Dear Yud Bet 5 pointers and Yud Aleph English Speakers,
As you know, you will have to write a formal letter on your Bagrut exam,
and therefore on your Magen exam as well. Here are some useful tips to
know when writing the formal letter:
- Do NOT use contractions!! (can’t, don’t, I’m, it’s, you’re etc.)
Write the words out in full:
I cannot/I do not/ I am/ it is/ you are etc.
- Do NOT use informal language. For example, say :
- “children” or “pupils”, not “kids”
- “I was angry”, not “I was really pissed”
- “The food was inedible,” NOT “the food was lousy”.
You get the point.
- Don’t forget to use capital letters and correct punctuation:
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Ms. Livnat,
Very truly yours, (note that “truly” and “yours” do not take capital letters)
Sincerely yours,
To Whom it May Concern,
February 31, 2003 (note the way dates are written in English!)
Mr. George W. Bush, President of the United States
The White House
2600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.
Good Phrases to use when writing a formal letter:
a. “It has come to my attention that…”
b. “I would appreciate it if you took my comments INTO consideration”
c. “In my HUMBLE opinion……………”
d. “Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.”
e. “I ask you to re-consider this matter/proposal/idea/ etc.”
f. “I urge you to put this proposal into effect as soon as possible.”
g. “I look forward to receiving a prompt reply” (only if it is
appropriate to write this; don’t write it, for example, if you’re writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Editors never reply to letters to the editor) .
Here is an example of what a formal letter looks like in English.
This is a letter of complaint written to a hotel:
44 Begin Boulevard
Bnei Brak
April 30, 2003
Mr. Mickey Schwartz, Executive Director
Shangri La Hotel
Eilat
Dear Mr. Schwartz,
From April 14 to April 18, 2003 my family and I were guests at the Shangri La Hotel in Eilat. I am writing in order to draw your attention to several unsatisfactory aspects of our stay there.
First of all, it is hard to believe that a five-star hotel would choose to
economize by turning off the airconditioner between 2:00 and 6:00 at night, especially considering the 40 degree heat in Eilat two weeks ago, but that is what we experienced. Did the hotel management think the guests would be asleep and wouldn’t notice? It was so hot and stifling in the room that we couldn’t sleep!! Only after we had complained several times were we given a “Desert Cooler”. Someone must have realized this was a ridiculous solution, because shortly afterwards we were informed we would have air-conditioning that night.
Second of all, the Passover seder meal was not worth a fraction of the very high
price that we paid for it. There were too few waiters for too many guests and it took hours for the food to be served; we sat there waiting hungrily for our first course to arrive while those sitting around us had already finished dessert! As if that were not enough, once we finally got our food we were in for some unpleasant surprises: the gefilte fish was much too sweet, the matzah balls were so heavy that they sank to the bottom of the soup bowl, and one hour after my daughter complained that the macaroons “tasted funny,” she found herself sick in the bathroom.
Furthermore, I was surprised to find only one roll of toilet paper and one bar of soap in the room. Was this another cost-saving measure? I would be more inclined to sympathize with your financial difficulties had I not been paying $300 a night for a room.
This was the second time my family and I were guests at the Shangri La Hotel.
Considering the service we received there, unworthy of a hotel which calls itself five-star, it will undoubtedly be our last.
Very truly yours,
Eliezer Engelberger