A formal email or letter is written to someone you do not know personally — a company, an official, an editor. Register, structure and appropriate phrases are all assessed.
Tap whether each phrase is appropriate for a formal email.
1."I am writing to enquire about the vacancy."
☐ formal☐ informal
2."Hi! I wanna ask about the job."
☐ informal☐ formal
3."I would be grateful if you could look into this matter."
☐ formal☐ informal
4."It's really disappointing and I'm not happy."
☐ informal☐ formal
5."I look forward to hearing from you."
☐ formal☐ informal
6.You are writing to someone you don't know. Which sign-off is correct?
☐ Yours faithfully☐ Yours sincerely☐ Best wishes
Complete with formal phrases (8 points)
Complete each gap with the correct formal phrase.
7.I am ___________ to enquire about the position advertised on your website.
8.I would be ___________ if you could send me further information.
9.I am writing to ___________ my dissatisfaction with the service I received.
10.I look ___________ hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
11.I would like to ___________ that a recycling programme be introduced in the building.
12.I trust that you will take the ___________ steps to resolve this issue.
13.I am writing ___________ regard to your recent announcement about staff redundancies.
14.I would ___________ it if you could arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.
Rewrite in formal language (6 points)
Rewrite each informal sentence in appropriate formal language.
15."I'm really unhappy about the product I got." →
16."Can you please sort this out ASAP?" →
17."I want to know about the job." →
Write a formal email (8 points)
Write a formal email to the manager of a company. You recently bought a product that was faulty. Complain politely and request a replacement or refund. Write 140–190 words. Include: salutation, opening, body, closing line, sign-off.