Letter of Application, and no clue what do to ... please help!

Basically, I'm doing work experience in France in February 2007. We've been sent a form to fill in, which I've done, and we've been told we have to write a letter of application, no less than 150 words, in the target language ( :eek:

) that our employers will read. We've been told that we have to include information about the following
- yourself (age, interests, skills, experience, studies, future plans)
- why you have chosen to take part in the course (I assume they mean the work experience)
- what you expect to gain from the trip in general
- what you expect to gain from your w/exp placement abroad
- which skills you want to use and improve during your work experience.

So, I need your help! I have absolutely no idea how to start the letter, and how to end it. If anyone has a few good phrases that I could put in there as well, I would much appreciate it!

I'm going to type my own version and post it here to see if it's okay, but I'd appreciate helps, hints and suggestions now, as well!
Rep for good help :smile:

Thanks a lot in advance :hugs:

brim

(Edit : BTW, I'd appreciate help as quickly as possible, as I need to send the form off ASAP! :smile:

)

Reply 1

Piggsil

Firstly, do you know the name of the person you're addressing the letter to?

Reply 2

brimstone

Nope, I don't know their name.

Reply 3

Piggsil

Well, like I just said, pretty sure there should be some letter-writing tips in the back of your dictionary - that should give you the basic structure for a formal letter in France. Afraid I can't remember it off the top of my head right now but if it isn't there, let me know and I'll get my dico because I know there are letter tips in there. :smile:

Reply 4

Happiness

I think it'll be easier if you post what you have first :smile:

That way at least we have a basic idea of what you're working towards.

Reply 5

quintsy

As Becca said, dictionaries are often the best source for this. I know my Hachette has a section on the different types of letters, and phrases which are appropriate to be used in each.

Here is an article taken from the dictionary as to how to write letters of application in French. :smile:

Reply 6

Excalibur

This is for Acorn, right? :biggrin:

I've just done this! I can't help you with specific phrases as such because my letter was in German - but don't get too stressed over it! They don't expect your French to be world class; just write what you can. Incidentally, this was my letter in English:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to discuss my work experience with "Acorn Educational Exchanges". I am 16 years old, and I am currently studying for my "A level" qualifications in German, Maths, Biology and Chemistry. In the future, I would perhaps like to study Sciences or Medicine at university and have therefore already undertaken some work experience in medical environments. Last summer, I've worked in a laboratory and in an hospital, and when I was 15, I worked in an office.

I am interested for this opportunity, because I would like to improve my German and experience German culture. During this work experience, I would also like to develop as a person - I would like to become more independent and confident, as well as improve my communication skills. Above all, it will be a fantastic and unforgettable experience.

In my free time, I like to play the piano and the clarinet; I also like to read very much and am currently trying to read Harry Potter in German. I am hard-working, enthusiastic and will always do my best.

Thank you very much in advance!

Yours sincerely,
(Name)

Obviously yours might be a lot different, and maybe mine wasn't the best letter in the world - but it got the message across, and I didn't want to appear better at German than I really was. Hope that helps! And you're leaving the letter a little late, aren't you? :p:

EDIT: a quick scouring of the Internet gave me:

http://french.about.com/library//weekly/aa111000.htm
http://www.askoxford.com/languages/fr/french_letters/?view=uk
http://www.2french.com/correspond/info_generale.php
http://www.iagora.com/iwork/resumes/letter_france.html (incl sample cover letter)

I'm sure there are more - there are oodles of resources for French compared to German :p:

Reply 7

brimstone

Excalibur

And you're leaving the letter a little late, aren't you? :p:

Thanks

The letter to fill in the forms only came through on Saturday though, and I've been immensely busy since then. It has to be with them by the 5th of Jan, so I've got a little bit of time.

Hopefully, I'll have finished today so I can show my copy of it then.

Reply 8

brimstone

Right, I've completed my first draft of it. I'd appreciate all help possible in making it correct, improving it or removing things!
There was only a little bit I was stuck on - I couldn't find out how to say 'homeless shelter' and I was very very confused about the endings.

This my French first draft

Spoiler

This is what I was trying to say in English!

Spoiler

Reply 9

kellywood_5

brimstone

This my French first draft
Messieurs
Je m’appelle Blah Blah, et j’ai dix-sept ans. J’étudie pour mes ‘A-Levels’ – le français, l’histoire, la politique et la littérature anglaise. Je m'intéresse à l’histoire et à la politique, mais aussi j’aime bien faire le kayaking et la danse de salon. J’ai beaucoup de qualités; je peux communiquer avec le public et je peux utiliser un ordinateur avec aisance. Auparavant, j’ai travaillé dans une bibliothèque pour mon stage d'enterprise. Maintenant, je travail à temps partiel dans un abri pour les sans-abri? dans mon temps libre. À l’avenir, je voudrais étudier l’histoire a l’université, et peut-être devenir politicien

Je participe a cet stage d’enterprise parce que je voudrais une expérience de la culture française. Également, je voudrais améliorer mon français pour préparer à mes examens en juin. Aussi, pendant le stage d’enterprise, j’espére devenir plus indépendant et capable d’utiliser mon français avec des locuteurs natives. Surtout ce sera une expérience fantastique et inoubliable, et il ajoutera à mon érudition actuel de français.

Je vous prie d'agréer, messieurs, l'expression de mes sentiments distinguées?

Blah Blah

There may be a better way of saying 'homeless shelter' than 'un abri pour les sans-abri' because that sounds a bit silly, but I can't think of any other way to say it. Also, I'm not sure whether the ending I've put is maybe a little too formal for this kind of thing, but that's how I was taught to end formal letters at A-level. Maybe you could try something simple like 'je vous remercie d'avance et j'attends vos réponse' if you don't like that.