Writing Informal Letters and Emails

• Informal letters or emails are for people who know each other well.
• Informal letters are suitable for giving news, requesting information, congratulating and giving advice.
• Informal letters share similarities with conversations.
• Informal letters involve asking questions, showing interest and enthusiasm.

Salutation

• Begin with 'Dear' followed by the recipient's first name.
• Alternatively, use 'Hi' followed by the recipient's name, especially in emails.

Openings

• Usually reply to a previous letter.
• Acknowledge the letter being replied to.
• Refer to key information from the previous letter.
• State the reason for writing or apologize for delays.

Useful Phrases for Opening

• Use phrases such as "How are you?," "How have the family been?," and "I hope you are well" to start.
• Use "Thank you for your last email" or "Many thanks for your last letter" to acknowledge correspondence.
• Use "It was good/nice/great to hear from you again." to reconnect.
• Use "I was surprised/delighted to hear that..." to react to news.
• Use "I’m sorry I haven’t written before/I haven’t been in touch for such a long time." when replying after a while.
• Use "It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you are well." to show you care.
• Use "How are things? / How have you been? / How’s it going?" to initiate conversation.

Referring to News

• Use "Glad to hear that…" to share positive news or "Sorry to hear that…" to share negative news.
• Use "Did I tell you about…?" or "You’ll never believe what happened…" to create suspense.
• Use "This is just to let you know…" to introduce information.
• Use "I thought you might be interested to hear/know that…" when sharing something of interest.
• Use "By the way, have you heard about…/ did you know that…?" to introduce a related topic.

Apologies

• Use "I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu" to express regret.
• Use "I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job" to show remorse.

Invitations

• Use "I’m/we’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you’ll be able to come" to invite someone to a party.
• Use "Would you like to come round for dinner at the weekend?" to propose a casual dinner.
• Use "I was wondering of you’d like to come on holiday with us" to extend a vacation invitation.
• Use "Would you like to join us?" for a simpler invitation.
• Use "Thank you very much for your invitation, I’d love to come" to accept an invitation.
• Use "Thank you for asking/inviting me to… but I’m afraid I won’t be able to…" to decline an invitation politely.

Requests

• Use "I’m writing to ask you for your help/to ask you if you could do me a favour" to ask for help.
• Use "I was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour" to inquire about assistance.
• Use "I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly)…?" to politely make a request.
• Use "I’d be very/really/terribly grateful if you could…" to express gratitude in advance.

Thank you

• Use "I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present" to express gratitude.
• Use "It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you" to appreciate an invitation.
• Use "I really appreciated all your help/advice" to acknowledge support.

Congratulations

• Use "Congratulations on passing your driving test!" or "Congratulations on your excellent exam results!" to congratulate someone on their achievements.

Good Luck

• Use "I wish you good luck / Good luck with your job interview!" to offer encouragement.
• Use "Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll pass / I’m sure you’ll do great" to reassure someone.

Making Suggestions

• Use "Why don’t you…?" or "Maybe you could…?" or "how about…?" to give suggestions or recommendations.
• Use "You can’t leave New York without… (doing sth.)" to suggest essential experiences.
• Use "I’m sure you will enjoy (doing sth.). If you like, we can…" to express confidence in their enjoyment of an activity.
• Use "Do visit… / Don’t forget to…" to remind them of places to visit.

Closing

• Give a reason for ending the letter.
• Use "Anyway, I must go and get on with my work" or "I guess it’s time I got on with that studying I’ve been avoiding".
• Send greetings and/or make reference to future contact.
• Use "Give my live/regards to… / Say hello to…" or "Anyway, don’t forget to let me know the date of the party".
• Use "I’ll try to phone you at the weekend to check the times", "We must try and meet up soon / Look forward to seeing you again", "I can’t wait to hear from you / Hope to hear from you soon" or "See you soon / Write soon".

Closing Statements

• Use "Love / lots of love / All the best", "Take care / Best wishes" to end the letter.

Other Things to Consider

• Use a wide range of grammatical expressions and vocabulary.
• Use informal language, including phrasal verbs, contractions, and question tags.
• Use connectors to link ideas and suitable connectors for an informal context.