Exercise 5: Writing an informal letter/email (Ultimate

Guide)
In this article, you will discover how to write an almost perfect informal
email that impresses the examiner and gets you the highest band
(even full marks if you take it seriously and practice well). By the end
of this article, you will have an in-depth knowledge of writing an
informal email for exercise 5 of the Reading and Writing paper of the
IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL) exam
(0510/0511/0991/0993). This guide is suitable for the current syllabus
(2022-2023) and the new syllabus (2024-2026). There are 3 main
differences between the syllabuses regarding the Reading and Writing
paper. In the new syllabus:

1. There will be no core and extended versions of the exam; the

Reading and Writing paper will be paper 1.
2. The summary task will be removed from the Reading and Writing
paper and replaced with a new multiple-choice question.
3. The word limit for exercise 5 and exercise 6 will be changed from
150-200 words to 120-160 words.

The updated syllabus is for examination from June 2024 onwards

and will not affect students sitting the upcoming October/November
2023 session.

It’s also worth noting that reading this article alone won’t guarantee
you an A*; applying it will. So, are you ready? Let’s dive in!

First, you need to be familiar with the components of an informal

email. Each component will then be discussed in detail. An informal
letter is always made up of:

1. Salutation or greeting (Dear/Hey/Hi and your friend’s first name

only followed by a comma), for example, “Dear Ben,”
2. Introduction
3. Body
4. Conclusion
 5. Signature (Love/With love /Lots of love/Best/Regards/Best
regards/Your friend/Cheers followed by a comma and your first
name on the next line), for example,

With love,
Ali
Introduction

The purpose of the introduction is to:

1. Address your friend, the recipient of the email, in an informal

style.
2. Personalize the email.
3. Tell your friend why you’re writing this letter (this will be
mentioned in the question). Sometimes, you need a transition to
start the reason why you’re writing this letter. Normally, the word
used is “anyway” or “anyhow”. And please avoid writing the
cliché “I’m writing this email/letter to…” as it’s obvious you are
writing one!

Addressing your friend and personalizing the email can often be

combined, for example, “Congratulations on winning the national
Swimming competition! I knew you could do it!”. This introduction
addresses your friend and shows the examiner that you know your
friend well (you know that he/she entered a swimming competition and
won).

Always remember that you should keep the introduction

short and create an interest in the topic while maintaining a chatty
style. Ideally, the reader should be eager to read the rest of your
letter.

Here are some examples of effective introductions.

 Congratulations on your award! So sorry I couldn’t write to you

earlier; it’s been a hectic week over here. You won’t
believe/imagine what happened yesterday! Prepare to have your
jaw drop!
 I’m sorry I haven’t written for so long, but I’ve been busy settling
into my new house. Hope you’ve got over the flu. Anyway, I
thought I’d drop you a line to let you know …
 How’re things? It’s been ages since we last talked! I thought I’d
share with you a once-in-a-lifetime experience I had yesterday.
Trust me, you’re going to be amazed!
 How’re you? I’m sorry I’ve been a little on the quiet side—you
know how hectic life gets sometimes. Anyhow, …
 I’m sorry I haven’t written (for ages/since we last met/for a long
time), but I’ve been busy studying and haven’t had the time.
Guess what! …
 It was lovely to hear from you last week. Hope you’re feeling
better after your injury. I can’t wait to tell you … // I’m dying to tell
you …
 It was good to hear from you. I’m glad you finally got your driving
license! How about taking me for a ride next Friday? Anyways,
…
 I’m glad you convinced Aunt Sara to get you the new iPhone you
wanted! How is it going so far? Anyway, buckle up because
you’re in for some gripping news!
 I haven’t heard from you in a bit. Things (are/have been)
(okay/uneventful/super busy/pretty stressful/pretty exciting/up
and down) on (my/this end). As you probably know, …
 Just read your email and I’m terribly sorry to hear of the loss of
your pet cat Luna; she was very special. So, I thought I might
drop you a line to cheer you up a bit.
 How’ve you been? We should get together soon to catch up on
all the news. In the meantime, I have an interesting story to tell
you.
 I’ve been meaning to write since your graduation day, but what
with one thing or another I’m afraid I just haven’t had the time.
Anyway, you’ll never believe/guess …
 I hope you’re doing well. Sorry for not replying sooner—I have
been busy as a bee preparing for my exams. I know this may
sound unbelievable but …
You’ll find many more examples on the samples page; however, try to
be creative and original in your thoughts and don’t limit yourself to the
examples suggested.
Body

The following guidelines should be considered when writing the body

of an informal email.

 Read the bullet points CAREFULLY. Take care of the

tense (Are they past events or future events?). Some bullet
points will have 2 parts. You should cover both.
 Draft a plan for your letter in the blank space below the question
using a pencil. Write briefly and in bullet points. Jot down any
ideas you get for each bullet point and any interesting vocabulary
or expressions suitable for the task that came to your mind.
Spend no more than 5 minutes on the plan.
 You may use the pictures in the question, but you will gain more
marks if you use your own ideas. Try to be imaginative so that
your email will be more interesting but keep it realistic and
convincing (do not mention things that are impossible to
happen in the real world).
 Write 2-3 body paragraphs. It’s best to write 3 paragraphs,
each covering a bullet point in the order given in the question.
However, you can still combine bullet 1 and bullet 2 in the
2nd paragraph and write bullet 3 in the 3rd paragraph.
 Keep to the topic (don’t wander away from the main subject of
the email). Remind yourself constantly by looking again at the
question.

 Develop your Content very well by:

1. Adding more details

2. Expressing your thoughts and feelings using a wide range of
vocabulary, for example,

 I was surprised to see that…

 I was amazed to find that …
  I was disappointed to realize that …
 We were delighted to learn that …
 We were horrified to hear that …
 To my astonishment/delight/horror, …

3. Giving explanations where appropriate, for example, “I couldn’t

pull myself together. You know me—I always panic in
emergencies.”

 Personalize your email. Personalizing creates interest in your

writing and shows the examiner that you are friends and know
each other well. Personalizing phrases make the reader feel that
he/she is included in your thought as you write and that his
feelings and opinions have been considered. You should aim
to use 3-4 personalizing phrases in your letter.

You can personalize by:

1. Mentioning something you know about your friend

E.g. I know you’re a nature lover, so why don’t you come along?

2. Mentioning something your friend knows about you

E.g. You know me—always the adventurer!

3. Mentioning previously shared experiences where relevant

E.g. Do you remember that orphanage we visited?

4. Just including your friend in your thoughts

E.g. I wonder what you would have done.

Here are some useful personalizing phrases:

 As you probably know, …

 As you can imagine, …
 As you might have guessed, …
 Wait until you meet/see/taste …
 You’ll be glad/pleased to know that …
 You’ll really enjoy …
 I know you love football, so I’ve…
 You know how I’m afraid of being alone/you know how scared I
am of heights
 You know me—I always …
 I don’t need to tell you how excited I was when…
 I wish you’d seen the look on my grandma’s face when…
 Don’t you wish you’d been there?
 I wonder what you would have done.
 I was delighted to hear that you got your driving license.
 By the way, have you heard about Karim’s car accident?

 Use time sequence phrases to organize the events of your

story (if applicable). Here are some examples:

 We’d just sat down at our desks when the fire alarm went off.
 The moment I walked into the room I noticed something strange.
 Just as we were about to catch the bus there was a deafening
noise.
 As I opened the door, I heard a scream.
 I was driving at top speed when, to my horror, I noticed my
brakes were not working
 When my mother and I were at the City Centre Mall last night, I
happened to notice…
 Anyhow, last Friday turned out to be totally different. It all started
when my brother Peter went out to buy groceries and…
 We were waiting for the school bus this afternoon and as the bus
drew up at the usual place near the school’s main entrance, we
heard a deafening noise.
 After what seemed like ages …
 Later that afternoon …
 Shortly after that …
 The minute I walked in the door…
 It wasn’t until sometime later…
 By this time …
 In the end …
Conclusion

The purpose of the conclusion is to indicate to the reader that the

email is coming to a close. It should address the recipient of the
email and personalize the whole piece. And it should be very brief.

Here are some effective examples of conclusions (some might not be

suitable for every topic such as the 1st example):

 I really wish you were there! You would have loved it! Give my
regards to James and Uncle Joe. Reply soon!
 That’s it for now. See you soon!
 Catch you soon.
 Speak soon.
 Shoot me an email soon.
 I must dash now. Update me on your trip to London!
 I’ve got to go. Write back!
 I must go now. Stay blessed!
 Don’t you wish you’d been there? Must dash to see if there is
anything about it on the local news.
 What are your plans for later this week? Let’s grab a coffee on
Friday if you’re free.
 Before I close, did you see the new exhibit at Ithra? Want to
check it out sometime?
 Time to stop. I have my assignment to complete; the last day of
submission is tomorrow.
 Well, I must stop now. My annoying brother is banging on the
door. Got to open it before he breaks it down.
 My mum’s calling for dinner, so I’ll cut this letter short. Take care!
 I’m looking forward to seeing you soon/ hearing from you soon.
 How’re things on your end? Let me know what’s been going on
with you.
Important points to keep in mind

Dos:
 Organize your letter into 4-5 paragraphs. Leave a line between
paragraphs or indent the first line of each new paragraph. Don’t
do both!
 Take care of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. This is
important as the examiner will look at the accuracy of your
language.
 Use informal cohesive devices and linking words. Here are
some examples.
 Transition: anyway, anyhow
 Addition: and, also, plus, next, what’s more, not only that, but that’s not
all, above all, and best of all, and one of the best things …
 Contrast: but, yet, though
 Reasoning: because, so
 Other: fortunately, luckily, you know, well, by the way, you see Ben (or
your friend’s first name), etc.

 Use contractions, for example, you’re, haven’t, I’ll, etc.

 Use phrasal verbs, figurative speech, and informal
expressions. The use of idioms can be appropriate but be
careful not to use too many of them as it can make your writing
sound unnatural (1-2 idioms are ok). They also need to suit the
task and be used accurately. If you’re unsure, it’s better to avoid
using them completely.
 Use questions and question tags to engage with your friend,
for example, “What would you have done?”, “How does that
sound?”, “What do you think?”, “That’s terrifying, isn’t it?”,
“Sounds exciting, right?”, etc.
 Use a combination of simple, compound, and complex
sentences. A series of long sentences will make your writing
difficult to read, and a series of short simple sentences will make
your writing boring to read. Balance is the key.
 Use a wide range of vocabulary, including some advanced
and less commonly used ones. Don’t use common adjectives
such as happy, nice, bad, sad, etc. Try to think of more
advanced and interesting alternatives such as ecstatic, pleasant,
terrible, heartbroken, etc.
  Use advanced punctuation sparingly (1-3 in the whole letter),
for example, colon (:), semicolon (;) and em dash (—).
 Write in an active voice (not passive). For example, write “We
had a wonderful time”, instead of “A wonderful time was had by
us”. Writing in an active voice is natural, but I mentioned it just in
case.
 Aim to complete towards the maximum word
limit (approximately 200 words for the current syllabus and 160
words for the new syllabus). Exceeding the word limit slightly
(15-20 words) is fine as long as you write accurately and
complete the task within the correct time. If you exceed the word
limit by any number of words, be it even 100, no marks will be
cut directly, but you increase your chances of making more
mistakes which may result in deducting marks. If you write
towards the lower limit or below, you are highly unlikely to
achieve the highest band for Content as your content is not well
developed.
 Spend about 30 minutes on this exercise: the initial 5 minutes
for planning and the last 2-3 minutes for checking your work for
simple spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Don’ts:

 Don’t use abbreviations and slang (texting language) such as

how r u, OMG, BTW, etc. Remember: this is an international
exam.
 Don’t use formal vocabulary, for example, I apologize, I wanted
to inform you, etc.
 Don’t use formal linking words, for example, firstly, secondly,
furthermore, moreover, in addition, additionally, finally, lastly,
however, in conclusion, etc.
 Avoid listing (firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.). If necessary, you
might use other informal alternatives to “firstly”, such as “To start
with”, “For a start”, or “For starters”, but listing is not preferred
whatsoever.
 Avoid repetition of vocabulary and beginning your sentences
with the same words. Sometimes, students write 3 or more
sentences in a row starting with “The” or “I”!
  Don’t waste time writing an address or a subject. They are not
necessary.
Final note

Practice a lot of past papers and get feedback on your writing. If you
don’t have a teacher, reread these notes and check for what you have
done right and what you haven’t.

Good luck! Go get that A*!