Write a letter to a potential pen friend introducing yourself.
Answers
Explanation:
The most important letter that you will write to a penpal is your first letter, because after all, this letter will determine whether that person responds to you or not. Here are some tips and ideas about what you should include in your first letter.
Do not send mass introductory letters
This is the most common mistake that penpallers make. If there is one thing that you learn from this tour - let it be this point. Sometimes people think the first letter should be a stock standard letter and you can send the same one to everyone on your penpal list or every one in the database. Mass mail sending will have a very poor result. You should take the time to make you letter specific to each person you sent it to. You should already have some details about your prospective penpals, so don't pretend you know nothing about them. Make sure you tell your penpal what it is about their profile that stood out from all the others.
Tell your penpal the essentials
The three things that most affect whether someone will write back a response will be Age, Sex and Location. Make sure you include these 3 vital bits of information.
Tell them where you stumbled across their information
If people are registered on more than one website or club, its always a good idea to let them know where their details were found. Our website has internal messaging, so people will know immediately where you have seen their profile.
Discuss your hobbies and interests briefly
This is a good opportunity for you to get the ball rolling and hopefully trigger something that sounds familiar to the other penpaller. Maybe he/she will have similar interests or find your hobbies interesting to learn about.
Ask some questions
Remember this is not the Spanish inquisition, its just a first letter. Ask some general questions to give your penpal an opportunity to reply. Don't ask personal questions that they may take offence to.. keep it simple. How long have you been horse riding? for example.
How do I finish the letter
Make sure you finish your fiirst letter with something harmless like.. "Yours Sincerely", or "Your friend". Some people can be scared off if you come on too strong and finish with "Love" or "Hugs and Kisses".
Don't try to force people to write back
Its always good to end your first letter by saying that you thank them for their time and that you wish them the best even if they do not wish to correspond to you. You should never make your new penpal feel obligated to reply to your letter. They will reply if they want to and do not need to be told that you "look forward to hearing from them soon" or "I will be most disappointed if I do not receive a reply". Comments like this will have no positive effects.
Answer:
Dear Jason,
Hello! My new pen friend, Jason! I have received your letter already. I love your country, Canada, but I have
never been to your country before. It is such a stunning scenery of those Maples leaves falling over the ground on
TV. I wish I could try to take the fallen leaf and treasure it as a bookmark for my favourite reading. Luckily you
are Canadian. I hope someday you can take me to your country and try Canadian food or live in your home. How
many rooms do you have? We could only afford to have a small flat in Hong Kong due to the high population.
Let me tell you about my home. I have a big, lovely and happy family because I have two younger sisters and
one younger brother. I am the eldest in this home sweet home. Also, I live with my parents, grandma and two
cute cats and dogs. We love cuddling them when we go home after school. My father is a PE teacher. He works in
Lam Tin and my mother is a housewife but she is also busy at home taking care of us such as washing the dishes
and doing the laundry every day.
I am a Form 1 student studying in Sun Kei Secondary School. I was new to school at the beginning, but I
am not new anymore because I’ve made many new friends. I like my secondary school very much because the
teachers are very nice and kind. My favourite teacher is Mr Fok. He is my Math teacher. I like him because he is
nice. My favourite subject is PE. I like doing different kinds of sports, such as basketball, table tennis, badminton.
I wish I could visit your school too. I am always curious about cricket but it is not popular in Hong Kong. Can you
tell me more about it?
I have many hobbies such as reading books and playing computer games. But my favourite hobby is playing
basketball as it is fun and exciting. I always join teams with my classmates every weekend.
My dream is to be a basketball player so I will study hard to get in to UCLA where a lot of the NBA stars are
produced. Although I want to be a player, my parents don’t like the idea. They said, ‘Being a basketball player
could not earn money. You must be a lawyer or a doctor. This can earn a living.’ Even though my parents don’t
agree with me, I still want to be a basketball player when I grow up.
Let me end my long letter here by telling you something funny about myself. My friends always joke about me
and call me ‘Black man’ because I have a darker skin tone. I don’t mind. I think it’s a funny nickname.
It’s late now and I have to go to bed. Write back soon! Bye for now!
Best wishes,
Chris Wong