An opening tells the reader who you are to them and why you are writing or speaking. A closing leaves a last impression and, where needed, states what you want to happen next. Both must match the audience, purpose and format of the task.
This lesson completes the cluster on audience, purpose and register. It draws on the tone control from choosing a register for a letter to an institution and the voice work from sustaining a purposeful voice in a speech.
Which opening and closing suit which task?
Different forms need different conventions.
| Task | Opening | Closing |
|---|---|---|
| Formal letter to a named person | Dear Mr Hassan, then the reason for writing | Yours sincerely, with a polite next step |
| Formal letter, no name known | Dear Sir or Madam, then the reason | Yours faithfully |
| Speech | A question, a striking fact or a direct address | An echo of the opening and a call to act |
| Article | A hook: a scene, a fact or a bold claim | A final thought that widens the point |
| Message to a friend | A friendly greeting | A warm, brief sign-off |
The choice is not about decoration. A formal letter needs a clear reason for writing in the first sentence. A speech needs to win attention in the first ten seconds.
Worked example
Task: Write the opening and closing of an article for the school magazine arguing that the school should plant a vegetable garden.
Step 1, decide audience and purpose. Readers are students and teachers. Purpose: persuade and interest.
Step 2, choose a hook opening (a scene):
At 10.15 every morning, the back field is empty. It is thirty metres of patchy grass that nobody uses, and it could be feeding us.
Step 3, choose a closing that widens the point:
Imagine the canteen serving tomatoes that grew two hundred steps from the door. A garden will not solve everything, but it would give the school something it can grow, pick and share.
Step 4, check the fit. The opening uses a concrete scene, which suits a magazine. The closing uses imagery and a positive picture. A formal letter about the same idea would use neither: it would begin with “I am writing to propose…” and end with a request.
The mistake to watch for
Students often use one template for every task.
Mistaken opening for a letter to the council: How would you feel if you lived next to a building site?
A rhetorical question suits a speech. For a letter, the reader wants the reason for writing at once.
Corrected opening: I am writing to express my concern about the noise from the building site next to Jalan Melor.
Another common slip is a closing that simply repeats everything. “As I have said above, the garden is a good idea” adds nothing. A closing should move forward, not copy backwards.
Check yourself
1. Which ending fits “Dear Mr Hassan,”: Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?
Show answer
Yours sincerely. The letter begins with a named person.
2. Write a one-sentence opening for a speech urging students to read more.
Show answer
For example: “How many of you finished a whole book last month?” Other valid choices include a striking fact or a short story.
3. What is wrong with this closing for a formal letter: “So yeah, that’s it, hope you’ll think about it”?
Show answer
It uses fillers and contractions, and it has no clear next step. A better version: “Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to your reply.”
Where this leads next
You now have the five core skills for this cluster. Test them together with the mixed practice set, then look at how a full argument is built in the next module.
If you would like help fitting openings and closings to each exam task, our teachers can review your attempts in online one-to-one English First Language tuition. The writing revision compare view is a useful way to review your own first and second versions.