Remember synonyms are very important when you do summaries. As you cannot re-use most of the words in the text, try to substitute them with the right synonyms.
There two types of letters that we write. One is the personal letter that we write to our family members and friends. The other is the formal letter that we write to other people such as those in government, companies as well as those in clubs and social organizations.
Let us look at the format and content of a formal letter.
INFORMAL LETTER
FORMAL LETTER
·Sender’s address on the top right hand corner
·Start with Sender’s name on the first line at the top let hand corner
·Follow with the address of the sender
·Date of letter directly below sender’s address
·Draw a line across below the sender’s address
·Write the recipient post followed by the address next
·At the end of the address, on the right hand side, write the date
·Friendly salutation, “ Dear….“
·Write the salutation-“Dear Sir/ Madam”
·Friendly introduction
·Write the title for the subject of the letter.
·Underline it.
·Purpose of letter
·Write purpose of the letter
·Background information
·Next is the body of the letter:
·Purpose should be briefly spelled out
·Details
·Conclusion
·Conclusion
·Giving thanks
·Signing off- “Your loving……”
·Signing off- “Yours faithfully/Sincerely……”
·Signature at the bottom right hand corner
·Signature at bottom of left hand
·Write designation below signature
Let us look at a sample of a formal letter.
Sender
Address of Sender
Tomas Bala,
The Football Club
Sekolah Menengah Taman Selasih
87000 Klebang Besar
Melaka
Recipient
Address of Recipient/
Date
The President
The Melaka Tengah Municipal Council
Jalan Bandar
85000 Melaka 5 April 2010
Salutation
Dear Sir,
Title of Letter Subject
Seeking Permission to Use Indoor Courts for Annual 5-A-Side Football Tournament
Introduction
On behalf of the Football Club, I wish to request permission for the use of the indoor courts at the Melaka Tengah Municipal Council Indoor sports complex.
Main Body:
Purpose
2. We intend to hold our Annual Kelebang Besar/Tranquerah Area 5- A –side Football Tournament for the students of our school. The purpose of this tournament is to encourage healthy competition among the students of the school, to promote friendship as well as to identify good players for grooming for the All-State School s competition in July 2010.
Date and time
3. We would like to use the courts from 20th to 25th April 2010 from 2.00pm to 6.00pm.
Number of courts
4. About 20 teams will be involved in this tournament and we would need to use 4 courts per day
Rental and other requests
5. Could you let me know what are your usual rental charges and also if a special rate or exemption from charges be provided to students. In addition, I would appreciate if you could also kindly sponsor the drinks for this tournament.
Conclusion
We hope to receive a favourable reply from you soon.
Signing off
Yours faithfully/sincerely
Name
Tomas Bala
Designation
Secretary, The Football Club
Now you can do an assignment to test your skill in formal letter writing.
ASSIGNMENT:
As the Secretary of the Sekolah Menengah Taman Mutiara Swimming Club which is organizing the annual Swimming competition for schools in Petaling Jaya,please write to the Petaling Jaya City Council for the use of the Public Swimming Pool in Petaling Jaya for 4 days. Following the format above, mention the details such as purpose of the competition, days that you require the pool, rates of rental and other requests.
In journeying through life, many things will happen to us. We are amused by many things. We sober up on others. Oftentimes,we reflect on the more important ones and we meditate deeply on some of them.
Journaler 0203 will chronicle the milestones of the author's life in 2009, the crossroads where decisions had to be made, times when he reflected on things past and his vision for the immediate future. So come; journey with him and have fun reading his entries!
