Letter Writing

Formal letter

Formal letter example


Cliches for writing formal letter

When the recipient’s name is unknown to you:

  • Dear Sir … Yours faithfully
  • Dear Madam … Yours faithfully
  • Dear Sir or Madam … Yours faithfully

When you know the recipient’s name:

  • Dear Mr Hanson … Yours sincerely
  • Dear Mrs Hanson … Yours sincerely
  • Dear Miss Hanson … Yours sincerely
  • Dear Ms Hanson … Yours sincerely

When addressing a good friend or colleague:

  • Dear Jack … Best wishes/Best regards

Addressing whole departments:

  • Dear Sirs … Yours faithfully

10 good closing lines

We need a closing line in a business letter or email:

to make a reference to a future event; to repeat an apology; to offer help

  • If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.
  • I look forward to your reply.
  • I look forward to hearing from you.
  • I look forward to seeing you.
  • Please advise as necessary.
  • We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.
  • Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
  • Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.
  • We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom.
  • I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

10 good opening lines

We need an opening line in a business letter or professional email:

to make reference to previous correspondence; to say how we found the recipient’s name/address; to say why we are writing to the recipient.

  • With reference to your letter of 8 June, I … .
  • I am writing to enquire about … .
  • After having seen your advertisement in … , I would like … .
  • After having received your address from … , I … .
  • I received your address from … and would like … .
  • We/I recently wrote to you about … .
  • Thank you for your letter of 8 May.
  • Thank you for your letter regarding … .
  • Thank you for your letter/e-mail about … .
  • In reply to your letter of 8 May, … .

Types of Letters

1. Letter of complaint.

2. Asking for/giving information.

3.Request.

4.Asking for/giving advice.

5. Invitation.

6.Accepting/refusing an invitation.

7.Expessing congratulations/thanks/regret/sympathy.

8.Giving news.

9.Apology.

10.Application for a job.

11.Playing a bill.

Structure of the formal letter

Sender’s Address

The sender’s address is usually put on the top right-hand corner of the page. The address should be complete and accurate in case the recipient of the letter wishes to get in touch with the sender for further communication.

Date

The sender’s address is followed by the date just below it, i.e. on the right side of the page. This is the date on which the letter is being written. It is important in formal letters as they are often kept on record.

Receiver’s Address

After leaving some space we print the receiver’s address on the left side of the page. Whether to write “To” above the address depends on the writer’s preference. Make sure you write the official title/name/position etc of the receiver, as the first line of the address.

Greeting

This is where you greet the person you are addressing the letter to. Bear in mind that it is a formal letter, so the greeting must be respectful and not too personal. The general greetings used in formal letters are “Sir” or “Madam”. If you know the name of the person the salutation may also be “Mr. XYZ” or “Ms. ABC”. But remember you cannot address them only by their first name. It must be the full name or only their last name.


Subject

After the salutation/greeting comes the subject of the letter. In the centre of the line write ‘Subject” followed by a colon. Then we sum up the purpose of writing the letter in one line. This helps the receiver focus on the subject of the letter in one glance.

Body of the Letter

This is the main content of the letter. It is either divided into three paras or two paras if the letter is briefer. The purpose of the letter should be made clear in the first paragraph itself. The tone of the content should be formal. Do not use any flowery language. Another point to keep in mind is that the letter should be concise and to the point. And always be respectful and considerate in your language, no matter the subject of your letter.

Closing the Letter

At the end of your letter, we write a complimentary losing. The words “Yours Faithfully” or “Yours Sincerely” are printed on the right side of the paper. Generally, we use the later if the writer knows the name of the person.

Signature

Here finally you sign your name. And then write your name in block letters beneath the signature. This is how the recipient will know who is sending the letter.

Informal letter

Informal letter example


Cliches for writing informal letter

Opening

Dear + name. My dear…, My dearest, Me darling…

Paragraph 1

Salutation

Lovely to hear from you. / It was great to hear from you. / Thanks for getting in touch. / I was so surprised to hear that… / How’re things going? / How’s it going? / What’re you up to nowadays? It’s been ages since we last seen each other. / It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. / I hope all’s well. / I hope you (and your family) are well. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for such a long time. / I’m sorry I didn’t write to you earlier. I hope this letter finds you well.

Main body / Giving news:

Listen, did I tell you about…? / You’ll never believe what… / Guess what! /Oh, and another thing… / This is just to let you know that… / I thought you might be interested to hear about/to know about… / By the way, have you heard about / did you know that…

Referring to news

Great news about… / Glad to hear that… / Sorry to hear that… / I was sorry to learn from your letter that…

Invitation

I’m/We’re having a party on Saturday 4th and I/we hope you’ll be able to come. Would you like to come/go to see … with me at the weekend? We would like you to join us… I was wondering if you’d like to come on holiday / to go to the cinema with us?

Thank you

I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present. It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you. I really appreciated all your help / advice.

Congratulations

Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results! I wish you good luck / Good luck in / with your exams / your driving test / your interview. /

Good luck

Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well / pass. Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …

Signing off

Love, / Lots of love, / All the best, / Take care, / Best wishes, / Kind regards, / All my love, / All the best, / Much love, / See you soon, / With love and best wishes, / With love to you all,

5)Introduction Paragraph

And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters.

6)Body of the Letter

The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you have to adjust the language and the wordings according to who you are writing to. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual and flippant even. But if you are writing to an elder relative, you must be extremely respectful and considerate.

7)Conclusion

In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing the letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a meaningful and affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite the reader to write back or reply to your letter. It shows an intention to keep the conversation going.

8)Signature

There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they do not follow a strict format, you may sign off as you please. Some commonly used phrases are

  • Lots of Love
  • Best,
  • Best Wishes,
  • Kind Regards,
  • Kindly,

Pick the one that best suits the occasion and then simply sign your name below the greeting.

Structure of the informal letter

1)Address

The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the writer. We usually write the address on the left-hand side of the page at the very top. The address should be accurate and complete. Even when writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with ease. If the recipient of the letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country as well in the address.

2)Date

Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the reader to have a reference as to when the address was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter.

3)Greeting

Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or someone close to your age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Alex”. If you are writing to your relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for example, “Dear Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person, someone you respect greatly you can address them as Mr or Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory letter to your teacher, it can be addressed as “Dear Mrs. Alex”.

4)Introduction Paragraph

And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters.