have said that, as you read others' narrative entry, do use these elements as a guide to make your comments on your friend's blog ( comment on the register no after you, eg, Reg 18 will post a comment on Reg 19).

FInally, please complete all the 3 entries latest by Sunday! INDICATE tasks clearly (CA 1 ENTRY 1 2 or 3 with its respective theme; eg. CA 1 Blog 1 - A moment I enjoyed). By 21st Jan, I will comment and give a score to each. This CA task.

Keep your posts coming. I welcome your feedback in my teaching and facilitation in your learning journey of the English Language.

Ms Neo

Discussion on BLOGGING

Dear 2D

Here is an interesting clip for you to access. It is about Nokia 'Senior Future Specialist' Timo Vekkola and The Future Lab


'Trends Director' Tom Savigar discusses the future of blogging in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJZNewZ7KhY

I would like to hear your views after watching this short clip.

Please post a comment over this weekend!

Ms Neo