Here are the two letters we wrote together in April for Writing Challenge#6. Great work with transitional phrases everyone! See how well the letters flow?-------------Dear Grandma,I have been very busy this month; nevertheless, I haven't forgotten about you. In fact, I have something important to tell you.You keep always saying that you long to see my wedding. Therefore , recently I have found my Mr.right.consequetly,I'm no longer lonesome,and i'm excited to the idea of founding a family.At first, I was not sure about his true feelings, but now, after I have received this very beautiful bunch of roses with a card, I know he is the right one for me. Actually, it was his card that made me realize I can give my heart to him. Although he is not very perfect, I love him because he is honest and reliable.In other words,he is very outspoken,open-minded,outgoing and clear-sighted person.Particularly,he is long-suffering and you know it's not easy with me.I first met him through online chatting. We were just friend at the beginning but finally we find that we have many things in common. I believe you will like him as much as I do; therefore, we would like to visit you in this summer time. I,ve previouslytold him about you, and he is so excited to see you; on the other hand his grandma passed away about two years ago. As you can imagine, it will be difficult for him to meet you. He gets emotional every time he sees an elderly woman; however, he wants to meet you before the wedding. Besides, we want to consult you about our wedding plan. In fact, you have a lot of experience in this matter.Having said all of this, there is something I need to tell you about my new man. Before you read on, you may want to get yourself a drink.due to the fact that he lost his grandmother,he wants you to come to live with us after the wedding.Therefore, we really need to find a new apartment.But it isn't easy. As a result, all day; I'm with this in mind. In the meantime, we found a nice apartement but it's very expensive; above all, it's too big for us. As a result, we put advert at the local newspaper.At first, we thought we would rent the apartment and try to share it with another couple. However, when we couldn't find another couple we thought of you, Grandma.Above all, you are in my heart, Grandma. I will search to find new apartment with 4 rooms one to me & spouse, 2 to my kids and one to you. Eventually, you will live with us.Hope that i will find one soon. Therefore, you can come here. Actually, I miss you very much and look forward to seeing you. Although I was desperate to find the house, I finally found one in a good location. First of all,it's a really comfortable house.Besides,out-of-doors it has a really nice garden with flowers.Before I get too ahead of myself, we need to find out how you feel about this proposal. Most importantly, we want to make sure you are healthy enough to move.We are going to visit you next week. Meanwhile mom will stay with you for the next two weeks.Therefore, we hope that you are in your best condition when we come up for the next week. Besides, you also have prepared your lovely puppy to take with you to our house.In the mean time, we have planned to take you to the interesting places in town and hope you will like it. For example, we would like to take you to the marina where my fiance has a boat. Afterwards, we will treat you to fish and chips for dinner at our favourite restaurant. Furthermore, we will ask you to join the beach party where you'll meet many friends of us. Besides, you can enjoy your favourite dance 'tango', 'till you feel tired.After the party, we'd take you back to our apartment. Then we can enjoy the wedding (engagement) photos David and I took a couple of days ago.Above all, I just want you to get to know my sweetheart before I marry him. As you know, your approval means everything to me (I'm certain you are going to adore him).i wish to come and visit you nex month, above all i wisht to spend my holiday with you.Moreover, I want to bring my camera to take photos as much as I can. Consequently, whenever I look at them, I remember best moments of my life with you. Although David's starting to feel a little nervous about seeing you for the first time, we both can't wait to go and see you, my dear Grandma. In fact, we're planning to set off tomorrow.Grandma....it sounds very funny...To get a good impression from you,David has prepared everything perfectly as he's going to face an exam...For example, he used to woke up late,but now..he doesn't,he wake up earlier than me. He used to be very lazy to clean up the house, but now..he's a 'clean boy'...consequently,he's getting very talkative if i forgot to throw my tissue into the bin... You see...What a wonderful Grandma!Besides having heard that you like reading detective stories he started to read them at nights. As a result he falls asleep when he sits on the sofa.Meanwhile, we are very busy preparing and sending our wedding invitations. On our visit there, we will personally give a special invitation for you.I am sorry, I can't come this weekend because I'm having a bad flue; therefore, I have to stay at home for some days. In fact, I bought you a new scarf on your birthday;however, I will send it to you with my brother untill I get well. Besides , I want to consult you about my new arrangements for holiday.In any case, your eyes must be getting tired of reading this letter Grandma.When you find the time, please write back and tell me what you think of all this.Your beloved granddaughter,Julie---------------------------------Dear Julie,It was great to finally hear from you. Above all, I am happy to hear that you are engaged to the man of your dreams. Meanwhile,i have to see him before i can judge him.But i think that i can't judge him easily. At first, i'll ask him to take me walking around the city, enjoying some great places and also spending the day in the Theatre. Furthermore, i'll ask him to tell me a story about Detective regulary before i go to bed.In fact,I have some important questions to ask you. At first, are you both ready for this marriage? You know, you are young; finally,the economic crisis still in the world.Anyway, David really sounds like a good boyfriend. I'm so happy you eventually found your special someone. And I admit that you have talked me into coming and witnessing your sweet moment, the wedding ceremony. In fact , I can hardly wait to come and see you two.Julie, my cute granddaughter: you know, you are the apple of my eye. I'm so happy you have found a boyfriend like David. You really deserve such a sweetheart--you're so beautiful and have so good an English. And I heard of your blog is at the top of the blog list. God bless you!!!In the past, I have told my friends that my picky granddaughter would probably stay single forever. Consequently, many of my friends have felt sorry for me and have invited me to their own grandchildren's weddings. Now at last, I will finally see my granddaughter at the altar. Then, I expect to see my great-grandchildren afterwards.Sweety... Last night i played your chilhood videos. Then, i started to feel as if i was still there. You looked so active, clever,cute and chubby. I could not sweep my tears and i didn't realize that someone was sitting beside me for However, I want to ask you once again if David is the One for you. Due to my rich experience in the past, I am really willing to meet him for a conversation in private - for your sake.After all these years, I am going to see your wedding. So, today, I am going to clean the house and prepare myself for your arrival. At first,I'm going to clean the basement and I hope to find some photos from your childhood there.After,I will clean and prepare the bedroom for you.So,I have a lot of things to do before your arrival.Above all, in my deepest heart, i always say" Is it real? my chubby granddaughter is going to be a bride? My dear...you know, the first thing i'm going to do in your arrival is, i'll give my warm hugh and kiss to the great man who's completed my happiness by loving and taking care of you. Thankful God.Moreover, I can't stop thinking about my grand granddaughter even though I am too old. Likewise, I'm sure you are very excited to start your family and give birth to the daughter you have always dreamed of. Of course, if you have a son I will love him equally (but I have already started a hope chest for your future daughter which is full of frilly dresses and dolls).Nobody love me, therefore died is better for me. At least that is how I felt before receiving your wonderful letter (it is not easy being old and I sometimes feel depressed). Nevertheless, now I have a reason to live!Therefore, I'm feeling more responsibility for my health. Furthermore,I decided,finally, to work out.As a result, I am getting stronger and I have more energy to enjoy life. Perhaps I'll meet a special someone too (You're never too old for love, right?).In fact, an old man my age nearly made a proposal to me. But I'm not so sure if it's a good idea for me (so old a woman) to get engaged again after so long a period of time being alone. Does it sound crazy/silly, my granddaughter?At any rate, I must sign off now and get on with my day. I'm in a lawn bowling competition this afternoon and I want to look my best.See you soon!Love Grandma--------------------------------------------------------------------------One of our participants has asked for additional help on letter writing! Here are two free lessons on letter writing. Bookmark them! You may want to refer to them next time you write a letter in English.How to Format a Letter in EnglishWriting Business Letters--------------------------------------------------------------------------Why not join the MyEC Group "Find a Learning Partner". You can start a discussion: "I want to practise writing letters in English."
Hey Kieu,
I had a lot of help from all of the writers who joined the challenge. I hope you'll join the next challenge. It's always a group effort here!
Thanks, Tara. I've just checked the links - helpful. Hope other learners here will find them helpful, too! I agree that it's a good idea to start the discussion you mentioned to help improve letter-writing skills. Maybe I should take the initiative to start one in the group!
What a great team work! Actually, I've read the complete letter twice. Writing a letter is definitely a good way to practise the writing skills. I was wondering if Tara could take the time to tell us more about how to write a letter effectively. Everyone may possibly need to wrtie a letter at times - a thank-you messege, an invitation note, or a more important 'cover letter'.
Keep it up, Tara! We're waiting for your next writing challenge and more!
Comments
I do not know how I have to say, but I would like to thank you for the such writing challenge.
Cheers,
Ronnie
I had a lot of help from all of the writers who joined the challenge. I hope you'll join the next challenge. It's always a group effort here!
Here is a more in depth one on writing business letters.
Keep it up, Tara! We're waiting for your next writing challenge and more!