A typical OET letter has the following parts:

• Date (of writing the letter)
• Address (of the recipient, not yours)
• Salutation (Dear Sir, Madam, Doctor, Nurse) + a comma
• Re: or Ref: or Subject (Subject is less common, used for information letters)
• Sentence 1 – Mr Parker (Patient) requires urgent admission for assessment (Purpose) of his recurrent palpitation (Condition). He is being transferred.
• Sentence 2 – Admission
• Sentence 3 – Treatment, etc., progress
• Sentence 4 – Past history
• Sentence 5 – Social history
• Sentence 6 – Request (Expand the purpose in different words)
• Sentence 7 – Encourage the recipient to contact you for further information.
• Ending with, “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully,”
• Close with your name. Designation.

However, you needn’t to stick to this flow and format completely. Some letters may have a slightly different pattern.

I hope you have learnt about the parts of an OET letter with the help of a few samples. Now, it is time to know the types of Letters which may appear in the exam.