English letters are an application form that people communicate the most thoughts and emotions. They focus on practicality, striving to be true, accurate, concise, and standardized; from the perspective of statistical data, the total number of letters written accounts for more than 50% of the written expressions in the college entrance examination.
Formal English letters generally include 7 parts :
(1) Heading: located in the upper right corner of the letter paper, referring to the unit name or address of the writer;
(2) Date: located in the next line of the recipient's address, and there are two common writing methods: month, day, year or day, month, year; (3) Inside Address: refers to the name and address of the recipient;
(4) Name (Salutation): refers to the title of the recipient;
(5) Text (Body): The main text is the main body of the letter, generally divided into two or three paragraphs;
(6) Conclusion/Complementary Close): Start from the middle of the next line of the text to the right. The letter at the beginning of the first word should be capitalized, and the end of the line should be used with a comma;
(7) Signature: The position is lower than the end of the text, flush with the polite words at the end of the letter. However, the current examination of English letter composition in the college entrance examination is generally provided with a simple format, and the candidates do not need to worry about the format, but instead let the candidates devote their main energy to the writing; despite this, students must also master the general format of letters.
English letters are generally divided into business letters and private letters. The college entrance examination is mostly for private letters; from the perspective of content, the types of letters are mainly: apology letters, thank you letters, friendship letters, inquiry letters, condolence letters, application letters, reply letters, complaint letters, invitation letters, letters of introduction, letters of certificate, letters of self-recommendation, letters of advice, cover letters and answer letters.
Please pay attention to :
(1) It must conform to English habits and avoid Chinese-style letter formats and contents;
(2) The center is clear and the language is concise. The content is usually written in paragraphs, each paragraph should be centered around a center to avoid being out of the theme and being boundless; different types of letters often have some idioms at the beginning and end, so you should pay attention to accumulation in daily life and can be used when writing;
(3) The tone is appropriate and the attitude is sincere. According to the relationship between the writer and the recipient, you should pay attention to the title, tone and style of speech, and be sincere and polite;
(4) If you are writing a letter to someone for the first time, you should introduce yourself at the beginning and indicate the purpose of writing;
(5) If you are writing a reply, you should usually mention receiving the other party's letter and express your gratitude; no matter what the topic is, you should generally express your expectation to receive the other party's reply;
(6) The format is correct, the writing is appropriate, and the beauty is elegant.
[Writing Task]
(New Curriculum Standard National Paper I)
Suppose you are Li Hua , and you want to work part-time at a foreign trade company during the summer vacation. You have written your application and resume. Write a letter to foreign teacher Ms. Jenkins and ask her to help you modify the text and format of the attached materials.
Note:
1. The number of words is about 100;
2. Details can be added appropriately to make the writing coherent.
[Question Review]
The task of this written expression is to write a letter of help, which is the category of application text; the main person is called the first person and the second person is called the main person; the tense is mainly based on the general present time.
Clear your writing ideas when reviewing the questions: first introduce yourself and indicate the purpose of writing the letter - seeking help; then indicate the specific matter of asking for help - help yourself modify the text and format of the materials attached to the letter; finally show your gratitude and hope to get a reply.
[Planning and Layout]
Step 1 - Determine the short article structure
According to the general structure of the help letter and the key points given, and integrate it, the main text can be divided into three paragraphs: the first paragraph: introduce yourself and indicate the purpose of writing the letter - ask for help; the second paragraph: what kind of help you want; the third paragraph: express your gratitude and look forward to reply.
Step 2 - Determine the key points and writing order
High-scoring strategy: complete points, accurate words, concise expression, concise sentence structure; do not add too much information; pay attention to the connection between sentences and the natural transition between paragraphs.
1. I am Li Hua, from your English writing class last semester.
Reference sentence pattern:
◆I’m Li Hua from your English writing class last term.
◆I’m Li Hua and I’m from your English writing class last term.
◆I’m Li Hua, coming from your English writing class last term.
◆I’m Li Hua, coming from your English writing class last term.
◆My name is Li Hua; I’m from your English writing class last term.
2. I wrote to you for help.
Reference sentence pattern:
◆I’m writing to ask for your help.
◆I’m writing to you, with the hope that I can get your help.
◆I’m writing to ask you to do me a favor.
◆I’m writing to ask a favor of you.
3. During the summer vacation, I want to apply for a part-time job at a foreign trade company in my city.
Reference sentence pattern:
◆I’m applying for a part-time job at a foreign company in my city during the summer vacation.
◆It is during the summer vacation that I’m applying for a part-time job at a foreign company in my city.
4. I know your daily arrangements are very busy, but I would be grateful if you can free up some of the time to browse them and make some necessary modifications.
Reference sentence pattern:
◆I know you have a very busy schedule, but I’d be very grateful if you could take some time to go through them and make some necessary changes.
◆Although/Though I know you have a very busy schedule, I’d be very thankful if you could take some time to go through them and make some necessary changes.
◆Although/Though I know you have a very busy schedule, I’d be very thankful if you could take some time to go through them and make some necessary changes.
◆Although/Though I know you have a very busy schedule, I’d be very thankful if you could spend some time going through them and make some necessary changes.
◆I know you have a very busy schedule, but I’d appreciate it very much if you could take some time to go through them and make some necessary changes.
[Reference sample]
(Warm reminder: good words and sentences are included in the underline.)
[Comments]
This help letter format meets the requirements of English letters. The main text is reasonable in segments, compact in structure, clear ideas, complete points, and reasonable in addition of information. The text is divided into three paragraphs: the first paragraph: introduce yourself and express the purpose of writing the letter; the second paragraph: the specific content of help; the third paragraph: express gratitude. The model essay uses accurate words, smooth and coherent language, and appropriate tone. In terms of language application, some advanced vocabulary, attributive clauses and adverbial clauses are used.
