Informal Letter

Formats for Informal Letter in the Malaysian school system:

Students are taught to:
include the writers address and date in the upper right hand corner. The
date can be written in different forms. (7th September 2009, 7
SEPTEMBER 2009 or 7.9.2009)
use the most common salutation. (Dear John)

indent paragraphs.

include a suitable complimentary close. (Your loving daughter)

Do not use Regards as it is considered slightly more formal and distant.

Also, do not use Best Wishes as this is considered inappropriate.

use proper punctuation. For example, a comma should be used after

the salutation and complimentary close.

use capitalisation where necessary. For example, the month of the date
(10 January 2009), the salutation (Dear Maria)

Under normal circumstances, it is perfectly acceptable to use informal

language (e.g. stuff, jam-packed) and contractions (Ill, wont) in an informal
letter, but this is usually not acceptable in the local examination system.
Lets look at some important aspects of an informal letter.
1.

Organisation

Paragraph 1 include formalities; give reason for writing the letter.

Paragraph 2 onwards depends on the reason for writing the letter. If
your reason is to tell the recipient about your holiday, then you will
include details of the holiday.
The last paragraph you can give a reason why you have to stop
writing such as:

I am sorry I have to stop here because it is getting late.

I am sorry I have to stop here because
I have to stop now because
Or you can simply end the letter in a number of appropriate ways as
shown in #3 below.
2.

Some useful expressions on how to begin an informal letter

>

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you.

>

Thank you for your letter. I was pleased to hear that you are in good
health.

>

It was really nice hearing from you. I am glad that you like your new
school.
>
3.

I hope this letter finds you in the pink (of health).

Thank you for the lovely birthday card.

Some useful expressions on how to end an informal letter

>

I promise to write to you soon.

>

>

Give my best wishes to your parents.

>
>

>

I hope you will reply soon.

I am looking forward to seeing you.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Do write and tell me how you are progressing.

Sample Question

Your younger sister, who is studying in a boarding school, has written to

complain that she finds the compulsory co-curricular activities very
tiring. Write a letter to her to explain the benefits of co-curricular

activities.
Use the notes given below to write your letter.
>

help you become a better person

>
>

learn good values - cooperation

>
>

respect for others

develop leadership skills

>
>

instill discipline

learn to organize activities

provide opportunities - to develop social skills

>

to take part in competitions

>
>

keep you healthy

get a good testimonial

When writing your letter, remember to include the following:

>
>

your address

a proper salutation/greeting
>
>

a complimentary close
all the notes given above

Sample answer 1
10, Jalan Mega Minang, Taman Minang Sari,
68000 Ampang, Selangor.
7 September 2009
Dear Lina,
It was lovely to hear from you. All of us miss you very much. Mum
and Dad are glad that you are slowly adjusting to life in a boarding
school.
In your letter you complained about the compulsory co-curricular
activities. Well, let me tell you that you can reap many benefits through
active participation in these activities. Firstly, the various co-curricular
activities help you become a better person (point 1). Participation in
uniformed units, clubs and societies, sports and games will help you
discover your talents and develop your character. You will become a
more confident and well-rounded person. The strict rules and good
behaviour expected of you as a member of a uniformed unit will instil
discipline (point 2) in you. This is important if you are to become a lawabiding citizen.
Besides, you will learn good values (point 3) through the various cocurricular activities. You will learn about the importance ofcooperation
(point 4) and respect for others (point 5). These values are very
important in a multi-racial society like ours.
You have always said that you admire great leaders like Nelson
Mandela and Abraham Lincoln. Well, co-curricular activities will certainly
help you to develop leadership skills (point 6). There will be ample
opportunities to enable you to become a good leader. Besides learning
how to plan events, you will learn to organise activities (point
7).Sometimes, you might even have to handle a challenging situation
and this will teach you how to make on-the-spot decisions.
More importantly, co-curricular activities provide you with many
opportunities (point 8) to help you develop social skills (point 9). As you
know, a person with good social skills has an edge these days. Extracurricular activities will also provide you with opportunities to take part

in competitions (point 10) at various levels. Schools usually select their

representatives for competitions at zone, state or national level by
looking at their students performance in school-level competitions.
These activities also keep you healthy (point 11). Who knows, you
might finally shed your baby fat! Most importantly, you will get a good
testimonial (point 12) if you are active in co-curricular activities. This will
definitely boost your chances when applying for a scholarship or a job.
There is no need for you to worry that participation in these activities
will affect your grades. On the contrary, it has been proven that students
who are actively involved usually do well academically.
I hope you will take the opportunities co-curricular activities provide to
experience new things and discover your strengths.
I have to stop here. I have to study for my trial examination, which is in
two weeks time. Till I hear from you, take care.
Your loving sister,
Shuhada
==========================================================
The sample above is meant to show weak students how they can get marks
for format and content.
Most of the sentences are simple sentences and the points are not
elaborated. If you are a weak student, try to insert some sentences to
elaborate on the points given.
Remember when you write an informal letter:
>

Do not use slang words.

>

Do not use words which are in a language other than English. This
means you cannot write Dear Abah, or Dear Amma even if that is how
you address your parents.

> Do not sign off with Love and Kisses. Keep that for your personal letters.

Formal Letter
Guidelines for Writing a Formal Letter:

Your address should appear on the

left-hand corner.
2. A horizontal line across the page separates your address from the
recipients address.
3. Address of the person to whom you are writing

The recipients address should bebelow your address.

The postcode and name of the town should be underlined.

4. Date

The date is written on the right along the same line as the last line of the

It

recipients address.
The month should be spelt out (i.e. it should be in words, not numbers).
must be written in full (do not use abbreviations such as Sept) and in
capital letters.

5. Salutation/Greeting

If you know the name of the recipient, then do use his surname (Dear
Mr
Tan)

If you do not know the name of the person to whom you are writing,
then
use Dear Sir or Madam

6. Subject heading

The subject heading gives the reader an idea what the letter is about.

Write the subject heading directly below the salutation and it should be
underlined
7. The body of the letter

The body of the letter refers to the contents of your letter.

It should be divided into short and clear paragraphs.

All paragraphs should be numbered except for the first and last
paragraphs.
a. In the first paragraph, you should state the reason for writing (whether it is
to inform, to complain, to invite etc).
b. From the second paragraph onwards, you should include information that is
deemed necessary, depending on what you are writing about.The number of
paragraphs depends on what you are writing.
c. In the last paragraph, state what you expect from the recipient. This is
usually in the form of an action or response. It is a common practice to end a
formal letter with phrases such as I look forward to hearing from you or I hope
prompt action will be taken to solve this problem.A note of thanks is usually
included

Remember to organise the information in a clear and logical manner.

Also, do not write lengthy paragraphs.

8. Ending

You can end the letter by writing Yours faithfully.

In practice, we usually use Yours

sincerely, if we know the recipient but for exam purposes I would

advise
you to use only Yours faithfully.
9. Signature
Do not forget to sign the letter and write your name below it in capital letters
with in brackets.

Sample question:
You are the Secretary of the Residents Association in your housing estate. Write a letter
to the director of the local municipal council to complain about the problems you and the
other residents are facing.
In your letter, include the details below:

rubbish not collected

causes terrible stench

stray cats and dogs scatter rubbish

clogged drains

breeding ground for mosquitoes

increase in cases of dengue fever

street lights not working

cause accidents at night

increase in crimeplayground not well- maintained

overgrown grass

playground equipment damaged

When writing your letter, you should remember to:

set it out in the correct format
include all the points given

address the letter to the director of the local municipal council

Rajvind Gill,
10, Jalan Jujur,
Taman Jayadiri,
68000 Ampang,
Selangor
The Director,
Ampang Jaya Municipal Council,
Bangunan Mentari,
Ampang Jaya,
68000
SELANGOR.
15 SEPTEMBER 2009
Dear Sir,
Poor Maintenance of Taman Jayadiri
I am writing this letter on behalf of the residents of Taman Jayadiri to complain about the
dismal conditions we have been putting up with for the past three months.
2. One of the main grouses of the residents concerns uncollected rubbish (point 1).
Initially, rubbish was collected three times a week. However, since June this year the
garbage collectors have only been coming once a week. Our litter bins are always filled
to the brim and we have no choice but to leave our bags of rubbish next to the bins. The
rotting waste causes a terrible stench (point 2). Worse still, stray cats and dogs scatter
the rubbish (point 3) while looking for food. This is not only unpleasant but also
unhealthy.
3. Most of the drains in Taman Jayadiri are clogged (point 4) with rubbish resulting in the
water becoming stagnant. It is not uncommon to see plastic bags, bottles and dry leaves
in these drains. There is an urgent need to clear these drains as the stagnant water is an
idealbreeding ground for mosquitoes (point 5). The residents are worried as there has
been a sharp increase in dengue cases (point 6) in the last two months.
4. The street lights along several roads are also not working (point 7). This has
caused several accidents at night (point 8), mostly involving motorcyclists as they are
unable to see in the dark. Unfortunately, the dark streets have also led to another

problem an increase in crime (point 9). Several residents, especially women, have fallen
victim to snatch thieves.
5. The one and only playground in our area is also not well-maintained (point 10).
The grass is overgrown (point 11) as it has not been cut for almost three months.
Besides, the playground equipment is damaged (point 12). Many of the see-saws and
swings have been spoiled by vandals.
I hope the council will look into our complaints and take prompt action to solve our
problems.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
RajvindGill
(RAJVIND GILL)

Speech/Talk
How to write a SpeechHere are some guidelines you should follow when giving a speech or a
talk.Lets look at a sample question:You recently won the Best Student Award in your school. You
have been asked to give a talk during assembly to share tips with the other students on what they
need to do so that they too can become successful students.Use the following notes to write your
speech.
Suggestions:

set goals

be motivated

pay attention

ask questions

be organised

complete homework on time

prepare well for exams

take part in co-curricular activities

obey school rules

respect everyone

Avoid:

wasting time

skipping school

When writing your speech, you should remember to:

address your audience

state the purpose of the speech

use all the points given

end your speech appropriately

E.g
Introductory Paragraph:
1. address your audience
2. introduce yourself
3. state the purpose of your speech
Second Paragraph
1. point 1 (set goals)
2. point 2 (be motivated)
3. point 3 (pay attention)
4. point 4 (ask questions)
Third Paragraph
1. point 5 (be organised)
2. point 6(complete homework on time)
3. point 7 (prepare well for exams)
Fourth Paragraph
1. point 8 (take part in co-curricular activities)
2. point 9 (obey school rules)
Fifth Paragraph
1. point 10 (respect everyone)
Sixth Paragraph
1. point 11 (avoid wasting time)
2. point 12 (avoid skipping school)
Final Paragraph
1. conclude appropriately

Here is a sample answer.

A very good morning to our beloved principal, Pn Laila Mohd Noor, senior assistants,
teachers and friends. On this glorious morning, I, Gary Tan the recipient of this years Best
Student Award am going to give a talk on How to Become a Successful Student. In my
speech, I am going to share with you some tips on how you can be a successful student.If
you want to be successful, you must set goals. Research shows that people who set goals
accomplish more than those who do not. In deciding your goals, ask yourself What do I
want to be? and What do I do to get there? Besides, you must be motivated. When you are
motivated you will have a strong desire to do well and to achieve your goals. In addition, you
must pay attention in class. Listen actively and focus on what the teacher is teaching. If you
have disruptive classmates, sit in front of the classroom, away from them. Always ask
questions if you do not understand. Seek clarifications from your teachers or your friends if
you are shy to approach the former.Another important tip to being a successful student is
to be organised.You can use a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when
they are given. This way you will not forget your homework, dates of tests or projects.
Remember, if you are organised you will be well- prepared and you will have less
stress. Moreover, you must complete your homework on time. Homework helps reinforce
what you have learnt. It helps you understand and remember the information. You must
prepare well for exams. A successful student is one who prepares for exams well in advance,
and not at the eleventh hour. If you study consistently, you will have ample time for
revision.Friends, to be a successful student you must have diverse interests.You should take
part in co-curricular activities in order to become a well-rounded person. These activities
help develop leadership skills and teamwork besides instilling values like cooperation and
tolerance. Discipline is an important aspect of our lives. No matter where you go or what you
do, you will be subjected to rules and regulations. Hence, it is crucial that you obey the
school rules.
Dear friends,What is success if you lack the common courtesies in life? Remember,you must
respect everyone. You must respect your parents, your teachers, the school staff and also
your friends. You must respect other peoples feelings and opinions.There are also several
things you must avoid if you want to be a successful student. You must avoid wasting
time. These days many teenagers spend hours on social networks such as Facebook or
playing computer games. These are a waste of time and will not benefit you in any way.
Remember, Time and tide wait for no man. Also, avoid skipping school. Some students feel
that school is a waste of time as they can learn better from their tuition teachers. This is not
true. The teachers in our school are experienced and well qualified. They are also
experienced examiners and they know how to impart knowledge effectively. I have to stop
here. I hope you have found my talk helpful. Thank you for listening attentively.