Key Idea: Professional texts are formal: a letter, a report, a proposal, instructions and an essay. Each has a fixed frame, and you keep the formal tone from start to finish.
Formal letter
- First line: "I am writing to…". Then two or three developed points.
- Dear Mr Patel → Yours sincerely. Dear Sir or Madam → Yours faithfully.
- Polite and impersonal: "I would be grateful if you could…". No slang, no contractions, no "!!".
Report
- Title — Says what the report is about.
- Aim — Why the report was written.
- Findings — The data, given objectively: "according to the survey…"
- Recommendations — Clear actions: "it is recommended that…"
- Conclusion — Short and factual.
Headings for each part. Never "I think", no greetings, no emotion.
Proposal
- Parts: a title, the aim ("The aim of this proposal is to…"), the body, a call to act, a formal sign-off.
- Formal and persuasive: "I kindly ask you to…"
- Every measure needs a reason and a benefit, linked with since, therefore, moreover.
Instructions
- Title — "How to make…"
- What you need — List the things first.
- Numbered steps — Use commands: peel, add, serve. First, Next, Then, Finally.
- Tip or warning — Help the reader avoid a mistake.
- Close — "That's it!"
Essay
- A professional text: logical argument, for a reader who expects reasoned discussion.
- Introduction, a body that weighs both sides, a reasoned conclusion.
- Each claim gets a reason: because…, since…
- Keep your own opinion for the conclusion.
- Formal and impersonal: on the one hand, in conclusion.
Formal means the same frame and the same polite tone from the first line to the last.
You know the person's name. How do you sign off? Yours sincerely.
In a report, where do you look for the data? Under Findings. Actions are under Recommendations.
What must back up each idea in a proposal? Why it is needed, and what good it does.
Which verb form do instructions use? The imperative: peel, add, serve.
Can you write "I think" in a report? No. Use "it was found that…" instead.
Where does your opinion go in an essay? Only in the conclusion.