FORMAL LETTERS Letters objecting to someone's plans I am writing to express my concern /disappointment / alarm at hearing ...

I was extremely alarmed/sorry/distressed to hear about your plans to ... As I think you know, May I point out that I feel I really must object to ... I am extremely concerned at the thought that ... It must be very clear that ... If these proposals go ahead, ... will happen. Another threat to ... , if these proposals go ahead, would come from ... I dread to imagine what damage this will cause. May I respectfully suggest that you ... I was wondering if you had considered this alternative? Would it not be possible to ... ? Letters of complaint I am writing to complain about ... I am writing to tell you how disappointed/annoyed I feel about ... I was amazed/distressed/horrified to find that ...

I am sure you will appreciate that ... It goes without saying that ... At the very least, I look forward to receiving ...

Letters of recommendation I am writing to you on behalf of ... I have known X for ... years. She / He has shown herself/himself to be extremely ... X would seem to fit the requirements of this job perfectly. I have no hesitation in recommending X as a ... Letters to the editor I am writing about the article on ... , which appeared (in last night's paper). I am writing with reference to the article you published (in last month's issue). I have just read your article on ... and I feel I must ... You raised some issues which I feel strongly about. I am afraid I totally disagree. I am completely in agreement. ARTICLES Sequencing At first / To start with/In the beginning, ... Then/Next/After that, ... The next thing that happened was ... The next thing I knew was ... Seconds/Minutes later, Late on/Some time later, It wasn't until much later that ... After some time/After what seemed like years, ... Finally/In the end, ... At last, ...

Simultaneous events Meanwhile/In the meantime, While all this was going on, In the middle of all this, ... During all this time, ... Sudden or unexpected events Suddenly/All of a sudden, ... All at once, ... Out of the blue, ... Without any warning, ... Just when I was least expecting it, ... The next thing I knew was ... Rapid events As quick as a flash, ... In the wink of an eye, ... In a matter of seconds/minutes, ... In no time at all, .. Introductory comments I recently visited (the new Leisure Centre) and have prepared the following report for your consideration. Further to my visit to ... , I have prepared the following report. The following report relates to my recent visit to ...

General comments On the whole, I found that ... Although ... , I should point out that ... It is a fact that ... Concluding comments All things considered, I believe that ... Taking all these points into consideration, I would recommend ... I recommend that we look into the possibility of ... PROPOSALS As requested, I am submitting the following proposal on ... I recommend that we ... I propose that we ... We should also ... I believe that ... We could ... It is a fact that , which means that ... If we were to , it would ... I suggest we .We would then be able to ... I feel strongly that we should ... I trust you will give my proposal your full consideration.

REVIEWS x has much to recommend it. X is, at heart, a(n) love/spy/adventure story. It is based on a book by ... It is set in the countryside/the future. The film has a quality cast. The film was directed by ... The film score is enchanting/evocative/scary. The film captures the spirit of ... The hero/heroine/villain is ... I felt/thought it was I was impressed by What struck me most was ... What I liked most/didn't like was ... The plot was gripping. The characters were very convincing/very well drawn. On reflection, I think it was ... It struck me as being ... What I didn't understand was how ... In spite of these few criticisms, I think ... I would have no hesitation in recommending

Expressing and supporting opinions These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. I believe/do not believe that ... (because) ... Personally I feel that ... Let me explain why. In my opinion, ... Just consider ... As I see it, The reason is ... It seems to me that This is because ... I would argue that for the following reasons. I feel very strongly that ... I am convinced that ... I am of the opinion that ... I am very much in favour of/against ... I am completely opposed to ... The reasons why I believe that ... are as follows. ...

Listing arguments These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. Firstly/In the first place / To begin with, Secondly/A second area to consider is Another point to remember is ... Finally, ... Last but not least, ...