Task Writing a formal letter

Task to be completed: write a formal letter. Scan the following sample letter and find out the main idea.

Dear Mr. Brown I am writing to complain about your plans to start cloning human beings in the UK. I believe this technology is totally immoral and must be stopped immediately. I understand that other countries have already begun trying to clone human beings, but this doe not mean that we should follow in their footsteps. I am sure that if you conducted a survey among UK citizens, it would show that the majority of people would not advocate this type of scientific research. To conclude, I urge you to seek the opinions of the people of the UK on this matter so we can end this immoral practice immediately. Yours sincerely, Jim Davidson

Cloning The company plans to start cloning human beings. It’s immoral and needs to be stopped./ opinions and supporting details. Topic: Situation: Main idea: GM food A local supermarket is planning to sell GM food Your opinions on GM food and supporting details Topic: Situation: Main idea:

Today’s learning objective: Pile up information and form general opinions

GM food: Genetically Modified food

GM knowledge QUIZ Have a go!

Tick the answer that you think right. 1.Growth hormones are used in meat/ eggs/ vegetables. 2.Growth hormones make animals grow faster/ fatter. 3.Growth hormones don’t help keep/ keep animals healthy. 4.GM food is more expensive / cheaper than natural food. 5.GM food technology is / isn’t a new scientific development. 6.GM food tastes the same as/ better than/ worse than natural food. 7.Free-range food comes from animals that aren’t / are given drugs. 8.Free-range food is cheaper/ more expensive/ as expensive as GM food 9.Free-range animals are kept in dark sheds/ are not kept in sheds. 10.Most people don’t mind paying/ would not pay more for free-frange food.

Listen and check Tip 1: Proofread by correcting some information like grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and some major data.

More information about GM food: As is mentioned in the two short passages on P57, GM food: 1.Is nutritious, healthy, cheaper and not easily has a longer shelf life, and has a longer shelf life. Besides, more extra food is being produced thanks to this technology. 2.It could be harmful. The safety can’t be ensured.

1. What’s your personal attitudes towards GM food? Time to hear your voice!! 2. Can you find out about the views held by your classmates?

Conduct an interview Interview form 1.Safety of GM food 2.Possible side effects 3.Taste compared with normal food 4.Cost 5.Need for government control 6.. Work with your group members and come up with one more question. Try to use the useful expressions suggested on page 54 and ask and answer questions. Please write down the conclusions on the blanks.

summary What have we learned today?

Learning objective: Learn to develop information and write a formal letter

Step 1 Decide what to be contained in the letter. 1.Work in groups to decide what information to be contained. Key words only. Then we’ll orally report about the key words. 2. Work individually to develop the key words into complete sentences. 3. Work in groups to compare and improve your sentences.

Time to share! Share the sentences you’ve developed and you’ll be more sure of what sentences are more favored.

Receiver’s name Step 2 Structure of the letter 1. The format of a formal letter 101 High Street London 1 May, 2005 Mr. Frank Brown Public Relations Manager Safeway Laboratories 305 Queens Drive Liverpool Dear Mr. Brown address date Receiver’s job title Receiver’s address Formal greeting

For the first time, you may keep the other information while changing: Public Relations Manager Deputy Director Safeway Laboratories Sales and marketing Department

2. Reread the beginning and ending paragraphs of the letter to see what is mainly written. I am writing to complain about your plans to start cloning human beings in the UK. I believe this technology is totally immoral and must be stopped immediately. … To conclude, I urge you to seek the opinions of the people of the UK on this matter so we can end this immoral practice immediately.

3. Students work in groups to develop beginning and ending paragraphs. State your aim of writing and opinion at the beginning. Raise some suggestions or stress your aim of writing again at the end of the letter.

Good expressions to start and end a letter You may start a letter with: With reference to… Thank you for your … In reply to… Further to your… I’m writing in response to/ to inform you… You may end a letter with: I would be grateful if you could … I hope you would … I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you require any further information… Recommended here

Step 3 Write the body part of the letter Now set off doing the body part on your own. Just nicely organize the sentences and beginning and ending paragraphs you’ve developed in order. Don’t forget to use some conj..

Step 4 Cross check Work in groups. Everyone checks everybody else’s writing. Tick the items if he gets them right. 1. Format 2. Beginning (purpose clear) 3. Opinions are fully expressed 4. Ending (suggestion or purpose stressed) Ignore grammatical errors, please!

Summary While writing formal letter, you need to pay attention to: Correct format, formal greeting, opinions clearly stated, formal beginning and ending, name and signature, etc.