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Formal Style
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Informal letters

Friendly / Informal Register:

In the exam you may be asked to write a letter or an email to a friend, a pen
friend or a relative. Such letters or emails are called "Friendly Letters", in which you
need to use informal or friendly "register" when you write to them. So, what is a
friendly register?
 Although it is called friendly, it is NOT as the language you would use when
speaking to a friend.
 Although it is written, it is NOT as formal as the language you would use when
writing, for example, a letter applying for a job.
 In other words, friendly register is a level of language which comes between
informal spoken language and formal written language.

Writing in friendly register:

When writing in friendly "informal" register, be careful not to make your level of
language too informal. Do not include the following features which are often used
when speaking to a friend:

1. Words shortened to look phonetic "to look the way they sound":
X How y doin? √ How are you?

2. Text message "SMS"- style phonetics, such as:" u → you", "i → I" or a
number to present a word: "4 → for"

X How r u? √ How are you?

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 Features of Friendly Register:
R1 Always Personalise and Create the reader's Interest
Here is a list of phrases which help you to join your ideas together and also personalise
them for the reader – in other words, these phrases will make the reader feel that he is
included in your thoughts as you write and that his feelings and opinions have been
taken into account.
 You’ll truly / absolutely / genuinely/ enjoy.......
 You’ll be pleased / delighted/ glad to know.......
 I know you....
 I’m sure you’ll get well on with.
The following examples show you how to use these phrases:
1) E.g.: ‘You’ll be delighted/ tickled to know there’s a fitness centre near where I live, so
that we can work out in the gym anytime.’
‘You’ll be delighted to know’ = personalising; it shows you know
something about what makes your friend happy, her hobbies,
character, etc.
‘There’s a fitness centre near where I live’ – Why tell your friend this? To
create interest.
‘so that we can work out in the gym.’ = personalizing again because it
shows you know your friend likes to work out. It is also support,
because it explains why your house is in a good location for your
friend.
2) E.g.: I’m sure you’ll get on well with my brother, Seif! He’s frantic/
delirious about football, just like you!
'I’m sure you’ll get on well with my brother Seif'= personalising
'He’s frantic about football'= support.
'just like you''= personalising
3) E.g.: I know you’ll love my mum’s cooking! She’s a PRO and can make
almost anything – especially the red velvet cupcakes; your favourite of
course!
I know you’ll love my mum’s cooking! = personalising; it shows you know
your friend well enough to know what food she like
4) E.g.: ‘You’ll absolutely enjoy not having to walk to school in the morning.’
You’ll absolutely enjoy not having to walk to school = personalising; you know
your friend hates walking to school. He’s lazy!
5) E.g.: I know you enjoy sightseeing, so I thought you might like to spend a
day at the Pyramids – it's charming especially at night!
6) E.g.: At the weekends I am quite lazy – as usual!
As usual = personalising; your friend knows your habits.

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 Creating interest

One of the best ways to create interest when you write is through
contrast. However, do not try to draw a contrast in every single case, or
your letter will not sound natural. Look at the following example sentence,
describing where you live:

‘I live in a three-bedroom house right in the centre of the city, which is way
different from your quiet village. Here you'll find countless / tons of things
to do. You will never be at a loose end!’

Notice the following:

 ‘I live’ – Always use person + verb instead of a noun (my house) to create
friendly register.
 ‘In a three-bedroom house’– Why should this interest your friend? The
number of bedrooms in a house usually gives an indication of its size. If
your friend is coming to stay, this might interest him.
 ‘right in the centre of the city’- Why should this interest your friend? This
will probably be a contrast with where he lives.
 ‘it’s way different from your quiet village.’
-This creates interest through contrast.
-This personalises the situation of your friend because it is relevant to
his personal life.
-This also shows the reader that your relationship is a friendly one
because you know your friend lives in a quiet village.

 ‘here you'll find countless / tons of things to do. You will never be at
a loose end!’
- This supports your statement by explaining why your friend enjoys
coming to stay in a noisy city.

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R2 Replace formal verbs with simple verbs and prepositions or phrases:

- To distinguish To tell the difference / make out.

- To consider To think about.
- To postpone To put off.
- To compensate To make up for.

R3 Replace the passive voice with the active voice:

- Revision should be done You should revise.
- The music was played by my sister My sister played the music.

R4 Avoid the use of which and that (when it's possible)

- I was sorry to hear that you feel lonely I was sorry to hear
you feel lonely.

R5 Use contracted forms whenever possible in friendly register, as this is

only place in the written exam where they are appropriate:

- We will We'll.
- I have I've.

R6 - Replace joining words, used to develop a point made in formal

Writing.
Do not use furthermore, What's more
Besides, use
Moreover, That's not all

Do not use However use but

though

- "However" is used in the formal register, it is often the first word in a

sentence. It means "but".
In friendly written register it is not good style to begin a sentence with "but".
You can join two sentences with "but" or you can use "though" at the end of
the sentence.
Therefore, instead of writing:

"I love most fruit. However, I'm not keen on bananas."

It's better to write:

"Above all I love most fruit, but I'm not keen on bananas."
Or "I love most fruit. I'm not keen on bananas, though.
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R7 Avoid listing when writing friendly letters:
When you want to introduce ideas one after another, you should replace
words such as "firstly" and "secondly"

a) Don't use firstly USE To start with, First off "at the beginning"
    OR  for a start, for starters "at the end of the sentence"

E.g.:
- "There are lots of ways to revise for an exam. To start with,
make a revision timetable."
- "If you really want to lose weight, you'll have to give up chips, for
a start."

b) To introduce the second point, do not use secondly

Use Another …., that’s not all, what's more.

E.g.:
- "What's more, try to have a break from revision every two hours."
- "Another good thing is to make sure you get a good night's sleep."

c) To introduce the final or the most important point, do not use finally or
lastly,
and one of the best things….
use and best of all
above all

E.g.:
"Above all, try to have plenty of time to revise."

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 Tip:

"When writing in friendly register, you should try to simplify your

language as much as possible."
Check this formal sentence:
Eg: "Social interaction can be one of the benefits of sports."
To make it informal:
'Social Interaction' Could be mixing and getting on with people.
'Benefits of sport' Could be one of the good things about sport.

So the whole phrase could be written in friendly register as:

"One of the good things about sports is that you get to be

with people and learn how to get on with them."

Now let's try do some practice:

Exercise 1:
Rewrite the following sentence expanding it using friendly
register:
1-Taking up employment in a children's holiday camp offers
excellent opportunities for adventure.
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 Achieving a suitable tone:

Read the following sentences taken from students' exchange visit letters .If you were
the recipient, which would make you feel at ease? Which might worry you? Put a tick
against the sentences you like and a cross against the others.
As you work discuss how many inappropriate expressions could be made more
suitable. Correct any structural errors.
1. It'll be lovely to see you.
2. The food here will be rather distasteful for you.
3. At least when you are in the house try to behave with respect to my
parents.
4. You'll be very welcome.
5. My friend, you can come and enjoy it but my family is very strict.
6. We can go cycling through our beautiful countryside and have great
parties on the beach.
7. You'll soon feel at home.
8. Mostly, we will visit our countryside every day because here that is the
only worth visiting place.
9. Mum and Dad always listen to our problems before giving their own point
of view.
10. We can go cycling through our beautiful countryside and have great
parties on the beach.
11. We're going to have a wonderful time together.
12. As I already told you, this is a very small place, so don’t think about
hotels, theatres, cinemas, and so on.
13. We can promise you the best time of your life.
14. Don’t take chances if you cannot swim my friend, you will not survive.

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 Writing an Introduction

In an informal letter, you know the person you are writing to, so always
remember to maintain a chatty style in the introduction, and include the
reason why you’re writing.
There are different ways to start an informal letter:

1) Apology + reason
Ex. "I’m sorry I haven’t written for ages (or, since we last met/ for a long
time), but I’ve been busy studying and haven’t had the time."
(reason can change; better use a reason that leads to the topic)
2) Apology + no real excuse
Ex. ‘I’ve been meaning to write earlier, but I’m afraid I haven’t got round
to it.’
OR ‘I’ve been meaning to write since your graduation day, but with one
thing or another I’m afraid I just haven’t had the time.’
3) No apology, just being friendly
Ex. ‘It was lovely to hear from you last week. Hope you’re feeling better
after your injury.’ OR 'I thought I’d better write and update you with
...' OR 'I know you're longing to hear all about …..'
4) Begin with something personal
Ex. ‘Congratulations on winning the scholarship.’

After this chatty beginning, you need a ‘Transition’ to start the reason why
you’re writing this letter. Normally, the word used is ‘anyway’ or ‘anyhow’ +
past tense, yet you can come up with something different; it depends on
what you’re saying in your introduction.

For example:
Dear Jane,
I’m sorry I haven’t written for so long, but I’ve been busy settling into my new house.
Anyway, I thought I’d drop you a line to let you know about my new life here in...

Signature:
‘Love / Love From/ Yours/ Cheerio / Bye For Now.

Tip: Always remember: be creative and original in your

thoughts, and don’t limit yourself to the examples
suggested.

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