An email to a friend

An email to a friend

Learn how to write an email to a friend.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Hi Rebecca,

How ARE you?! It's been ages!! I thought I'd drop you a line seeing as I'm stuck in the airport with nothing to do but make use of the free Wi-Fi.

Not that writing to you isn't top of my list of things to do, of course ;) but I've been totally snowed under at work, plus all the family stuff that's been going on ... Anyway, I'm just about to go on a much-needed holiday so I really can't complain!

Anyhoo … what have you been up to? I saw Carol a couple of months ago – don't know if you heard what happened with her job but it made me feel grateful I only slightly hate mine – and she was saying your book is going to be published?! GREAT news!!! Send me a link and I'll definitely buy it and leave a five-star review :)

As for me, same old, same old re: job. Maggie and I broke up a while ago, as you know, but we're getting on much better now and it's working out far better for the kids. No-one new on the horizon but I'm off to Canada travelling for a month (if this plane ever leaves!) so who knows?!

Actually, I'll be flying over your house in a few hours. I'll wave! Let's make a plan to see each other when I get back, OK?

Hope life's treating you well!

Lots of love,

Sarah

Tips

  1. It's common to start with a reason for writing and refer to how long it's been since you saw or wrote to each other.
  2. Use phrasal verbs (e.g. going on, been up to) and informal expressions (e.g. drop you a line, same old, same old) to give it a friendly, informal tone.
  3. Use emoticons or multiple exclamation marks (!!!) or question marks (???) to add extra excitement and feeling. You can also use capital letters for emphasis (How ARE you? GREAT news!!).
  4. Before signing off you can finish with closing phrases like Hope all's well! / Looking forward to seeing you! / Best of luck with ... !
  5. Sign off with Lots of love for close friends or family or Take care if you are not so close.

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Discussion

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Language level

Average: 4.3 (3 votes)
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Submitted by Hawi Abdalla on Mon, 04/01/2021 - 15:27

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Please, Is there anyone who can help me improve my writing skill? As you all know, we're in pandemic and not getting enough practices to prepare for the exam and I am worried about it... ...please help me pass the exam as well as improving my writing

Hello Hawi Abdalla,

To improve your writing, it's important to read and write extensively. If possible, you should get feedback from a teacher or knowledgable friend on your writing. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to give users individualized feedback on their writing, but even if you can't find anyone to give you feedback, you can still use LearnEnglish to do some work on your own.

If you're on this page, you've obviously found our Writing skills section and this is where I'd start. After you work through the pages here, you might also want to look at the Writing section on LearnEnglish Teens, where there are some typical exam-style texts. If the exam you're referring to is the IELTS, I'd suggest you have a look at TakeIELTS.

Good writers learn from reading other writers' texts, so you could learn a lot about writing from reading the content on the site. The Magazine might be a good place to start if this interests you. You can respond to other users in the comment sections to carry on a written conversation, just as I am responding to you now.

Whatever you do, try to spend at least 15 minutes a day (or at least several days per week) reading and/or writing. When you have specific questions, ask a friend or teacher, or you're also welcome to ask us periodically here.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Marti on Fri, 20/11/2020 - 10:09

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I must confess I don't keep in touch with my friends as often as in the old times. We are always busy in our work and with our family issues, and we have forgotten in a certain way to talk and share our thoughts and feelings. Phones calls are being replaced by email, Messenger or Whatsapp messages. In my opinion, it's a common trend in our modern society. We are always in a hurry and we use smartphones for everything, so that we have no time to talk when doing any other task in these handy minicomputers. Sometimes it's easier to send an email than make a voice call even to family or close friends.

Submitted by Ugulhan on Sun, 11/10/2020 - 15:51

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Overall, I will write to my friend's emails, sometimes. But, It is been ages, seeing as I'd drop Sajeetha a line so I want to ask for you what have you been to up. I want to be off to Canada, but I have to think of it carefully. Life is costly as I saw online there. I want to try to find out a good job at the home and I will work permanently here.

Submitted by flavie.A on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 22:43

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For the past years i’ve been in touch with family and friends all over the world through whats’App . It’s a pretty good tool ,for even when the connection is very poor, we can make "voices" and the information is given. Nowadays, people seldom write letters to get in touch with each other for technology has greatly evolved supplying diffrent means of communication, hence,making it much easier for many.
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Submitted by OlaIELTS on Wed, 20/05/2020 - 17:32

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I keep in touch with friends through social media platforms.
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Submitted by Magedelabd on Thu, 07/05/2020 - 21:25

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I sm keeping on touch with friends through the what is up application we send us a message in the holidays . Actually I don't do more than that because of the time limitations.

Submitted by hrahmani on Tue, 11/02/2020 - 15:41

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Since I bought my smart phone I stopped writing emails to my friends for the informal communications. Since they also have their smart phones with chatting applications, I have been using such tools for getting news about them. I write them a short note and wait to see their responses. Then it depends on the response. It happens that after the response we organise a call to talk more about a particular event or situation. However, often, I receive short responses which mean nothing much to talk about. This is how I have been managing getting in touch with friends in recent years!