Letter writing formal letters and informal letters

Letter Writing
Formal Letters &
Informal Letters
S. Mohan Raj
Ph.D Research Scholar, English
School of Social Sciences and Languages
VIT, Vellore
rajmohan251@gmail.com
9751660760

1. Letter writing is one of the ancient forms of
communications.
2. Letter writing is one of the arts of usage of language.
3. With the advent of emails and modern technology, the
concept of writing Letters has taken a back seat but the
style persists and people use it while writing emails.
4. Drafting Letters demands meticulous attention.
5. One should be careful about what is being written.

Following are some objectives of letters writing
♣ A Letter bridges communication gap between two or more
parties.
♣ A Letter can create awareness, inform or provoke a thought
in the receiver or the mass.
♣ A well-written letter is a good way to express one’s
feelings.
♣ A heartfelt letter acts as a personal memoir and may be
preserved by the receiver.

Letters are categorized into two types
1. Formal Letter
2. Informal Letter
Formal Letter:
 These letters are written
 To discuss business,
 To apply for services,
 To make requests,
 To file/register complaints etc.
The foundation of these letters and categorization depends upon what is
being discussed in the letters. The letters are short and to the point.

Types of Formal Letters:
1) Letter of Enquiry
2) Order Letter
3) Letter of Complaint
4) Reply to a Letter of Complaint
5) Promotion Letter
6) Sales Letters
7) Recovery Letters
Formal Letter Format
A formal letter has a format which needs to be followed.
A typical formal letter format has
1) Sender’s address
2) Date
3) Name / Designation of Addressee
4) Address of the Addressee
5) Salutation
6) Subject
7) Body – Introduction, Content, Conclusion
8) Complimentary Close
9) Signature / Name of the Sender
10) Designation of the Sender

Writing a Formal Letter
Formal letter writing is undoubtedly one of the most challenging types of letter format.
Sender’s Address:
1. The sender's address usually is included in letterhead.
2. If you are not using letterhead, include the sender's address at the
top of the letter one line above the date.
3. Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the
letter's closing. Include only the street address, city, and zip code.
Date:
1. The dateline is used to indicate the date the letter was written.
2. However, if your letter is completed over a number of days, use the
date it was finished in the dateline.
3. Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page.
4. Depending on which format you are using for your letter, either left
justify the date or tab to the centre point and type the date.
Formal Letter Format

Inside Address:
1. The inside address is the recipient’s address.
2. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you
are writing.
3. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr.
4. Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms.
5. If you are unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms.
6. The inside address begins one line below the sender's address or one inch
below the date.
7. It should be left-justified, no matter which format you are using.
Mr. for a male
Mrs. for a married female
Miss for an unmarried female
Ms.
for a female whose status is unknown or would prefer to
remain anonymous
Dr. for a person with the status of a doctor.

Salutation:
1. Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title.
2. If you know the person and typically address them by their first name, it is
acceptable to use only the first name in the salutation (for e.g. Dear Rahu).
3. In all other cases, however, use the personal title and last/family name followed by
a colon.
4. Leave one line blank after the salutation.
5. If you don't know a reader's gender, use a non-sexist salutation, such as their job
title followed by the receiver's name.
6. It is also acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine
gender. For example, you might write Dear Chris Harmon: if you were unsure of
Chris's gender.

Body:
1. For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each
paragraph within the body of the letter.
2. Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business
letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important.
3. In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of
the main point.
4. The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main
point. In the next few paragraphs, continue justification with background
information and supporting details.
5. The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some
cases, request some type of action.

Closing:
1. The closing begins at the same
vertical point as your date and one
line after the last body paragraph.
2. Capitalize the first word only (for
example: Thank you) and leave four
lines between the closing and the
sender's name for a signature.
3. If a colon follows the salutation, a
comma should follow the closing;
otherwise, there is no punctuation
after the closing.
Enclosures:
1. If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you
indicate this simply by typing Enclosures one line below the closing.
2. As an option, you may list the name of each document you are including in the
envelope.
3. For instance, if you have included many documents and need to ensure that the
recipient is aware of each document, it may be a good idea to list the names.

Format and Font
Block Format:
1. When writing business letters, you must pay special attention to the format and
font used.
2. The most common layout of a business letter is known as block format.
3. Using this format, the entire letter is left justified and single-spaced except for a
double space between paragraphs.
.
Font:
Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the font. The generally
accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12, although other fonts such as Arial
may be used.
Punctuation:
1. After the salutation and closing - use a colon (:)
2. After the salutation (never a comma) and a comma (,) after the closing.
3. In some circumstances, you may also use a less common format, known as open
punctuation. For this style, punctuation is excluded after the salutation and the
closing.

Types of Formal Letters
1) Write a Request Letter
2) Writing a Letter of Interest (job)
3) Writing a Complaint Letter
4) Writing an Apology Letter
5) Writing a Letter of Appeal
6) Writing an Invitation Letter
7) Writing a Resignation Letter
8) Requesting a Letter of Recommendation
9) Interview Thank You Letters
10) Write a Farewell Letter
11) Writing a Reference Letter

Formal Letter
Sender’s address
Date
Receiver’s Name, Designation & Address
Subject: __[Underline the subject]___
Dear Sir / Madam
Content
Para 1-Opening statement—introducing oneself, stating the purpose of writing the letter
 Through the columns of your newspaper, I wish to highlight/bring to your notice/express my concern…
 This is with reference to…
 This is to bring to your notice that…
Para 2-Reasons advanced/Describe the nature of the complaint/problem
 ...has led to...
 As a result...
Para 3-Suggestions to solve the problem at an individual level and as a group
 I feel that …..
 In my opinion ………..
 I suggest that …………
Para 4- Closing statement
 I hope…
 I would request you to…..
 I look forward to your ….
Yours faithfully/ truly or Yours sincerely
Sender’s Name

Informal Letter:
 Informal Letter is also known as personal letters, usually written to family, friends,
relatives, neighbors or to acquaintances.
 These letters may or may not have a concrete reason for writing.
 They may be written just to share an experience, enquire about someone’s how about,
updating someone with a general incident etc.
 In these letters, we cover personal letters (letters to family, letters to relatives, love
letters and letters to elderly people) and social letters (letters to friends, social invitations,
congratulatory/apology/ letters, letters of condolence/sympathy, thank you letters).

The main purposes of writing an informal letter are
1. to express feelings and emotions.
2. to stay in contact with family and friends.
3. to send invitations, replies, thanksgiving etc.
4. to make personal complaints.
5. to communicate by expressing sympathy, feeling.
6. congratulating someone etc.
Tips for Writing an Informal Letter
1) Write as if you are speaking to the reader in person.
2) Do not hesitate in adopting your style while writing to friends or relatives.
3) Add Mr/Mrs/Ms' post the word Dear when writing.
4) Always start with a good/interesting news you want to share so that the reader
feels positively associated with you.
5) As there is not defined or set length for informal letters, try to keep it up to a page
or a page and a half.
6) Maintain a logical order while expressing ideas or replying to someone’s queries.

Format of Informal Letter:
Sender’s Address:
It includes house number, street/area pin code and country.
Date:
It includes the date on which the letter is written.
Salutation:
It is a customary greeting to the reader depending upon the
intimacy between the writer and the reader.
Body of the Letter:
It includes the text that embodies the purpose of writing. It
may consist of one or more paragraph. Each paragraph
focuses on a different idea/query/event.

Concluding Remarks:
This part indicates that the letter is going to end. A
concluding remark like 'love you' or 'missing you’ words can
be written in this part.
Complimentary Closure:
It is a warm subscription for the reader. It is also followed
by the name of the writer. The first word in the
complimentary closure always starts with a capital letter.
Signature Line:
It mentions the name of the writer. The handwritten
signature goes above this line, below the closure.

Key Points for Better Letter Writing:
To the Point content:
1. Nothing more is harmful to good communication than the confused
state which may result in not conveying the exact point.
2. Before writing a letter one should be sure of what one wants to
convey. All the facts and methodically.
3. One should not be vague about one’s objective.
Selection of Correct Words:
1. Words are the writer’s tools and the writer needs to put
the right word and right expression with precision.
2. It should, however, be remembered that right words
become relevant only in the right context.
3. For example, an emotional or flowery language has to
be fully avoided in a business letter.

Courtesy:
1. A letter reveals its writer’s personality and character.
2. One must remain professional while writing a letter.
3. Even while writing a complaint letter, care should be taken
that it is couched in polite and civilized language.
4. Good judgment determines what and how a point has to be
conveyed.
Conciseness:
1. Formal letters must be concise.
2. In formal letters especially one must not
write unnecessary sentences.
3. To the point, information or enquiry is
prerequisite of business correspondence.
4. Long illustrations and elaboration must
be avoided at all costs.

Style:
1. The conversational style is the most suitable one for letter writing.
2. It is best to write in a simple, clear style maintaining a logical
sequence of ideas.
3. Every sentence should grow out of the preceding one.
4. There should be no abrupt jumping from one idea to the another.
Correct:
1. Use of Punctuation Marks: Use of
punctuation marks, use of capital letters,
commas or colons is must make our writing
effective.
2. Sometimes the placement of a comma or full
stop at a wrong place may change the
meaning of the sentence can steal the
effectiveness of a good letter.
3. Hence utmost attention should be paid to
punctuation while writing.

Letter writing formal letters and informal letters

References
1. Formal Letter Writing Workshop.
https://www.fcusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001934/Centricity/Domain/1250/Formal%20Letter%20
Writing%20Workshop.pdf
2. Types of Formal Letters with Samples_ Formal Letter Format with Videos.
https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-correspondence-and-reporting/writing-formal-
letters/types-formal-letters-samples/
3. Formal and informal letter writing.
https://www.tafssp.com/media/contentpage_105_94_106.pdf
4. 37 Letter Writing informal. https://www.jfmed.uniba.sk/fileadmin/jlf/Pracoviska/ustav-
cudzich-jazykov/LetterWriting.pdf
5. Letter Writing - Format, Types and Sample PDF.
https://www.bankexamstoday.com/2019/04/letter-writing-format-types-and-sample.html
6. Letter Writing - Format, Types and Sample PDF.
http://www.lrbusinessed.com/bcp/textbook_files/chapter09.pdf

Letter writing formal letters and informal letters

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