WRITING
1.Rules of punctuation
Exercise
Complete these rules of punctuation by filling in the gaps with the words below:
1. Every sentence in English starts with a …………………….
2. Every sentence in English ends with a …………………….
3. Names of days and months start with a …………………….
4. A question ends with a …………………….
5. You use a …………………….at the end of a sentence to express surprise.
6. At a……………………. you pause briefly.
7. Names of people, countries, places and organisations start with a …………………….
8. Language names start with a …………………….
9. You cannot use a ……………………. in the middle of a sentence except for names.
10. If a letter is left out of a word you must use an …………………….
Exercise
Insert the correct articles: the or a.
1. I have two fruit trees in my garden, …………… mango tree and ……………tamarind tree.
…………… mango tree is much bigger than …………… tamarind tree and its fruit is more
delicious. …………… mango tree fruits in August and …………… tamarind bears fruit in May.
Exercise
Insert a/an or the to complete the sentence.
1. My friend lives in ………………… small village in Baucau Province.
2. This weekend I am going to write ………………… letter to my friend.
3. Yesterday was ………………… hottest day of year.
4. Where is ………………… nearest restaurant?
5. Is there ………………… restaurant near here?
6. Where do I go to send ………………… letter? To ………………… post office.
7. We are expecting guests from Japan and China. ………………… guests from Japan are arriving
shortly, but ………………… guests from China arrive tomorrow.
8. We walked to a waterfall. Near ………………… waterfall we found ………………… small restaurant
where we had ………………… meal.
9. Yesterday we climbed Mt. Ramelau. When we got to ………………… top of …………………
mountain there was ………………… beautiful view.
10. What is ………………… highest mountain in the world?
2. Formal and informal writing
When we write a letter or an email we must decide whether the communication is formal or informal,
as this affects the language we use.
Usually informal writing is to friends or people we know very well, about non-work matters. Formal
writing is to people we don’t know, to business people or when writing about work issues, such as
applying for a job.
3. Writing a basic business letter
The following phrases are usually found in a standard business letter.
Starting the letter
Dear Sir/Madam, Use this if you don’t know who you are writing to.
Dear Ms Smith, Use a title and surname if you know the name of the person you are
writing to, and have a formal relationship with them. Common titles
are ‘Dr’, ‘Mr’, ‘Mrs’, ‘Miss’ and ‘Ms’. For women, use ‘Ms’ unless
you are asked to use ‘Mrs’ (for married women) or ‘Miss’ (for single women).
Dear Frank, Use a first name if the person is a close business contact or friend.
Referring to the letter or advertisement you are replying to:
• Thank you for your letter of 5 March.
• With reference to your advertisement in the Times
• In reply to your letter of 23 March,
• With reference to your phone call today,
Giving the reason for writing:
• I am writing to enquire about …
• I would like to apologise for …
• I am writing to confirm …
Requesting something
• Could you possibly …?
• I would be grateful if you could …
Agreeing to requests:
• I would be delighted to present the speech at your graduation ceremony.
• I would be pleased to assist you in your research.
• I would be happy to provide the information that you require.
Giving bad news:
• Unfortunately the meeting has been changed.
• I am afraid that I can’t come on Monday.
• I’m sorry for the late reply.
Enclosing documents
• I am enclosing the information you asked for.
• Please find enclosed the information you wanted.
• Enclosed you will find the information you requested.
• Attached is / are the document(s).
Closing
• Thank you for your help. Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
• Please feel free to contact us if there are any problems.
• Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Referring to future contact:
• I look forward to hearing from you soon
• I look forward to meeting you next Tuesday.
Signing off:
Yours faithfully, Use this if you started the letter with Sir/Madam
Yours sincerely, Use this if you know the name of the person you’re writing to
Best wishes/Best regards, you can use this if the person is a close business contact or friend
Then sign your name, and write it in full.
4.Writing a covering letter for a job application
When we apply for a job, we usually write a letter (called a ‘covering letter’) and a curriculum vitae.
The letter gives information about yourself, why you are applying for the job, your qualifications and
your personal qualities.
In English, letters have a very specific layout and format. Here is an example.
Your contact address
Your contact telephone number
Your email address
Date (day, month, year)
Going to (name or department)
Address
City
Dear Sir/Madam
ผู้จัดทำ
น.ส ภัทราภรณ์ มุ่งมี
น.ส วาริณี บุญมี
น.ส ณัฐริกา อะพรรัมย์ BE 3/2
ผู้โพส
นางสาว ศุภลักษณ์ ชาติชาวนา BE 3/2