IELTS General Writing Task 1 - Semi Formal Letter

In IELTS general writing task 1, you will find three types of letters. It includes informal letters, semi formal letters and formal letters. In this article, you will find all information about semi formal letter as this is considered as a difficult category of letter to respond to. And, you can improve your semi formal letter IELTS writing skills with the help of our sample letters. 

For Business letter, Complaint letter, Request letter, Job application letter can be written in semi formal letter. When writing semi-formal letters, you have to use the proper language, tone and understanding of the settings. 

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What is Semi formal letter?

In a semi-formal letter, you have to write to a person whom you have a professional or business relationship with and you know by name. They could be your teachers, business associates, accountants etc., And, you must use a surname when you address them - Dear Mrs. George, Dear Mr. David. This is the brief answer for the question, what is semi formal letter?

There are two keys to improve your semi-formal letter writing: 1. Understand the semi formal letter format and, 2. Use the appropriate words related to semi-formal letters. There are two situations in which you can write semi-formal letters.

1. When you are writing to a person who is having a professional relationship as well as someone close to you. 
2. When you are writing to a person who is personally close to you but you are supposed to inform them of some difficult or unfortunate situations. 

In the former situation, you can write a letter in a formal way but since you know the person, you don’t need to be overly formal. And, in the latter situation, you can write an informal letter, but you have to deal correctly with the use of language because of the delicate situation. 

Semi Formal Letter Example Prompts

Following semi formal letter example prompt has a situation in which you are supposed to write a letter to the direct manager. 

You need to take some time off from work to go on holiday. Write a letter to your direct manager.

In your letter:

     - Ask for time off and explain why
     - Provide the dates and times for which you will be unavailable to work.
     - Describe what you will do to prepare or make up for your absence. 

• The situation comes under the business settings. What should be mentioned and noted in the letter is also given in the prompt
• In Asian countries, some people could write this in a formal way as they are going to send this to your office superiors. But, In English speaking countries, they show respect but they don’t use formal language since they don’t treat their manager like a stranger. 

In the following IELTS general writing semi formal letter example prompt situation, you have to write a letter to the property manager 

You are due to move into a rented apartment next week but you will not be able to due to an unexpected problem.

Write a letter to the property manager. In your letter

     - Explain the situation
     - Describe your problems
     - Tell him/her when you think you can move in 

• Semi formal letter have to be written for the above situation. Property manager is neither too close nor too distant, so it matches the nature of the semi-formal letter. 
• In this letter, the requirements are given. You have to frame the sentence according to the given prompts and set the semi formal tone and language. 

The third semi formal letter example prompt is given below. Here, you have to write to a landlord to solve the problem. 

You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently, a new neighbour moved in who has loud parties several times a week.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:

     - Explain the situation
     - Describe why it bothers you
     - Suggest a solution

• It's a personal issue and you are going to solve the problem using the landlord as a mediator. A landlord is a person who you know well at the same time the situation is slightly delicate. So, it has to be dealt with in a semi formal style.
• When you are writing, use the semi formal vocabulary to produce a well-crafted semi formal letter.

What is Semi-Formal language?

There is no precise definition of semi-formal letter other than that it falls between formal and informal letter. Likewise, semi-formal language lacks definiteness as it comes between formal and informal language.
 

There is no single word or phrase qualified to categorise as semi-formal language. In the table given below, you will find the phrases that are common to all IELTS letters with variants of formal, semi-formal and informal tone.

Formal	Semi-Formal	Informal
Dear Mr. John	Dear John	Hi / Hello John
I am writing to inform you	I'm writing to let you know	Just wanted to let you know
I regret to inform you	Unfortunately, I have to let you know	Sorry, but I have to tell you
Please inform us of your requirements	Please let us know your requirements	What do you need?
However.. In addition.. Therefore	However.. In addition.. Therefore	But.. Also.. So..
Thank you for your letter dated 10th May	Thank you for your letter	Thanks for your letter
Yours Sincerely	Sincerely/ Best	Cheers/ Thanks

It is important to know that there are different ways of using language in all of the three letters. As you can see in the table above, we have mentioned ‘please inform us of your requirements’ while in semi-formal letter ‘please let us know your requirements’ is mentioned. In formal letters, words are formalistic as there will be a major distance between me and the person I am writing to. On the contrary, in informal letters, words can be less formal since the distance between me and the person I am writing a letter, is short. This principle reflects in all of the words and phrases given in the table. 

Difference between formal and semi formal letter

In the table below, you will understand the difference between formal and semi formal letter.

Formal Letter	Semi Formal Letter
It is written to a person who is distant to you	It is written to a person who is close to you; but formal elements are used as the situation concerned
Letter must be written with conventions and rules	A letter can be written by slightly changing the rules and conventions as the person is close to you.
A language is purely formalistic	A language is not entirely formalistic
Contractions and abbreviations cannot be used	Contractions and abbreviations can be used.

When you are writing a semi-formal letter, mind these differences to be true to its nature. It can be helpful to write semi-formal letters in the best possible way.  

Features of Formal, Semi-Formal and Informal Letters

There are several key differences between formal, semi formal and informal letters. For instance, contractions such as “I’m” and “we’re” can be used in both informal and semi-formal letters, but should be avoided in formal letters. Also, about idioms, it can be used minimally or must be avoided in formal letters.

	Informal	Semi-Formal	Formal
Slang/Colloquialisms	Can be included	Colloquialisms can be used but slang should be avoided	Need to be avoid
Abbreviations/ Contractions	Can be used	Can be used occasionally	Avoid
Idioms	Can be used	Its acceptable	Avoid or can be minimally used
Polite language	Yes	Yes	Yes
Strict conventions and rules	No	Flexible	Yes

If you are using quite complex vocabularies, be aware of how and when to use language when writing a letter. In a realistic sense, using informal features in a formal letter will create a bad impression to the person we are writing to. While, using formal features for informal letters is not friendly or it is too rigid as we are writing to the person close to you. 

Improve your writing skills by reading IELTS writing task 1 tips

Format of a Semi Formal letter

The format of a semi formal letter is similar to other types of IELTS letter, but little modifications have to be made according to the specific prompt. Standard format for IELTS general writing task 1 letters is given below

1. Greeting
2. State the purpose or introduce the letter
3. Give details
4. Sign off

These are all changing letter to letter, but it is concerned with purpose instead of tone. The point is you have to use this format as a reference point to write different sorts of letters based on the type of IELTS letter, tone and the given prompt.

IELTS semi formal letter sample 1

Prompt:

You need to take some time off from work to go on holiday. Write a letter to your direct manager.

In your letter:

• Ask for time off and explain why
• Provide the dates and times for which you will be unavailable to work.
• Describe what you will do to prepare or make up for your absence.

Dear Mr. Henry,

I am writing this letter to inform you that I need a holiday to attend the get-together party arranged by the school that I have studied at. 

This get-together party is an important occasion for me since I am going to meet my old friends. The party will be conducted on 18th July and we also planned a trip from 19th July to 21th July. This will be a beautiful opportunity for me to connect with and enjoy good times with my old friends. In this get-together party and trip, about 65 friends of mine including my teachers will be participating. 

I need four days leave from work to attend this function considering the preparation and travelling time. At this time, I don’t have any important commitments and Fernandez agreed to look after my tasks while I am away from the work. He knows how those tasks can be done and after I return, I will work extra hours to cover up my pending tasks, if there is any.

I want to make this time more memorable and this allows me to spend some meaningful time. So, I would be thankful if you let me take time off from work.

Sincerely,

Bob

(205 words)

Notes

This is a business letter. Thus, it is closer to formal than informal. I know my manager still has to be formal since the context is formal. Apart from greetings and sign off, the tone is slightly informal. I crafted this letter in a discursive manner so it neither falls under formal and informal letters. 

Know more about the IELTS writing band descriptors to gain knowledge about the scoring pattern and the marking criteria. 

IELTS semi formal letter sample 2

Prompt:

You were absent from an important event held by the company you work for.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter:

• Apologize for your absence and explain the reasoning.
• Explain why you had to be at the other event.
• Explain what you will do to catch up.

Dear Ms. Isabella,

I am writing this letter regarding my absence from the annual business meeting conducted the day before yesterday. 

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for not being able to participate in the business meeting. I know the importance of meeting as it contains networking opportunities and forms a good base for a team. But, unfortunately, my father underwent a heart surgery so I am in a situation where I have to take care of my father. 

It is obvious that heart surgery is a complex medical treatment. Doctor informed me that constant assistance was needed to carry out this operation successfully. My father has to rely on me since I’m the only child for him. I need to be with him to bring him back to a normal state of life. 

To catch up with the rest of the team, I arranged a meeting with Mr. Smith from the Marketing Department. I am sure that I will be able to adjust to the pace of my team after the meeting. Also, it will prepare me to start working on where I left.

Thank you for understanding.

Sincerely,

Donald Beckam

(195 words)

Notes

In this letter, I have to apologize to my manager for not attending the business meeting. Since I know the manager, I can write it in a slightly informal tone. I didn’t write the letter in accordance with rules and conventions. I used the contractions as well

IELTS semi formal letter sample 3

You are due to move into a rented apartment next week but you will not be able to due to an unexpected problem.

Write a letter to the property manager. In your letter

• Explain the situation
• Describe your problems
• Tell him/her when you think you can move in

Dear Mr. John,

I have recently made an agreement with you to rent your apartment. I ought to move to your apartment on September 15th, but I would not be able to do that due to personal problems. I am expecting you to permit me to move to your apartment on September 25th. 

Officially, I signed a rental agreement with you on 13th August and on September 15th, I agreed to move to your B4 apartment situated on Broadway Street. I paid five months in advance. Meanwhile, our grandmother died of a heart attack which made us reconsider our decision. Thus, we have to attend the funeral ceremony of my grandmother. 

It would take at most 10 days for travelling and other things. So, I request you to consider our situation and allow us to move to your apartment on September 25th. 

I am looking forward to hearing your response regarding this.

Sincerely,

John

(154 words) 

Notes

You can see in the letter itself that the language I used is not entirely formal or informal. This letter is for the property manager to ask permission. Though the letter is not made with strict rules, respect can be found. This makes this letter a semi formal one. 

IELTS semi formal letter sample 4

Prompt:

You have been living in a rental apartment for the past year. Recently, a new neighbour moved in who has loud parties several times a week.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:

• Explain the situation
• Describe why it bothers you
• Suggest a solution

Dear Mr. George

I hope you are fine. I am writing this letter to inform you about the unbearable noise making by the new tenant who moved into apartment F-5. 

I have been living in this apartment for one year. I had no problem with my neighbours. Actually, I am happy with my neighbours as they are so supportive and friendly. But, recently I am facing several issues because of the new tenant living in an F-5 apartment. 

They moved into an apartment about two weeks ago. The problem is they have parties at night daily and play music at a higher level. This worries and annoys me a lot since I am having sleep issues and a 1 year old baby. It's completely their choice to conduct a party but they should also consider other tenants, that is my concern. 

I think it is not a good idea to directly contact them. Therefore, I need your cooperation in this matter. You should talk with other neighbours to understand what is happening around. And, you have the authority to talk with a new tenant directly. Hope you will solve this problem.

Sincerely,

Suzan

(193 words)

 Notes

This letter is written to the landlord, a person I know well. I made the greetings and signed off in a formal manner. And, the body of the letter is a combination of formal and informal elements. The words like ‘therefore’ are formal but the tone has an informal nature. 

Use these IELTS semi formal letter sample to improve your semi formal letter writing skills. It will help you when you are attempting an IELTS general writing task in the IELTS exam. Similarly, go through the IELTS general writing task 1 vocabulary to enhance your writing.

Summary

• There is no proper definition for semi formal letters. It falls between formal and informal letter
• We write semi formal letters to the person we know but when the situation is slightly complicated and sensitive. 
• The format will be the same as for all the letters. But, the tone and language will be used in a slightly different manner.
• In semi formal letters, you can be flexible with rules as this is important to be followed in formal letters. And, colloquialisms can be used but slang has to be avoided. 

Download semi formal letter pdf to get all the sample letters given in this article

FAQ

1. What are some characteristics of semi formal English ?

There are three common characteristics when it comes to semi formal English: Sentences should be shorter and less complex than Formal English, vocabulary is simple and more colloquial compared to formal English, and Phrasal verbs are frequently used. 

2. How do you identify formal, informal and semi-formal letters?

In Formal letters, the language will be polite and we should write it in a deferential way. In an informal letter, the language will be neutral in style and the person we are writing to is close to us, for example, friends and relatives. In semi-formal letters, the language and tone will not be either purely formal or informal. 

3. Are there greetings in semi-formal letters?

Yes, there will be. Semi formal letters greetings are similar to greetings in formal letters. However, you can refer to the recipient by his or her first name. 

4. How do I end a semi-formal letter in ielts?

The common way to end the semi formal letters is by using “sincerely”. And other phrases can be used including “regards”, “kind regards” and “best regards”.  

5. Why do we have semi-formal letters?

There will be instances where we have to write a letter to the person we know but the situation could be slightly delicate. In that circumstance, we can use the semi formal letter.