24 April 2011
IELTS Letter Template by John Parker
17 April 2011
Writing Letter Templet
Dear Sir/Madam,
- [Asking for Help] I'm writing to ask you that ... / I would like you to ...
- [Complaining] I am writing to express my dissatisfaction about ...
- [Thanking] I very much appreciated ...
- [Apologizing] I'd like to apologize about ...
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thinking you in advance for your help, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Lucy
[Words] inform me, cancel, contact, obtain, apologize, postpone,
request, compensate, establish, discover, handle, investigate,
tolerate, increase, children, many, much
[Sample Semi-formal Letter - Band 7]
- introduce yourself
- explain the situation
- say what action you would like to company to take.
Dear Sir/Madam,
[introduce yourself] I am writing you to express my dissatisfaction with a laptop computer I bought in your store four days ago.
[explain the situation] As soon as I turned on the computer, I realized that Windows operating system was not installed in it, even tough the offer said it was included. In addition, I chose a gray laptop and the one I received was black. Moreover, the default language of the laptop is Japanese and I haven't been able to change it to my native language, which is English. To make matters worse, the memory specifications of this laptop are not the same as the ones that I read in your catalog.
I definitely need this situation to be solved as soon as possible. I made the decision to buy the laptop at your store, because of previous good recommendations some friends of mine gave me about your store. However, after this experience, I feel deceived.
[say what action you would like to company to take] I would like you to send me the laptop I first chose at your store, including all the specifications as shown in the offer. If I don't get a quick response to my request, I will request a full refund of the payment I already made.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Yours faithfully,
R.
(2) Informal Letter
Dear John,
Hi there! It's been so long since I've heard from you. I hope you are doing well and I hope all your family are doing fine. I'm pretty good in spite of working hard. Anyway, the reason I'm writing is ...
Yours,
Lucy
[Words] let me know, drop, get in touch with, get, say sorry, delay,
ask for, make up, set up, find out, deal with, check up with,
put up, go up, kids, a lot of, heaps of
[Sample Informal Letter - Band 7]
Dear Linda,
I’m sorry I haven’t been writing to you for such a long time. I am writing to let you know that I have migrated to Perth, Australia. My family and I arrived in Perth on the third of April 2008 and we have finally settled down.
[why you chose this country] We migrated to Perth because my sisters and their family have also migrated there three years ago. We have planed to join them in Perth and also for the children’s education and their future as well.
[describe your present life] We have just settled in our new house and the kids are enjoying the pool almost everyday. They have been attending a public school and have made quite a lot of friends. The people here are very friendly and helpful. John has also found a job near the city. The working environment here according to John is very different from Malaysia. And as for me, I am a full time housewife, enjoying the morning coffee with the newspaper.
Do let me know when you plan to visit Perth and you are always welcome to stay at my new house.
With love,
Sharon.
Samples and words for Writing
http://www.ielts-blog.com/category/ielts-writing-samples/ielts-letters-band-7/
IELTS Essay Samples of Band 7
http://www.ielts-blog.com/category/ielts-writing-samples/ielts-essays-band-7/
Because of this, …
To illustrate this, …
As can clearly be seen from this example, …
Without a doubt, this causes…
Composition for an argument essay
Introduction paragraph
- A background sentence giving some background information on the essay topic.
- A more detailed sentence linking the background sentence to the thesis.
- A thesis that presents your point of view on your given topic.
- An outline sentence declaring the 2 points you are going to use to support your thesis.
- A topic sentence illustrating the first point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
- A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
- A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.
- A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.
- A topic sentence illustrating the second point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
- A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
- A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.
- A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.
- A summary sentence that briefly states the 2 points you discussed in your supporting paragraphs.
- A restatement of your thesis using different words.
- A prediction or recommendation based on the topic you have been given.
16 April 2011
Writing Letters
- Task Achievement
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
1 Answering the question.
1) Write at least 150 words.
2) Fully do all the things that the question asks you. In this case it asks you to do 3 main things:
- explain the situation
- apologize for the inconvenience
- say what you are going to do
Dear John,
A semi-formal letter will also open with Dear and then be followed by a name, (if you decide that in the situation you would know the name) or by Sir (if it's a man), Madam (if it's a woman) or Sir/Madam if you don't know, eg:
Dear Mr. Phillips,
Dear Mrs. Phillips,
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Sir/Madam,
3 The Opening Paragraph of the Letter
In a semi-formal letter, I feel it is important to state the reason for the letter straight away. You could use the following to help you:
I am writing to ask/ tell//inform you that...
I am writing to ask/inquire...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing with reference to...
I am writing in connection with...
I am writing in response to...
In reply to your letter, I am writing to... (if the question indicates that you have had a letter)
If the letter is a less formal one to a friend then you should open the letter in a friendlier way. EG:
Dear John,
Hi there! It's been so long since I've heard from you. I hope you are doing well and I hope all your family are doing fine. I'm pretty good in spite of working hard. Anyway, the reason I'm writing is...
4 The Substance of the Letter
[Asking for Help]
- I would like you to...
- I would be grateful if you could...
- I need to ask your advice about...
- I'd like to ask for information about...
- What I'm looking for is...
[Complaining]
- I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction/annoyance/ about...
- I'm writing to express my anger at...
- I am not happy about...
- ... is not what I expected/was expecting.
- I want to know what you are going to do about this situation.
[Thanking]
- I'm very grateful for...
- I'd like to thank you very much for...
- I very much appreciated...
[Apologizing]
- I'm very sorry that/about...
- Please forgive me for...
- I'd like to apologize about...
- Please accept my apologies
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking you in advance for your help, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
For a more informal letter you could use:
If you need to know anything else, just get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thanks a lot for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.
Finally you'll need to sign off your letter. For a formal letter use:
Yours faithfully, OR
Yours sincerely,
For an informal letter, love is not always appropriate though English speakers use it a lot. Better would be to use:
Regards,
Yours,
Best wishes,
THE FREE IELTS GENERAL TRAINING WRITING TEST - TASK 1 TUTORIAL
11 September 2007
English Conversation
학교 다니면서 들으려고 레벨 테스트를 신청했습니다. 귀국한 후 영어는 혼자 공부해도 좋을 것 같아서 해커스 토익이나 미국 드라마 등을 들었는데요. 역시.. 대화가 필요한 것 같아요. 혼자 걸어다니면서 중얼중얼 대는 것도 하루 이틀이고... =ㅂ=;;;
Canada에 가기 전에 영어에 대한 흥미와 실력을 쑥쑥 키워주셨던 우리 훈남 싸이먼Simon 선생님께서 아직 계시는지 궁금하군요 >ㅂ<♡ 마지막 학기의 화룡정점이 될 오퍼레이션스 관리 수업을 과감히 9시 수업으로 올리고 =_=)v
영어는 생활~!!
http://langtopia.korea.ac.kr/
24 June 2007
SPARKS of GENIUS
23 June 2007
영자신문
약수역에서 Financial Times가 없어 다른 영자신문 중 무엇을 보면 좋을지 몰라 A신문과 B신문의 1면을 비교하고 있었다. 토요일이라 전자신문이 나오는 날이 아니었고, 경제 신문은 매일경제를 구독하고 있기 때문인다. 그렇다고 정치를 주로 다루는 신문은 보기 싫은 것이, 갑론을박 하는 모양새를 보고 있자면 답답해지기 때문이다.
이 때, 어떤 신문을 찾느냐며 말을 걸어온 남자. 내 관심분야나 전공, 영어실력 등을 물어보더니 자신의 학생들에게도 권하고 있고, The New York Times를 발행하는 곳에서 발행하는 신문으로서 단어나 글이 잘 써있다며 Herald Tribune 추천했다. 직접 Business 섹션을 펼쳐 보여주고, JoongAng Daily에서는 한국을 다루며, 가끔 IT 를 특별히 다루기도 한다고 했다. A 와 B 영자 신문이 정말 정말 나쁘다고 말하려는 것이 아니라, 타이포가 너무 많다며, 에디터를 구해야 한다고 생각한단다. =p Herald Tribune이 다른 신문보다 약간 더 비싸지만 단어 실력 향상에는 도움이 더 될것이라고 했다. 내가 Financial Times는 어떻냐고 묻자, 자신이 가장 좋아하는 신문인데 쉽게 찾을 수가 없다며 나와 같이 아쉬워했다.
동국대에서 학생을 가르친다는 John은 그의 깔끔하게 정돈 된 구레나룻 만큼이나 깔끔한 매너를 보여 주었다. 적극적으로 관심을 가져주고 주변에 있는 사람에게 도움을 주는 이 사람들. 정말이지 고맙고 사랑스럽지 아니한가. 현정쓰~ 이렇게 적극적으로 표현하는 도움이 필요해. =)
* 전자신문 구독 신청을 했다. 전화는 며칠 째 안 받아서 웹으로 신청하였다. 17,000/월
* Herald Tribune 1,300원/부
* 매일경제 1부 500원, 12,000원/월 (학생할인 6,000원/월)
16 June 2007
TOEIC 900점 턱걸이로 넘었다.
L/C:475, R/C: 430
1년 반 정도 전에 봤던 토익에 비해 L/C는 20점, R/C는 45점 오른 점수이다.
캐나다에서 수업을 들을 때 따로 단어나 문법 공부를 하지 않아서 그런지 '해외에서 공부 좀 했다' 할 만한 점수는 안 나왔네. =ㅂ=;; 일요일 아침부터 열심히 확성기로 장사하시던 아저씨만 아니었어도 L/C는 더 잘 나올 수도 있었는데 =p 문법과 단어 공부가 부족해서 R/C 성적이 낮은 것으로 판단된다. 900점은 넘었으니 토익 점수를 높이기 위한 공부가 아니라 영어 실력을 위한 공부를 할 생각이다. 영어 면접 준비도 겸해서 직장 영어를 공부해야지.
* 뉴토익은 처음 응시하는 것이라 R/C를 위해 해커스토익에서 정재현 선생님의 5월 정기토익 예상문제 해설 동영상 강의를 보았다. 여러모로 영어 공부에 해커스 덕을 본다.
* 뉴토익으로 바뀌면서 L/C는 전체적으로 R/C에 비해 문제 형식이 많이 바뀌었는데, 특히 Part3에서 하나의 대화에 문제가 3개라는 것을 모르고 봤다면 낭패를 볼 뻔했다.
8 June 2007
백선엽의 오피스 영어 - Office English | Ecobook English 405
저자 백선엽
출판사 넥서스
정가 : 9,000원
2005년 08월 15일 출간
468쪽 B6 1판
ISBN-10 : 8982206442
ISBN-13 : 9788982206443
원래 시트콤 회화 책을 살 생각으로 갔었는데, 운 좋게도 이 책을 발견했다. 회사 생활을 위한 살용적 영어를 익히기 위한 책으로 가장 적절할 것이라는 기대를 한다. 곁에 두고 친하게 지내야지 ^~^
운동하면서 mp3로 들었는데, 딱딱한 대화만 있는 것이 아니라 재미있다. 그렇다고 회사 안에의 상황만 있는 것도 아니다. 가끔 농담도 하고, 화내기도 하고, 비꼬기도 하는 등 재미있는 대화들을 듣고 있다가 피식 웃기도 한다. 그런 건 꼭 알아둬야 겠다는 생각이 드는 건 무슨 심보 ^^;;; 이미 글로벌화 되어있는 이 시점에 추천 한표.
http://www.nexusbook.com/ 에 회원가입하면 백선엽의 오피스 영어 mp3를 무료로 다운 받을 수 있다.