WRITING AN EXCELLENT WAEC/NECO INFORMAL LETTER

by Hassan Abdulbaqi

It is worth mentioning again that the type of letter you have to write is primarily based on the relationship you share with the recipient of the letter. The reason why I tell my students these is definitely because they’ll not be asked to differentiate between formal and informal letters, neither would they be asked to tell the features of informal letters. Everything is practical, you just follow those rules and guidelines. Now, that you’ve been reminded, you need to know informal letters are written to those whom you share cordial relationship with and you are expected to show this so much in your letter. Mother, father, sister, brother, friend, colleague etc.

You start out by writing your address at the top right hand of your letter, only your own address immediately followed by the date.

20 Adeniji Road,

Ifesowapo street,

Ore.

2nd December, 2018.

“Dear” is used in all types of letter but how do you write it in informal letters? This is important due to the fact that you’re not expected to be so formal while addressing your recipient in an informal letters. ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ isn’t appropriate here. This should be represented with “Dear Mummy” and “Dear Daddy”. If you are writing your friend, the salutation must be “Dear+your friend’s first name”. Also note that when you use “My” before “dear”, the “d” must be in a small letter. See:

Dear Tayo,

My dear Tayo,

Dear Yinka,

My dear Yinka,

Note the use of comma at the end of the salutation as well.

Write your body of the letter and mind the question. If it is meant to be a reply, indicate that and if it is a request, try to make that known in your letter, not all informal letters are expected to start with the cliché: “How are you? I hope you’re fine? If so, glory be to Almighty God.” You need to make your examiner know you’re different especially now that examination malpractice is so common. Sometimes, the sad condition of the recipient is already stated in the question and writing this kind of introduction will only be a misappropriation. A question like: “An elder sister of yours who has left school had confided in you in her last letter that she plans to elope with her lover whom your parents do not approve of. Write a letter to her advising against such action, and suggesting steps she could take to obtain your parents’ consent.” (ENGLISH SSCE JUNE 1994) does not demand the “If so, glory be to Almighty God.” opening. It should be appropriately start by your confirmation that you received her letter and right from that letter, you should be able to draw the picture of her condition. Sometimes, the condition of your recipient has already been mentioned in the letter as in: “A friend of yours has been absent from the school for about a month due to illness. Write a letter to the friend describing some interesting things have happened in the school during the period and expressing your wish for a quick recovery.” (ENGLISH SSCE NOVEMBER 1990). Otherwise, you may even conclude right from the opening paragraph that you know your recipient is hale and hearty due to the letter you recently received from him. This is why candidates have to make it a duty to master other openings apart from the oft-repeated introduction for appropriateness and originality.

You are expected to write in a chatty, relaxed and conversational tone. Unlike formal letters, slangs, contracted forms and colloquialisms are allowed. Non-English expression used must be put in quotation marks. Also note that this is letter, not Whatsapp or SMS, don’t feel relaxed to the extent of writing “I wnt u 2 note dt…” in your essay! This is not what is meant by contracted forms (like can’t for cannot, don’t for do not, needn’t for need not and so on).  Your paragraphs should also be well laid out, properly linked and well structured.

For the end of your letter, write “Yours sincerely,” plus “your first name”, note that the Y is in capital letter, ‘s’ in small letter and your name starts with a capital letter for it is a proper noun.

Yours sincerely,

Basirat.

There you go, start mastering your informal letter right from this moment! If you like this article, kindly share and also subscribe to my newsletter for updates.