Tick the features of a formal, academic letter.

Unit 1 Academic correspondence

By the end of this unit you will be able to

follow the rules of formal email etiquette

distinguish between various types of formal letters

organise and structure different types of letter

Lesson 1 Ready to start

Lead-in

Work in pairs and discuss these questions.

1What rules of etiquette do you know?

2 Why is it important to follow these rules?

3 What is email etiquette, in your opinion?

2 Complete the following formal email etiquette rules. Use the words in the list. You can use some verbs more than once. Add don't where necessary.

write attach address be start answer give

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

the receiver by name or title.

a meaningful topic in the subject line.

in capitals.

your email with a greeting.

understandable names to attachments.

clear, short paragraphs.

friendly and cordial, but____________ familiar.

files which are too large. _ within a reasonable time.

3 Which rules are relevant to your professional life? What rules can you add from your
own experience?

Formal style

4 Work in pairs. Mark expressions a-l with I if they are part of an informal letter to a
friend and F if they are from a formal academic letter.

aBy the way, are you going to the Statistics Conference, too? If so, I'll take the opportunity

to bring you the book you asked for in your previous letter. It's really magnificent.___

bMy name is Professor Copeland, and I am writing to you in order to request information

on the Statistics Conference to be held at your University in November, 2015. __

cYours faithfully,

Rebecca Copeland __

dDear Jane,___

eFirstly, could you provide details of the accommodation options? Secondly, I would be

grateful if you could provide information on the plenary speakers.___

fI wonder if you could share the worksheets you designed for teaching Probability, too?

ltd be wonderful to use them as well. _

gFinally, could you please clarify the deadline for registration? _

hHope to hear from you soon.___

iThank you in advance for your help with this. I look forward to receiving your

reply. _

j Best wishes,

Rebecca _

k Hi, there. I hope you're well, and your kids, too. Thanks very much for the teaching

materials you sent. I used them with my students and they thought they were great. _

l Dear Sir or Madam, __

5 Put the expressions in order to make two letters. What language features helped you complete the task?

Tick the features of a formal, academic letter.

1Colloquial expressions, that is expressions used in speaking, are numerous {What's up? Cheers!). _

2 Full words, not contractions, are used {will not instead of won't). __

3 Words and phrases that connect sentences meaningfully are used.____

4 The sentences are rather complex.___

5 Shortened versions of words are used {u instead of you, r instead of are).___

6 Emotional words like great, superb, etc. are used. _

Organising an email / a letter

7 Put these elements of an email in order.

aGive relevant information on the subject (What do you want to say?)

b State the aim (Why are you writing?)

с Describe the action you expect from the addressee (What do you want the addressee to

do?)

dClose your email/letter politely.

eOpen your email/letter with greetings.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 2137