Although it is called friendly, it is not as informal as the

language you would use when speaking to a friend.

Friendly register is a level of language which comes

between informal spoken language and formal written

language.

What is Informal Register?

Writing in Friendly Register

- When writing in friendly register, be careful not to make your level oflanguage too informal.

- Do not include the following three features which are used whenspeaking to a friend :

Words or sentence structures which use slang :

Words shortened to look phonetic (i.e to look the way they sound)

SMS-style phonetics,

‘u’ for ‘you’ small ‘i’ instead of ‘I’ a number to represent a word

Greetings

• Introduction

Paragraph 1

• Transition

• Body

Paragraph 2

• Body

Paragraph 3

• Conclusion

Paragraph 4

Ending & Signature

Format of a friendly letter

Friendly letters can be divided into the following sections:

Greeting / Salutation

• Dear + first nameTo a friend

• Dear + first name

• Dear Brother Ahmed To a brother/ Sister

• Dear Mom / Dear Dad

• Dear Mother / Father To your mother / father

• Dear Mom and Dad

• Dear Parents To your parents

• Dear + first name

• Dear Cousin Ali • Dear Ali

To a cousin

• Dear Auntie + first name To an aunt

• Dear Uncle + first name To an uncle

In every case, use only the standard Dear.Do not be tempted to write :

Dearest

My Dearest

My Best

Friend

Paragraphs need to be clearly shown by indenting the first line of

each paragraph so that it lines up under the comma following the

name.

Introduction

What is the purpose of an introduction?

• The introduction warms the reader up and prepares for the main part of

the letter.

What can be written on an introduction?

• Using an apology

• Not using an apology

• Personal reference

Using an apology

A favourite way to begin an informal letter is by

using an apology. There are two kinds of

apology introductions.

• Apologising when there is a genuine reason

why the writer has not writtenExample: I’m sorry I haven’t written for ages, (apology) but I’ve

been busy studying and haven’t had the time. (reason)

• Apologising when there is no real excuse for

not writingExample: I’ve been meaning to write for ages, but I’m afraid I

just haven’t got round to it.

Not using an apology

• Other introductions to friendly letters do

not involve an apology.

• Example:

It was lovely to get your letter yesterday.

It was really great to hear from you last week.

Personal reference

• It can also begin with something very

personal, to show your friendship or

closeness.

• Example:

Congratulations on passing the exam!

I hope you’re feeling better.

I hope you’ve got over the flu.

Transition• This will be the first sentence in the second

paragraph and it is needed to link the introductionto the main body of the letter.

• How do we write a transition sentence?

There are 3 different ways to begin a transition.

1- Using the words Anyway, or Anyhow

2- Using the past tense

3- Using other methods

Examples of the 3 transition types

1

2

3

Ending• The following can be used as a closing sentence.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Awaiting an early reply .

• Once you have finished writing the letter and used anappropriate ending, write on a separate line, on the leftof the page (usually), one of these :

Love, Love from With love from Yours,

• Note the use of capital letters and which phrases needa comma after them. Do not include your family namejust write your first name.

Task

Informal Letter

• Recently you had a family get together to celebrate

an occasion. While the party was on, you developed

some kind of a food allergy. Write a letter to your

friend explaining the following :

1. Where was the party held and what was the occasion

2. What happened to you

3. Describe your feelings

• Word limit : (150 – 200 words)

www.masdharu.info

18th June 2016