The informal email / letter: The informal email or letter (le courriel / la lettre informel·le) is one of the most common Paper 1 text types. You write to someone you know well.
Who and why
- Reader: a friend, a cousin, a pen pal
- Purpose: share news, invite them, thank them or just chat
Tone is the point: The whole point is a warm, personal, chatty tone, as if you were talking to them. That tone — plus the right greeting and sign-off — is what Criterion C (conceptual understanding) rewards.
| Question | Informal email/letter answer |
|---|---|
| Who reads it? | Someone you know — a friend, family member, pen pal. |
| What pronoun? | tu (never vous to a single friend). |
| What tone? | Friendly, warm, chatty — almost like a chat message. |
| What must it have? | A greeting (Salut/Coucou…) and a sign-off (Bises/À bientôt…). |
| Typical purpose | Share news, invite, thank, recommend, ask how they are. |
Real tasks where it was an option
- Reassure a friend who worries you game too much (May 2023)
- Help your best friend before a move abroad (Nov 2021)
- Persuade your grandparents to choose an electric car (Nov 2024)
- Tell a friend who skips school you are worried (Nov 2025)
Conventions the examiner checks
- Salut Léa ! / Coucou !
- Paragraphs that answer every part of the task
- Et toi ? Bises, Hugo
Traps that cost Criterion C
- Slipping into vous or « Madame, Monsieur »
- No greeting or no sign-off
- Chatting but forgetting one part of the task
Don't confuse it with the FORMAL letter: A formal letter uses vous, Madame, Monsieur, and Cordialement,. An informal email uses tu, Salut… and Bises. Picking the wrong register is the fastest way to lose Criterion C — decide who your reader is before you start writing.
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Stay on 'tu', stay warm: Everything in an informal email points to one register: tu. The verbs, the questions, the greeting and the sign-off must all match. A single vous or a stiff formal phrase breaks the tone — and the marks.
Formal (WRONG here)
- Madame, Monsieur,
- Je me permets de vous écrire afin de…
- Dans l'attente de votre réponse,
- Cordialement, / Veuillez agréer…
Informal (RIGHT here)
- Salut Léa ! / Coucou !
- Je t'écris pour te raconter un truc…
- Réponds-moi vite !
- Bises, / À bientôt, / Gros bisous,
Markers of the chatty informal tone
- tu / te / toi everywhere — never vous to one friend
- Friendly openers: Ça va ? / Quoi de neuf ? / Comment tu vas ?
- Short, lively sentences and exclamations: Génial ! / Trop bien !
- Direct questions back to the reader: Ça te dit ? / Et toi ?
- Casual words: un truc, super, trop, du coup (use a few, don't overdo it)
Consistency is the test: Examiners look for one consistent register. Choose tu on the first line and keep it to the last. A friendly tone that slips into Veuillez… or vous loses Criterion C even if the French is otherwise correct.
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Greeting → opening → body → wrap-up → sign-off: An informal email follows a simple, reliable shape. Hit each part and you secure the conventions marks (Criterion C); the greeting and the sign-off are the two parts examiners check first.
The 5 parts of an informal email
1
Greeting
An informal hello + their name. Salut Léa ! / Coucou !
2
Opening
Ask how they are + say why you write. Ça va ? Je t'écris parce que…
3
Body
The news / invitation / request, in a chatty tone, with details.
4
Wrap-up
Invite a reply + ask a question back. Ça te dit ? Réponds-moi vite !
5
Sign-off
A warm formula + your name. Bises, Nina / À bientôt, …
Greeting → Opening → Body → Wrap-up → Sign-off
| Part | Ready-to-use French |
|---|---|
| Greeting | Salut [prénom] ! / Coucou ! / Cher Tom, (slightly softer) |
| Opening | Ça va ? / Quoi de neuf ? — Je t'écris parce que… |
| Body | Devine quoi ! / Figure-toi que… / J'ai une super nouvelle… |
| Wrap-up | Ça te dit ? / Dis-moi vite ! / Et toi, comment ça va ? |
| Sign-off | Bises, / Gros bisous, / À bientôt, / Je t'embrasse, + your name |
Never drop the frame: The greeting and sign-off are the 'frame' of the email — losing either one costs easy Criterion C marks. Even when you run short on time, always close with Bises, + your name.
See it all in one short email: Here is a complete informal email — short, but with every part in place. Read it once (tap Voir la traduction if you get stuck), then notice the labelled features below: that's exactly what an examiner ticks off.
Un courriel informel — modèle: Coucou Léa ! Ça va ? Je t'écris parce que cet été je vais suivre un stage de photographie et j'adorerais que tu viennes avec moi. C'est les mercredis après-midi, tout près de chez toi. Ça te dit ? Dis-moi vite ce que tu en penses. Gros bisous, Nina !
- Greeting
- Coucou Léa ! — informal hello + the reader's name. Sets the friendly register at once.
- Opening
- Ça va ? Je t'écris parce que… — asks how they are, then says why she writes.
- Register
- tu / te / toi throughout (t'écris, chez toi, ça te dit) — never vous. One consistent register.
- Tone
- Short, lively sentences + an emoji + j'adorerais — warm and personal, like a chat.
- Wrap-up
- Ça te dit ? Dis-moi vite… — invites a reply and throws a question back to Léa.
- Sign-off
- Gros bisous, Nina ! — a warm closing formula + the writer's name. The email is framed.
How to analyse a model: To analyse any informal email, look at three things: the greeting, the pronouns (tu/te), and the sign-off. Those three reveal the register instantly — and they're the parts you must reproduce in your own answer.
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A toolkit for each part: Keep a small bank of phrases for each part of the email. Reusing them accurately is straight Criterion A (Language) — and it stops you freezing on the greeting or the sign-off.
| For… | Useful French phrase | English |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Salut [prénom] ! / Coucou ! | Hi [name]! / Hey! |
| Opening | Ça va ? Quoi de neuf ? Je t'écris parce que… | How are you? What's new? I'm writing because… |
| Sharing news | Devine quoi ! / Figure-toi que… / J'ai une super nouvelle ! | Guess what! / Get this… / I've got great news! |
| Inviting | Ça te dit de…? / Tu veux venir avec moi ? | Do you fancy…? / Want to come with me? |
| Wrap-up | Réponds-moi vite ! / Dis-moi ce que tu en penses. | Write back soon! / Tell me what you think. |
| Sign-off | Bises, / Gros bisous, / À bientôt, / Je t'embrasse, | Kisses, / Big kisses, / See you soon, / Hugs, |
Connectors to keep it flowing
- d'abord… ensuite… enfin — first… then… finally
- du coup / donc — so / therefore (du coup is casual)
- en plus / d'ailleurs — besides / by the way
- par contre / mais — on the other hand / but
- parce que / comme — because / as (give your reasons)
Vary, don't repeat: Don't open every sentence with et. Swap in du coup, en plus, par contre — a couple of varied connectors lift you from a list into a real, chatty message, and that's rewarded in Criterion A.