It also separates the friendly touches that earn marks from the loose habits that lose them.
What the informal letter asks of you
An informal letter is written to someone you know well, such as a friend, cousin or grandparent. You usually share news, persuade, apologise, thank or invite. In IGCSE English the task describes a situation, and you reply in a voice that sounds personal but stays under your control.
The hard part is not being casual, because most students can do that. The hard part is being casual and organised at the same time.
A strong informal letter feels easy but has a plan. It opens naturally, moves through its news or argument in a sensible order and closes warmly. Markers look for this balance of ease and control.
Tone, layout and personal voice
The tone is warm and like conversation. Contractions (“I’m”, “we’ve”, “don’t”) are welcome. So are questions, exclamations and small side comments, as in real letters.
Sloppiness is not welcome. Avoid spelling shortcuts, run-on sentences and phone abbreviations. Informal is a tone, not an excuse.
The layout is lighter than a formal letter. You still put the date, and you start with a friendly greeting such as “Dear Aisha” or “Hi Grandpa”. You end with a warm sign-off such as “Love”, “See you soon” or “Your friend, Marcus”.
The body carries the personality. Speak directly to the reader, mention things you share, and change the pace of your sentences as you would in speech. Rules differ between boards, so check our qualification pages.
A worked example, written by our teachers
This is our own original writing, made for teaching.
Dear Priya,
You will never guess what happened at the swimming trials. I actually made the team! I know, I know.
After all my moaning about the early practices, you have every right to laugh. But when they read out my name, I grinned like a fool, and I thought of you first. You were the one who told me to stop giving up on things.
Anyway, I am writing to talk you into coming to the gala next month. Before you say no, yes, it is a long bus ride, and yes, my little brother will be there being annoying. But it would mean the world to have you in the stands.
Say yes, please!
Love, Hana
The letter is chatty but has a purpose. It opens with news, guesses the reader’s reaction, and then reaches its real aim: an invitation with a friendly push. Warmth and direction sit together in each paragraph.
This is easier to improve with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own recent work.
What a strong informal letter includes
- A natural opening, like a real greeting.
- A clear reason for writing, even under the chat.
- Direct address to the reader and things you share.
- Sentences of different lengths, so the voice feels alive.
- Warmth that suits this reader.
- A sign-off that matches the mood.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is a careless tone: “informal” becomes permission to stop punctuating. The second is a letter with no purpose, full of news that goes nowhere.
The third is a voice that never speaks to the reader, so the letter reads like a diary. The fourth is the opposite problem: a formal tone by mistake.
Students trained on business letters sometimes write to a best friend like a memo. Find your own habit and fix that first.
How this helps your other writing
The informal letter practises skills you use in every task: matching your tone to the reader, ordering ideas and varying sentences. It works as a pair with the formal letter.
If you can move between the two, you understand register better than most students. Our skills guides cover voice and structure, and our grammar guides cover the punctuation that keeps even a relaxed letter clean.
Next steps
Compare your letter with the annotated model responses, then try the practice tasks. The journal or diary entry also uses a personal voice, so it is good extra practice.
Students usually get stuck in one of two places: the letter turns stiff like a memo, or it turns careless and loses marks for accuracy. In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers show the student how to fix both with the same paragraph, written twice. This is part of our First Language English tuition, from RM70/hr.
Bring a recent letter to a paid one-hour trial lesson, and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.