Writing a formal letter

This page has a worked opening from our teachers.

Why the formal letter is tested

The formal letter is a directed-writing task on the IGCSE and International GCSE English routes we teach. You get a situation and a reader, such as a head teacher, a council, a company or an editor. You write to them for a clear purpose: to complain, request, apply or persuade.

The task tests two things. Can you use the conventions of a form that most students rarely write? Can you stay polite and controlled while still making your point strongly?

A formal letter is harder than it looks, because mistakes show. A wandering tone or a vague purpose stands out, because your reader is a real person who would notice careless writing.

Five steps to a good letter

1. Open with a greeting and your reason for writing. The first sentence should say why you are writing. A busy reader wants to know what you want at once.
2. Organise your points. Use one idea per paragraph, in an order that builds your case.
3. Support each point. Give a reason, an example or a result. A formal letter persuades by being reasonable, not loud.
4. Keep the register steady. Register means the level of formality. Use no slang, no contractions and no sudden friendliness. Stay polite but firm from start to finish.
5. Close with a next step. Say what you would like to happen, and end with a sign-off that fits your greeting.

Layout details, such as addresses, dates and the exact sign-off, differ by board and task. Check them against the current syllabus on our qualification pages.

A worked opening

This opening is our own, written for teaching. The task is a letter to a bus company about an unreliable school bus.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to raise a concern about the number twelve bus, which many students at my school use to reach class each morning. Over the past term, the bus has arrived late so often that being on time has become unusual. I hope the company will look into the cause and act.

This opening states the purpose in the first sentence and says who is affected. Its tone is firm but not rude. It tells the reader what the letter will ask for.

Common mistakes

• Register drift. A formal opening slides into a casual middle, with a contraction here and a chatty comment there.
• No clear purpose. The letter is full of complaint but never makes a request.
• Poor order. Points appear in the order the writer thought of them, not in an order that builds a case.
• Wrong tone. Some letters are rude, and some beg. Neither persuades a real reader.
• No ending. The letter simply stops instead of asking for the outcome.

Examiners reward a letter that sounds like a reasonable person writing to a real reader with a real aim.

How to practise

Start with openings. Choose a situation and a reader, then write only the greeting and the purpose sentence.

Do several. A direct opening is more than half the battle, and it is quick to write.

Next, practise register control. Read a letter you wrote and look only for slips such as contractions, slang or sudden friendliness. Rewrite each one.

Then write a whole letter and underline the sentence that makes your request. If you cannot find it, or it is buried, rewrite until it is easy to see.

It also helps to picture your reader as one busy person, such as a manager with a full desk. This keeps your tone human and your request clear.

Where students usually get stuck

Most students know the format but slip in tone, or forget to ask clearly for what they want. In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers read your real letters and mark exactly where the tone drifted and where the request was unclear.

We then drill that one fix. This is part of writing-paper focus teaching, for both First Language English and ESL students.

Tuition starts from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial and bring a letter you wrote. The teacher who would continue with you will show you where it works and where to sharpen it.

What to read or try next

Study the annotated model response for a directed-writing letter, then try the practice tasks. Then read how to write a report and how to write a review.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to try the skill on a task of your own. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.