BECE JHS
A formal letter has a set layout. The marks for layout are separate from the marks for what you say.
A formal letter is written to someone you address by office or by title: a headteacher, a director, an editor. Put your address at the top right, then the date, then the recipient's address on the left. The salutation comes next. If you do not know the person's name, write "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam", and close with "Yours faithfully". If you know the name, write "Dear Mr Mensah" or "Dear Mrs Mensah", and close with "Yours sincerely". Sign, and write your full name under the signature.
The body is why you are writing, in paragraphs. The first paragraph states the purpose. The middle gives the details, in an order the reader can act on. The last paragraph says what you want done, politely. An informal letter to a friend drops the recipient's address block and uses a warm salutation and a warm close, such as "Your friend". Do not mix the two. A letter that starts "Dear Sir" and ends "Lots of love" has confused the form.
Annotated examples of the formal, informal and semi formal layouts are on the format guide. BECE letter writing format
Layout marks are lost one at a time: missing date, missing recipient address, wrong close for the salutation. "Yours faithfully" goes with "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam". "Yours sincerely" goes with a named person. The body is marked like a short essay: purpose clear, points in order, tone formal. Slang in a letter to a headteacher costs expression marks.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
3 marks
(a) Which complimentary close matches the salutation "Dear Sir"? (1 mark)
(b) Which complimentary close matches "Dear Mrs Boateng"? (1 mark)
(c) Where does your own address go in a formal letter? (1 mark)
(a) Yours faithfully.
(b) Yours sincerely.
(c) At the top, on the right.
3 marks
You are writing a formal letter to the headteacher asking for permission to start a reading club. State three items that must appear before the first paragraph of the body, apart from the salutation. (3 marks)
Your address, the date, and the headteacher's address.
3 marks
The first paragraph of that letter is only: "How are you and the family?" Say what is wrong with it, and write a better opening sentence. (3 marks)
It is the opening of an informal letter, and it does not say why you are writing. A better opening is: "I am writing to ask permission to start a reading club for JHS pupils."
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise English Language freeWhen the salutation does not use the person's name, as in "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam". When you name the person, as in "Dear Mrs Boateng", close with "Yours sincerely".
Your address, then the date, then the address of the person you are writing to. The salutation comes after that. An informal letter to a friend keeps your address and the date, and leaves out the formal recipient block. All BECE English Language past questions