writing skills useful expressions informal letter

How to Write a Job Application Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter is essential when applying for jobs. This is the perfect way to express how your specific skills are relevant to the open position. Wow your future employer with this simple cover letter example format.

Writing a first draft makes your letter concise and professional, states The Balance Careers. Organize your thoughts by making a list of what you’re trying to convey. Make sure you prioritize certain aspects like your previous job experience and why you would be a good fit for the position. Clearly state what position you’re interested in and why. Think about why you’re applying and what caught your eye about this specific position. Your cover letter will be easier to write after your thoughts are collected and organized.

Customize Your Salutation

When writing a salutation, make sure you know who you are writing to. Is this person the owner of the company or a Human Resources administrator? If you’re not sure, research the company to find out. Addressing your cover letter to a specific person shows initiative and attention to detail. After your salutation, start your letter with a short introduction of yourself. This gives future employers insight into who you are and the purpose of your cover letter.

Write Intentionally

Your cover letter should be no more than one page, so keep your points brief. Clearly state what position you are interested in and why. Explain why you are a good fit for the company because of your past job experience. If you have no similar job experience, let the employer know why you are changing career paths. Expand on your skills and give specific examples of how that skill set helped you at your last position. Name projects you’ve worked on and show results.

Close Your Letter

End your cover letter with a brief sentence and sign off. Thank the employer for their time and express your interest towards the job again. Let them know you’ll follow up with them if you do not hear back within a week and leave your contact information. Sign off with a professional farewell and leave room for a signature if sending a hard copy.

Edit and Proofread

As you finish writing your cover letter, make sure you take time to edit and proofread your document. Make sure it’s structured in a professional format with the company’s information, the salutation and introduction, the body of the letter, a brief closing sentence and farewell. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes to ensure a formal result. Make sure all names are spelled correctly, as well.

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Important Phrases to Use for Informal Letter Writing

Table of Contents

An informal letter is written to close friends, family members, and acquaintances . Unlike a formal letter, the recipient is often known and personal. Phrases for informal letter writing are typically more relaxed and have a unique tone.

What Is An Informal Letter?

An informal letter is a letter written to friends and family members. It often gives a general overview of your day, tell them of plans for the weekend, and provide general news.

The phrases used in informal letter writing are much more friendly and less professional than those used in formal letters. These phrases help you express your emotions and convey your message correctly.

Phrases for Informal Letter Writing

Informal letters are personal to the author and the recipient and offer little to no formal information. Its goal is to deliver news, updates, or other pieces of information. The content is often short and straightforward and not meant to impart much information.

Informal letter phrases are expressions used to communicate important information in a letter to the reader. They add a casual tone and personal touch to the letter. If used correctly, they can add personality to a business letter and influence decision-making.

The phrases used for informal letter writing will offer a more subtle tone and content than a formal letter. Instead of strict and professional language, informal letters show a more friendly or conversational style. These letters avoid the use of standard terminologies.

1) Salutation/Greeting

The salutation for an informal letter is friendly and casual. Some of the phrases you can use in the greeting of your letter include:

• ‘Dear (name of person).’
• Dearest Sister, My dear brother, Dear aunt.
• Mrs, Ms, or Mr (when addressing someone older to show respect).

2) Introductory paragraph.

This is where you open your letter. You might want to ask about the recipient’s health and wellbeing. Your tone should be friendly. Phrases you can use include:

• How are you? How’s life treating you?
• It’s been a while since I’ve written.
• Thanks for your letter.
• Lovely to hear from you.
• I hope you’re well.
• How are you? How’s the weather over there?
• I hope this letter finds you in good health.
• How are things with you? How’s life?
• I hope you and your family are well.
• It’s great to hear from you.

The body of your letter is where you give details about the letter’s purpose and include pertinent information. You could use idioms and filler words. The overall tone should be casual. You can use the phrases below when writing the body of your letter.

a) Commenting on something (Referring to Good/Bad News)

• Glad to hear/I’m delighted to hear/I’m pleased to hear
• I’m sorry to learn/I’m sad to hear/
• Such fantastic news to hear/It’s great to hear

b) Moving on

• The reason I’m writing
• I’d like to ask
• Anyway, I was wondering
• Did you hear about

4) Conclusion/Ending

Here, you should summarize and say a warm goodbye. You can also request the recipient to write back to you. The following phrases are suitable for concluding your letter.

• It was great catching up.
• Hope to hear from you soon.
• I must go now.
• Kindly write back soon!
• I am looking forward to hearing from you again.
• I can’t wait to hear from you soon.
• Please give my regards to

5) Signature/Sign off

Choose a greeting that suits the individual you are writing. You can use any of the phrases below to sign off.

• Best wishes/Kind regards/Regards
• Yours/Yours affectionately/Your sister
• Lots of love/Hugs and kisses/With love
• Bye for now/Take care

The phrases for informal letter writing listed above are a general overview of the terms you could use. The terms used for informal letter writing would usually depend on the context of the conversation .

Informal letter phrases are great to include in a letter that is not designated as formal writing. Remember that furbishing a letter with an appropriate and helpful expression will help establish a personal connection with the recipient.

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

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Everyday English: Writing an informal letter

ABC Education

• X (formerly Twitter)

Transcript:

Sarah: Hey Sarah and Jack here. Welcome to Everyday English! 

Sarah: Jack, what are you doing?

Jack: Hang on a second. I'm just sending an email to a friend. 

Jack: Done! 

Sarah: Well today we're going to give you some tips for writing informal letters and emails.  

Sarah: Informal letters and emails are the ones that we'd write to people that we knew well. For example, our friends or our family members. Whereas formal letters and emails are ones that we might send to a stranger or to our bosses.  

Sarah: The language that we use in informal letters is more casual and relaxed. It's language that's more similar to the way that we speak. The structure of an informal letter is also more relaxed. Although we do have some tips that you can follow to make your informal letter or email clear and easy to understand. 

Sarah: Shall we get started? 

Jack: Sure.  

Jack: I'm going to write an email to my friend, Nic. Now the first thing I have to do is think of a greeting. It's an informal email so I can start with a more casual greeting.  

Jack: I could say: 

Jack: I can use an exclamation point here to show that I'm excited to write to him but that's something I wouldn't do in a formal email or letter. I can also use Nic's first name without a title. I could follow that with a friendly expression like: 

• How are you? 
• How are you going? 
• I hope you're well.  

Jack: Or if I'm responding to an email that he's sent me, I could say: 

• Thanks for your email. 
• It was great to hear from you. 
• I enjoyed reading your email. 

Jack: I'm going to divide my email into short paragraphs to make it easier to read. Now I can start the main body of my email. Here I have to think about why I'm sending the email. It could be to respond to some news that my friend has told me which could be happy or sad. For example: 

I'm so happy to hear about your engagement.  I'm really sorry to hear that you've been sick. 

Jack: Or to say congratulations or thank you. It could be to give Nic some news of my own. For example: 

I wanted you to know that I'm coming to visit you next week.  

Jack: I could be writing to make an apology. For example:  

I was really sorry to miss your party but I had to work. 

Jack: Or it could be to send an invitation or respond to an invitation. For example:  

I'm having a birthday party and I would love you to come. 

Thank you so much for your invitation. I would love to come.  

Or it could be to make a request or ask for a favour. 

Sarah: There are different levels of politeness that you can use when making a request. The most polite way to ask is indirectly. For example:  

I would be grateful if you could send me the photos you took at the wedding.  I would really appreciate it if you could send me the photos you took at the wedding. 

Sarah: Another polite way to ask is to write: 

Could you please send me the photos?  Could you send me the photos, please? 

Sarah: Then there's a polite but more direct way. For example: 

• Could you send me the photos? 
• Can you send me the photos? 

Sarah: The most direct way is to say: 

Please send me the photos.  Send me the photos, please.

Sarah: Now how polite you want to be depends on who you're writing to and what you're asking for.  

Jack: Sometimes you can finish up your letter by making a suggestion or recommendation to your friend. For example: 

• You might want to bring something to drink. 
• If you like, we can visit a winery while you're here. 

Jack: Then you can finish off your letter. There are lots of options here. For example:  

• Give my love/regards to your family. 
• Say hello to the kids for me. 
• Thanks again for your help. 
• I hope to hear from you soon. 
• See you soon. 
• Write soon. 
• Keep in touch! 

Jack: Then you can sign off with: 

• Lots of love, 
• Best wishes, 
• All the best, 

Sarah: They're some suggestions but what you write in an informal letter is really up to you. Remember, because it's informal you can use more contractions like: 

Sarah: You can also use more idioms and colloquialisms. For example:  

• I was feeling under the weather.  
• The party was awesome.  

Sarah: So have you finished your email? 

Jack: All done.  

Sarah: Let's have a look. 

Hey Nic,   How are you going?  Thanks for sending me the photos from your holiday. It looks like you had a great time!   How're Leah and the kids? And what about your dog, Snoopy? He was just a puppy last time I saw him.   I'm sorry that I couldn't get to your birthday party. I would have loved to come but I was really busy at work and it was hard to get away. Thanks for the invitation though.   Would it be possible for you to send me some photos from the party? I'd love to see how it all went.   I can't wait until you come to visit in March. Do you know how long you'll be staying? I'll try to think of some fun things to do.   See you soon.  All the best,   Jack  P.S. Sarah says hello 

Sarah: Aww... that's nice. By the way PS stands for postscriptum which is Latin for "written after". We sometimes use it to add something to a letter after it's been written and signed.  

Jack: Well I hope that's helped to give you some tips on writing an informal email. 

Sarah: Have a go at writing to your friends in English. It's a great way to practise and because they're your friends, it's OK if you get something wrong.  

Jack: That's it from us for now.  

Sarah: See you later. 

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How to Write Informal Letters in English (with Examples)

By: Author ESLBUZZ

Posted on Last updated: December 24, 2019

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Learn how to write informal letters in English (with Examples). Informal letters are social or friendly letters. They are usually written to people we know personally, for example, members of our family, relatives, friends…Informal Letters are written in a conversational and friendly tone.

We write informal letters to:

• Ask someone something
• Catch up with someone
• Confide in someone
• Discuss personal issues
• Express our innermost feelings
• Inform someone of something
• Thank someone
• Keep in touch and/ or reminisce with someone
• Introduce places of interest to someone

Before you write an informal letter, as yourself the following questions.

• Who are you writing to?
• What do you want to tell/ ask your recipient? Why?
• Is there anything you would like your recipient to do? If so, what is it?

How to Write Informal Letters?

The address

• The writer’s address is usually written at the top right hand corner.
• There is a comma (,) after each line.
• There is a full stop (.) at the end of the address.
• You can include the name of your state (Melaka) if you are writing to someone in another state (Pahang).
• Include the name of your country (Malaysia) if you are writing to someone overseas eg. India.
• Write the date below the address.
• Use the correct English spelling of the month.
• When replying to a letter given, your date should be a few days after that of the letter given.
• There are different ways of writing the date:

1 st  March 2010.

March 1, 2010.

01 / 03 / 2010

The greeting/ salutation

• The greeting or salutation is written one line below the date, on the left hand of the page ended by the comma (,).
• The salutation used depends on how close you are to the person you are writing to
• Dear ………..  is most often used and always correct. You can use it for anyone, from your mother to a new pen- pal.
• My dear… ….   is used if you have a close relationship with someone, like your family or best friend.
• Dearest and My dearest……… are usually used only for people you love.
• The ending is written below the closing remarks on the right hand side of the page.
• The ending depends on whom you are writing to.
• When writing to a family member or a relative you can end with:

  i) Yours affectionately,

  ii) Yours lovingly,

  iii) Your son,

• When writing to friends or pen-pals you should end with:

  Yours sincerely,

• Your name or signature is written below the ending.

Useful phrases and vocabulary for Informal Letters

Opening Remarks:

• How are you? I hope you are in the pink of health.
• Thank you for your interesting letter.
• I received your letter yesterday/ a few days ago.
• What a surprise! It’s really good to hear from you.
• How is everyone in the family? Well, I hope.
• I am really glad to hear from you.
• How are you? I am sorry I couldn’t write earlier.
• This letter will probably come as a surprise to you.
• What a pleasant surprise it was heard from you after such a   long time.

* Extending Invitations:

• Would you like to join me on a trip to Pantai  Remis?
• How about coming over to my place next weekend?
• I would like to invite you to my brother’s wedding that will take place on the 16 th  of  August.
• My friends and I are planning to go camping during the holidays. Why don’t you come along?
• If you have not made any plans for the holidays, perhaps you would like to join us on a trip to Cameron Highlands.

Responding to Invitations/ Accepting Invitations:

• I’d be glad to join you and your friends on the trip.
• I’d love to come over to your house.
• Thank you for your invitation. I’d be glad to come to your birthday party.
• Of course, I would love to attend your brother’s wedding. Thank you for inviting me.

Declining Invitations:

• Thanks for your invitation. However, I am sorry I will have to turn it down as I have already promised my father that I’d join him on a fishing trip.
• Although I’d love to join you, I am sorry to say that I will not be able to make it.
• I am sorry to inform you that I will not be able to attend your sister’s wedding.

To express Appreciation/ Gratitude:

• Thank you for your advice.
• It was really thoughtful of you to help us in our time of need.
• How kind of you to think about us!
• I truly appreciate your kindness.

To express thanking (thank you letter):

• Thank you so much for…
• I want to thank you for…
• I want to express my gratitude…
• I am grateful for…
• I deeply appreciate…
• I feel touched that you…
• Your gesture was extremely…
• Your gift was incredibly…
• Your thoughtfulness was truly…

To express Places of Interest:

• You may like to drop by…
• You may like to stop at…
• You may like to visit…
• You may be amazed by…
• You may be fascinated by…
• You may be interested in…
• It may interest you to know that…
• It may surprise you to discover that…

Keeping in Touch:

• How long has it been since…
• It has been ages since…
• I cannot believe we have not heard from each other since…
• I am sure you would be surprised to know that…
• You may be interested to know that…
• Can you recall the time when…
• Do you remember when…

Closing remarks:

• That will be all for now. I shall write again when I have the time.
• Please convey my warmest regards to your family.
• Best wishes to you and your family.
• Please give my love to Grandma.
• Good luck in your coming examination.
• Do write soon.
• I hope to hear from you soon.
• Do write again when you have the time.

How to Write Informal Letters | Image

How to Write Informal Letters Effectively.

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Tuesday 21st of September 2021

It was really good information. Thank you so much.

Thursday 11th of March 2021

Information was helpful. Thank you

rishitha reddy

Friday 4th of December 2020

i want the letter you already written that is better

Thursday 29th of August 2019

This made me a better man, thank you god

Informal Letters

Letter writing is an important skill to develop. Written communication in both the formal and personal matters is crucial and so it is necessary to develop a skill for letter writing . Here we will focus on how to effectively write informal letters, and tips to improve our efforts. Let us get started.

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Informal letters are written to close acquaintances of the writer, their friends, family, relatives, etc. Since they are written to close relations the letters have an informal and personal tone. Casual language is used while writing informal letters. And sometimes the letters may even have an emotional undertone.

Informal letters are mainly used for personal communication . So they do not have to follow any specific pattern, format or conventions. They can be written as per the writer’s wishes and the requirement of the situation. So the letter is written in a personal fashion in casual unassuming language.

(An Example of an Informal Letter)

Format of Informal Letter

As we discussed earlier there is no set format when writing an informal letter. But there is a general pattern, some conventions that people usually follow. We will be looking at this pattern and certain tips on how to write effective and attractive informal letters. These can act as guidelines when you are drafting a letter, they are not hard and fast rules. Let us begin.

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The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the writer. We usually write the address on the left-hand side of the page at the very top. The address should be accurate and complete. Even when writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with ease. If the recipient of the letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country as well in the address.

Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the reader to have a reference as to when the address was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter.

Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or someone close to your age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Alex”. If you are writing to your relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for example, “Dear Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person, someone you respect greatly you can address them as Mr or Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory letter to your teacher, it can be addressed as “Dear Mrs. Alex”.

Introduction Paragraph

And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters .

Learn how to write amazing stories from this Story Writing Guide .

Body of the Letter

The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you have to adjust the language and the wordings according to who you are writing to. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual and flippant even. But if you are writing to an elder relative, you must be extremely respectful and considerate.

One way to determine the tonality of your letter is to remember how you talk to the person in a conversation. And then apply the same syntax and sentiments to the letter.

In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing the letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a meaningful and affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite the reader to write back or reply to your letter. It shows an intention to keep the conversation going.

There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they do not follow a strict format, you may sign off as you please. Some commonly used phrases are

• Lots of Love
• Best Wishes,
• Kind Regards,

Pick the one that best suits the occasion and then simply sign your name below the greeting.

Writing a Formal Letter? Learn the correct format of  formal letter here .

Solved Example for You

Q: Hannah had stayed at a friend’s house for a week, but she left a briefcase there, which had several important documents in it. In a letter to her friend, Jeremy Simmons, she asks him to send her the briefcase as soon as possible. Which of the following would be a suitable closure for the letter?

• Yours Faithfully
• Yours Sincerely
• Warm Regards
• All of the above

Ans: The correct answer is C. When writing a letter to a friend, we end it with a closing that expresses the friendly nature of your relationship. Hence “Warm Regards” is the correct option as it does so. The other two options lack the emotional connect and are strictly professional. They are better suited to formal letters.

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An informal email.

Look at the exam question and answer, and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Check your understanding: multiple choice

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