uk
enLetters of Giving News
Informal, semi-formal letters of giving good or bad news.
Formal letters of delivering good or bad news.
Greeting or Salutation
Formal Greetings
First names are NOT used, surnames or names and surnames are used), Miss or Mrs are NOT used if you don’t know whether she’s married or not.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Dear Sir or Madam,
Dear Mr/ Mrs Smith,
Dear Dr Smith,
Dear Mr John
Brown,
To whom it may concern:
Informal Greetings
First names are used.
Hi Pete,
Hello Jane,
Dear Mum,
Main Body
Openings
Acknowledging the letter of addressee.
Comments on the information from addressee.
| Formal | Informal | Semi-formal |
| I have carefully reviewed your information on… |
How are you?
How have the family been? I hope you are well. How are things? How are you? How’s it going? |
We appreciate your letter suggesting/saying/stating, etc… |
| We received your letter of January 1 regarding the… |
Thank you
Many thanks for your (recent, last) letter/postcard. |
I appreciated your valuable comment / information concerning… |
| Thank you for writing about the… | It was good/nice/great to hear from you again. | Thank you for your letter regarding …. |
| Thank you for taking the time to tell us about… | I was so surprised to hear that... | I have your letter dated… |
| Thank you for contacting me regarding your… |
I’m sorry I haven’t written/haven't been in touch for such a long
time. |
I received your letter of March 12, 2016. |
| Thank you for contacting me concerning your… |
It’s ages since I’ve heard from you.
I hope you're well. You and our family are well. |
Thank you for your recent letter outlining… |
Giving good news
| Formal | Informal | Semi-formal |
| I am happy to advise you that... | I am delighted to tell you that... | I am pleased to inform you that... |
| I am glad to inform you that | I thought you might like to know that... | We are happy to let you know that |
| I am to notify you,.. | Listen, did I tell you about…? You’ll never believe what… | I thought you might be interested to hear about / know that … |
| We are pleased to announce that | Oh, and another thing… This is just to let you know that… | - |
| We are proud to announce that… | By the way, have you heard about / did you know that…? | - |
or Giving bad news
|
Formal |
Informal | Semi-formal |
| I regret to advise you that.. | I am sorry to tell you that... | I regret to inform you that... |
| I would like to advise everyone that | I am afraid I have some bad news. | - |
| This is to advise that ... | - | - |
Conclusion. Closing remarks
| Formal | Informal |
| If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. | I can't wait to hear from you. |
| Looking forward to our successful partnership. | With affection (With all my love, or With love and kisses). |
| I am looking forward to getting your input on this issue. | I hope you are doing well! |
| Thanks again for sharing your expertise in this matter. | Give my regards to … |
| It's always a pleasure doing business with you. | Send my love to |
| We look forward to hearing from you. | I hope to be hearing from you soon. |
| Thanks again for your attention, consideration, and time. | Let me know what your plans are. |
| Thanks for your extremely helpful attention to this matter. | I am looking forward to seeing you again. |
| I await your reply with interest. | See you soon. |
Sample Letter
Share the latest news with your pen-friend. In your letter mention
- that you are studying abroad in an English-speaking country
- describe the school and say what you like and dislike about it
- how you spend your free time with new friends there
|
Dear Peter, Thanks a lot for your letter, in which you asked me how I have been doing and what new has happened in my life for the last time. I thought I’d drop you a line to let you know what I’ve been up to. You know, I won in the study exchange program. I’ve just come to England to improve my English and joined a school where my friend had studied the previous year. Honestly, I think it was the best event ever happening with me! The teachers are really encouraging and motivating and I’m learning a great deal from them. They are not just professional and experienced, they make you feel like having another family. They’ve even offered to show me the city around! What’s more, the school is very spacious and well equipped. There is whatever you need. There is also a very cosy canteen, where meals are not very expensive and taste like homemade. The school is near my location so I can sleep a bit longer, which is perfect, as you know I am a sleepyhead. On top of that, there is a cafe nearby, where they serve delicious and nourishing food so eating fast food is out of the question! Needless to say, I’m really enjoying myself, though there are a few things I don’t like. For instance, yesterday I was exhausted after the lessons. Believe it or not, each class lasts two hours and we have rather short breaks. To make matters worse, we get a load of homework to do with fairly tight deadlines. Anyway, I’m trying to keep my chin up – it will be good for my future! Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of free time, but when I can find some time I try to spend it with my new friends. We play basketball or watch some interesting films together. We do not spend a lot of time in social nets, I prefer live communication. Recently I have joined a club of photography. It is free of charge. Hope I will soon send you my professional photos. Write back soon. All the best. Ted |
Ideas for writing
Social events:
- balls,
- exhibitions,
- holidays,
- media event,
- media exposure,
- religious occasions,
- subscribing to media resources,
- volunteering experience, etc.
Professional/business events:
- agreements,
- appointments,
- being delegated additional duties/responsibilities,
- business or service,
- chief election,
- company anniversaries,
- conferences,
- contests,
- interviews,
- job-related parties,
- layoffs,
- meetings,
- new company policy,
- new employee welcome,
- price increase or decrease,
- product promotion,
- retirement,
- schedule or plan changes,
- seminars,
- sessions,
- speech presentation,
- success,
- the launch of a new product, etc.
Travelling
- agreements,
- appointments,
- being delegated additional duties/responsibilities,
- business or service,
- chief election,
- company anniversaries,
- conferences,
- contests,
- interviews,
- job-related parties,
- layoffs,
- meetings,
- new company policy,
- new employee welcome,
- price increase or decrease,
- product promotion,
- retirement,
- schedule or plan changes,
- seminars,
- sessions,
- speech presentation,
- success,
- the launch of a new product, etc.
Education
- academic achievements,
- curriculum changes,
- ed-camps,
- entertainment in education,
- extra class activities,
- first day of school/university,
- leadership,
- proms,
- receiving scholarship,
- university graduating, etc.
Personal, family news
- achievements/changes/plans,
- being awarded/praised,
- birthdays,
- broken engagements,
- child’s adoption,
- child’s graduation,
- class or job staff reunion,
- congratulations,
- divorce,
- doing a favour,
- engagements,
- family reunion,
- first day at work,
- funeral,
- gifts,
- holidays,
- house-warming party,
- moving in/out,
- other parties,
- publishing a book or an article,
- receiving guests,
- renting an accommodation,
- wedding, etc.
Entertainment
- adventures,
- amusement parks,
- circus,
- comedies,
- comics,
- dance,
- drama,
- entertaining events,
- entertaining shows,
- films,
- going out,
- humour,
- illusion,
- magic,
- movie,
- music,
- picnics,
- puppetry,
- spectacles,
- street theatre, watching birds/buskers, etc.
- theatre,
- toys, etc.
