Letter writing format and overview for WJEC

2. Conventions when writing
letters
0 Addresses:
1)Your Address
The return address should be written in the top right-hand
corner of the letter.
2)The Address of the person you are writing to
The inside address should be written on the left, starting below
your address
0 Date:
Different people put the date on different sides of the page.
You can write this on the right or the left on the line after the
address you are writing to.Write the month as a word.

3. Greeting and ending the
letter
1) Dear Sir or Madam,
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always
advisable to try to find out a name.
2) Dear Mr Jenkins,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname
only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you
can use Ms, which is for married and single women.
0 Ending a letter:
1)Yours faithfully
If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.
2)Yours sincerely
If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.
3)Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person
you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put you title in
brackets after your name.

4. The content of a formal letter
0 First paragraph
The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the
letter- to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.
Try to avoid clichés ‘I am writing to you to…’
0 The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should
contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter.
Most letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to
the essentials and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical
manner rather than expanding too much.
0 Last Paragraph
The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you
expect the recipient to take- to refund, send you information, etc.

5. Made In Chelsea star Mark-Francis Vandelli leaves The
Jump
Mark-FrancisVandelli from Made In Chelsea has leftChannel 4 series the Jump after fracturing his ankle.
The 26-year-old is the fourth celebrity to drop out of the competition because of an injury.
Olympic gymnast BethTweddle, actressTina Hobley andOlympic swimmer RebeccaAdlington have also pulled out
of the programme.
Vandelli was taken to hospital on Sunday after a fall while taking part in the show's Snow Cross challenge.
A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "[Vandelli] received immediate medical attention but sadly will not be able to
continue in the competition due to an ankle fracture, which has now been treated."
The Jump sees celebrities partake in various winter sports competitions, including ski-jumping, bobsleigh, and speed
skating.
Tweddle had to have neck surgery after suffering a serious spinal injury on Saturday when she crashed into a safety
barrier. She remains in hospital.
Holby City actress Hobley broke her arm in two places while Adlington dislocated her shoulder. All three have since
left the series.
Athlete Linford Christie has also been forced to take time out due to a hamstring injury but remains in the
competition.
Earlier in the week, Channel 4 confirmed it had asked producers to "review safety procedures again to further reduce
the prospect of accident".
OnTuesday, Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards said producers were not solely to blame for the celebrities injuries, saying it
was the contestants' own responsibility to train properly.
Tweddle described the days following her accident as "very scary" after the operation which saw surgeons take a
bone from her hip and use it along with pins to fuse together two fractured vertebrae in her neck.
RebeccaAdlington told host Davina McCall the fall that caused her shoulder injury was "literally the worst thing that
has ever happened to me, it was worse than childbirth".

6. Discussion Point
0 ‘Celebrity television is the lowest form of entertainment’
0 ‘The Jump is too dangerous forTV’
0 Do you think celebrity ski show ‘The Jump’ should be
banned ?
0 Be prepared to feed back your opinions

7. Writing a letter
0 Write a letter to the director of Channel Four’s
programming giving your views on whether they should
continue to screen shows like ‘The Jump’
[20 marks]

8. Stage 1: P.A.L.L
The first thing that you should do in an exam is read the question carefully. When
you are sure that you understand what you are being asked to do, look for the
PALL.
PURPOSE – What is the purpose of the task?
What is it asking you to do?
AUDIENCE Who is it for?
LANGUAGE What language will be used?
LAYOUT How is it set out on the page? What features should you include?

9. Stage 2: Plan
After writing your PALL, the next stage is to put down all of your thoughts on
a given topic:
Remember to:
Write a letter
Build a clear argument.
Aim to write a clear 5 part plan
Your P =
Your A =
Your L = formal and persuasive
Your L = a letter

10. Writing techniques (Non-fiction):
 Topic sentences
 Headlines / subheadings / puns
 Paragraph organisation - main point … illustration … contrast
 Range of connectives
 Range of punctuation.
 Secure tense
 Range of sentence types and functions: statement, command,
question, exclamation
 Formality / impersonal tones
 Layout features (set out as a formal letter)
 Building an argument:
 generalisation,
 supporting points,
 statistics,
 facts,
 Quotation
 End with a solid conclusion – strong closing argument to make the
examiner think.

12. Peer Assess
0Swap your work with the person next to you.
Highlight the topic sentences.
Circle any spelling or punctuation
errors.
Write two
things they
have done well
and
one target for
improvement