Writing a formal letter in english about a newspaper ad (2)

Writing a formal letter in English
An example of a task :
You are trying to find accommodation for yourself in London while studying at a college there . You have the task of writing to Mr Sabir Siddique who has put the following advertisement in the newspaper . Read the advertisement and the notes you have made. Then write your letter to Mr. Siddique. Write a letter of 120 words . Do not write any addrsses.
Flat to let
Finsbury Park how far from central London?
10 minutes from Manor House tube
Self-contained ground floor flat big enough for two?
Bedroom, living room , study room
Fully furnished what furniture?
90 pounds per week any extras to pay like electricity?
Ideal for student
36 Stewart Street does it have a phone? available how soon?
London N4 2PP
0181 809 7985
A letter starts with a date , except when it is said that the date is not necessary . Usually on national examination, the date is already written on the writing paper.
Date must be written on the first line of the task and aligned right.
Possible ways of writing:
May 8, 2010
8 May 2010
Any other ways of writing a date is not advised because if you do so, you may lose points in an extremely easy part of a writing task.
On the next line of the letter it is important to start the letter with „ Dear “.
In case you didn’t get information from the task about the persons name you are writing to, you have to use
„Dear Sir/ Madam “ or „Dear Sir or Madam“
In case you know you are writing to a female person , but not her name, you have to use:
„Dear Madam“
In case you know you are writing to a male person, but not his name, you have to use:
„Dear Sir“
In case you know who you are writing to (for example John Doe or Jane Doe) you have to use:
„Dear Mr Doe“ or „Dear Mrs Doe“/„Dear Ms Doe“. NB! There is no punctuation after abbreviations „Mr“, „Mrs“ or „Ms“.
In case you are writing to a female person and you do not know wheter she has been married or not, it is not important whether you use „Ms“ or „Mrs“. You have to use one of them .
1. The first paragraph is meant for saying why you write, where did you get the information from and what the advertisement was about.
In case newspaper’s name is not mentioned in the task, it would be good if you could make one up.
P1: General information
For example: „I am writing to you in response to your advertisement in The Times about a flat to let at Finsbury Park, London.“
This would be the whole first paragraph and totally acceptable.
Usually it is quite well said in the task, which information you have to ask. There are about 6-7 questions . It is essential that you put them in a logical order . Some of the questions (at least 3-4 questions) should be indirect questions.
NB! Sentence „Could you tell me, when will be the flat available“ is NOT an INDIRECT QUESTION, because it is a request. Requests are not good to be used in a formal letter.
These questions should be used in one paragraph. It would be good if you could give some extra information about one of the questions, why you have to ask that. The extra information in my example is marked with yellow backround.
P2: Q1, Q2
P3: Q3, Q4, Q5
P4: Q6, Q7
For example, the second paragraph:
„Firstly, I would like to know how soon the flat will be available. How far is Finsbury Park from central London? The advertisement did not mention if there are any extras to pay like electricity or water.“
The third paragraph:
„ Another thing I am interested in is what kind of furniture there is in the flat. Is a phone included ?“
The fourth paragraph:
„Lastly, I would like to know if the flat is big enough for two persons. I am coming with my girlfriend and we would like to share the flat.“
It would be good if you could write a closing sentence.
P5: Closing sentence
For example: „If there is anything else we should be aware of, please let us know as soon as possible“ or „Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other information“.
It is compulsory to end the letter with „I look forward …“. It is NOT „I am looking forward to...“.
P6: Ending the letter
For example: „I look forward to your answer .“, „I look forward to your reply /response“, „I look forward to hear from you“.
A letter ends with „ Yours sincereley“ or „Yours faithfully“ or „ Best regards“
In case you have used a comma after „Dear Mr Doe,“, you have to use a comma in the end as well.
I advise to use „Best regards“, because it does not depend on the fact wheter you know the person’s name you are writing to or not.
In case you do know the person’s name and you do not want to use „Best regards“, you have to use „Yours sincerely“, and in case you do not know the name, „Yours faithfully“.
On the next line you have to write your full name. Use Mari Mets or Mart Mets on your examination.
Layout of a letter:
May 8, 2010
Dear -----,
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Best regards,
Silver Reinsaar
OR
8 May 2010
Dear ------
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Best Regards
Silver Reinsaar
A few things, good to know:
1. No short forms in a formal letter! (It is not allowed to use “It's”, “I'm”, “I've” etc. Instead of them, use “It is”, “It has”, “I am”, “I have”.

Linkers ! (It is essential to use linkers, especially in the beginning of a paragraph, in the end of a letter etc.) Some examples of linkers: firstly, secondly, thirdly, lastly, in conclusion, in addition , (un)fortunately, on the other hand , on the one hand, furthermore, frankly, personally, to be honest, to be exact, in my opinion, I suppose, as a matter of fact, what really matters etc. Look at New Headway Upper- Intermediate pg 114.

At least 3-4 indirect questions. You should add some extra information about one of them.

Word order:
In a question: küsisõna, abitegusõna, alus, öeldis.
For example: “When(KS) will(ATS) the flat(A) be(Ö) available?”
In an indirect question: küsisõna, alus, abitegusõna, öeldis.
For example: “I would like to know, when(KS) the flat(A) will(ATS) be(Ö) available.”
In an indirect question with IF: if, alus, öeldis.
For example: “The advertisement did not mention if(IF) the flat(A) is(Ö) available.”

Newspaper's name in the first paragraph. If there's not said in which newspaper the advertisement was, it is good if you could make one up.
Estonian newspapers are written without an article.
For example: in Postimees, in Päevaleht.
English newspapers are written together with an article.
For example: in The Times, in the Sun, in the Independent, in the Guardian.
In case you want to emphasize date when the newspaper was written, do not use any articles .
For example: “I am writing to you regarding to your advertisement, which I saw in yesterday 's Times.”
If we use “yesterday's”, we can't use an article. If we do not use “yesterday's”, we have to use the article only when we are speaking about an English newspaper.

The length of the letter is meant to be about 120 words. Asking a question, explaining one of them and giving information about the origin of the advertisement is far enough. You won't probably stay in 120 +/- 10% line if you start to give too much information and there will be more mistakes as well. In case you see the number of words is more than 120 +/- 10%, it is not a problem. They usually will read it through anyway. Irma Põder, the specialist in English at Eksamikeskus said that.