A.

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF AN EMAIL/ A LETTER

Greeting/ Salutation (Lời chào):

· Dear Tom,

*1st paragraph (mở đầu): Starting your email (Bắt đầu bức thư). Use one of
the following phrases to start your email:

· Thanks for your letter/ email. (Cảm ơn bạn đã viết thư)

· It’s lovely to hear from you. (Rất vui khi nhận được tin tức từ bạn)

· How are you? (Bạn khỏe không?)

· How are things? (Mọi việc thế nào)

· I hope you're well. (Mình hi vọng bạn khỏe.)

And comment on the information mentioned in the email that you received from
your friend

(Và nhận xét về một thông tin trong bức thư mà người bạn viết cho bạn)

· I'm sorry to hear/learn ... Mình rất tiếc khi nghe được/ biết rằng...

· I'm so pleased to hear ... Mình rất vui khi biết rằng

· I’m so pleased to hear that you are getting married next month

you have got a new job.

· It's great to hear ... Thật vui khi biết rằng

· What wonderful news about ... Tin tức về.. thì thật là tuyệt

Example:

Thank you for your letter. I'm sorry I haven't written for so long but I've been
really busy studying English to pass B1 test. It's great to hear that your all
family are fine.

2nd paragragh: Focus on the main ideas and answer the questions as
requested. You can start by stating the reasons for writing: (Viết vào nội dung
chính, trả lời các câu hỏi trong đề bài. Sử dụng một số các cách chuyển câu như
sau)

· Anyway, the reason I'm writing ...

· I thought I'd write to tell/ask you

· Anyway, I was wondering ...

3rd paragraph: Use one of the following ways:

· Well, that's all for now.

· I will write back soon.

· I’m looking forward to hearing from you again.

· All the best/ Best wishes/ See you soon/ Take care/ Yours/ Love/ Lots of love

· Yours sincerely,

· Yours faithfully,

(Tất cả các từ/ cụm từ này đều có dấu phẩy (,) phía sau)

Example:

I have to get back to work now. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

B. TYPES OF EMAIL/ LETTER

B1. Formal letters/ Emails:

1. AN EMAIL OF COMPLAINT
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
2. EMAIL OF APOLOGY
USEFUL LANGUAGE
Give a brief description of the issue
- I am afraid I…
- I regret to say that…
- We are very sorry that you received a defective…

- Thank you for your letter informing me that……

- With reference to your letter of November 20th, I……

Apologize for an action, mistake or omission

- I apologize for/ for not
- I must apologize for
- I am extremely sorry for

Explanation
- This was due to
- This was because if
- This reason for this was
- The reason for this has been that I forgot / misunderstood……
- I can offer no excuse to except that……

Promise to rectify the situation (if possible)

- I am coming to…… next week, so I……
- I am pleased to inform you that we are prepared to replace your faulty…… with
a new one.
- I wonder if you bring with you the…… and our receipt to any showrooms during
business hours. Our staff will then replace the faulty…… with a new one for you.

The conclusion
- Please accept our apologies for having delivered a fault product to
you
- We very much regret for the inconvenience the holiday…… has caused to you
- We hope that the refund/replacement will restore your confidence in us and
establish
goodwill

3. EMAIL OF APPLICATION
3A. An application letter for a job
3B. An application letter for a course

USEFUL LANGUAGES
4. EMAIL OF GIVING INFORMATION

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
5. AN EMAIL OF REQUEST

COMMON STRUCTURE OF AN EMAIL OF REQUEST

USEFUL LANGUAGES

1. Request for goods and services

2. Request letters for information
6. AN EMAIL OF GIVING OPINION
B2. INFORMAL LETTERS:

Informal letters are usually written to family members, friends, relatives etc.

Useful language

Useful phrases for the opening

· How are you? / How have the family been? / I hope you are well.

· Thank you / Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter / postcard.

· It was good / nice / great to hear from you again.

· I was so surprised to hear that……

· I’m sorry I haven’t written / haven’t been in touch for such a long time

· It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re well / you and your family
are well.

How are things? / How are you? / How’s it going?

Other useful phrases

Referring to news

· Great news about……Glad to hear that……Sorry to hear about……

Giving news

· Listen, did I tell you about……? You’ll never believe what…… Oh, and
another thing……This is just to let you know that……

· I thought you might be interested to hear about / know that……

· By the way, have you heard about/ did you know that……?

Apologies

· I’m writing to apologies for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.

· I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with
my new job

Invitations

· I’m/ we’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/ we hope you’ll be able to
come.

· I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre / come on holiday with us.

· Thank you for asking / inviting me to……but I’m afraid I won’t be able
to……

Requests

· I’m writing to ask for your help / you (if you could do me) a favor.

· I wonder if / I was wondering if you could help me / do me a favor.

 Thank you / Congratulations / Good luck

· I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present. It was
so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.

· I really appreciated all your help / advice.

· Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results!

Making suggestions and recommendations

· Why don’t you……? / Maybe you could ……? / How about……? You can’t
leave New York without (……doing sth)

Closing

· Give a reason why you’re ending the letter: Anyway, I must go and get on
with my work! / I guess it’s time I got on with that studying I’ve been avoiding.

· Send greetings and / or make reference for future contact

· Closing statement such as Love, Lots of Love, All the best, Take care, Best
wishes, should be written on a new line. If you used a comma after the opening
greeting, use a comma here too.