IB English A Lang & Lit Purpose and Audience of Letters Notes

Identifying a Letter: Structural Markers

1. The salutation is the most reliable structural marker: "Dear [Name]", "Dear Sir/Madam", or "To Whom It May Concern" open a letter by addressing a specific person or body.
2. The closing valediction ("Yours sincerely", "Yours faithfully", "Best regards", "Warmly") ends the letter and is almost always followed by the sender's name.
3. The first-person voice is a defining pronoun pattern: letters are almost always written as "I" addressing "you", creating the text's characteristic directness.
4. A paragraphed body structures formal letters with a clear opening (why I am writing), a middle (the argument or details), and a closing (what action is requested).
5. Letters often include a date and address block: the date contextualises the letter historically, and the address signals whether the correspondence is personal or institutional.
6. Letters frequently include a reference to shared context: references to prior exchanges ("Thank you for your letter of...") or a specific triggering event signal that this text has a particular history and a particular recipient.

Register as a Clue to Letter Type

1. Formal letters use complete sentences, technical or legal vocabulary, and passive constructions, with no contractions or emotional outbursts.
2. Personal letters use contractions, conversational phrasing, and emotional language, with the register reflecting the closeness between writer and recipient.
3. Open letters often mix both: formal enough to be credible, accessible enough to reach a broad public beyond the named recipient.

Purpose and Audience of Letters

1. Letters are always written for a specific, named recipient: this directness distinguishes them from essays, reports, or articles addressed to a general readership.
2. The purpose of a letter shapes every language and structural choice: to complain, to request, to inform, to express affection, or to persuade.
3. The formality of the salutation and sign-off immediately signals the writer's relationship with the recipient and the register of the whole letter.