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Write format of formal letter.
Write format of formal letter.
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2 Replies
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While communicating in formal settings, you are often required to write letters. Normally called formal letters, these are the letters that you write to people other than your friends and family. Though these letters, you make communication with professional organizations, educational institutions and other such public bodies. Since these letters are written for specific purposes and to people in the specific positions, you should be aware of the conventions that govern formal written communication.
Most formal letters have the following steps:
1.Sender’s Address
You should add your address at the top left of the letter.
2.Date
This will be followed by the date on which the letter is being written or sent. It is advisable to use one date format consistently in all your correspondence.
3.Refernce Number (if any)
Companies and institutions use this alphanumeric notation to file the letter. Usually labelled as ‘Ref:’, which is followed by the actual reference number.
4.Receiver’s Address
Then you will include the name and the address of the receiver of the letter. If you are writing to a specific person, you must include the name of the person and his or her designation.
5.Subject Line
Labelled usually as ‘Sub:’, the subject line is a short description, not more than one line, that highlights the purpose of your letter.
6.Salutation
Use ‘Dear’ followed by the title and the surname of the person you are writing to. In case you do not know the name of the addressee, you can write Dear Director or Dear Manager.
7.Body
Your text constitutes the body.
8. Closing
You close your letter with ‘Yours truly’ or ‘Yours sincerely.’ That is called the complimentary close. It is wrong to say Yours. Be careful with the apostrophe.
9.Signature Area
After the complimentary close, remember to sign the letter. Below your signatures, you will also need to have your name written or printed in the upper case.
10.Enclosure Notation
Next to the label ‘Encl.’ you will list the additional documents being sent with the letter.
Formal letters are now mostly formatted in full-block style, which means that all parts of the letter are left aligned.
You may also keep in mind the following points as your mail the letter:
There is no grammatical error in the letter.
The point size of the fonts is appropriate; 12-point size is preferable.
The quality of paper and printing is acceptable.
On the envelope, the address of the receiver is complete and appears in the center. The sender’s address appears on the top- or bottom-left corner of the envelope.
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FORMAL LETTERS
Professionally written letters are known as formal letters. These letters are written in a formal tone and adhere to a specific format. There are some pre-defined set of rules that people follow while writing these letters. Information in these kinds of letters is to point. These letters are written to the head of a department, principal of school or college, company’s manager.
Reasons for writing a formal letter can be the following:
Application for sick leave
Job offer letters
Complaint letters
Appointment letters
Circular letter
FORMAT OF FORMAL LETTER
Sender’s Address
The sender’s address is written on the top left-hand corner of a page. The address should be written correctly, then only the receiver of the letter will be able to get in touch with you in case they want to.
Date
Just below the sender’s address, a date has to be written. Do not use abbreviations for writing the month. Since formal letters may be used as a potential record, it is critical to include a date.
Receiver’s Address
Below the date, write the address of the person to whom you are writing the letter. Also, make sure to write the receiver’s official title/name/position, and so on.
Greetings/ Salutation
Skip one line and then start with your greeting. Generally used salutations are “Sir” or ” Madam”. Always remember in these letters you don’t address the person with his/her first name. Full name should be used. If you know the recipient’s name then use ”Mrs. Abc” or ” Mr. Abc”. If you don’t know the recipient’s gender, in such a case use their job title followed by the recipient’s name.
Subject
It is written just below the greetings, on the center of the page. It helps the receiver to know what the letter is all about. Generally, it is of one line.
Body
Now, comes the main content of the letter. Here, you state what is the purpose of writing the letter. Use only professional language. Keep your sentences short, clear, and brief enough that you can convey the message to the other person. Information stated here should be to the point. The body generally consists of 3 parts:
1) Introductory part
2) Middle part that is; where you describe your purpose of writing the letter. Support the purpose with some facts.
3) Conclusion: here, you write about what do you expect from the other person, the actions you expect from the other person.
Closing of letter
Here we do the closing of the letter by using some specific words, like ” yours faithfully” or ” yours sincerely”. The first letter of the closing should be capitalized and put a comma there.
Signature
Sign your full name. Just below your Signature, write your full name in the block letters in the bracket. It is done so that the recipient can know who is sending the letter.
Enclosures
It is used when you have attached some document such as a resume with your letter then this can be shown by writing enclosures below the closing. In case, one has enclosed many documents in such a case one can list the name, so that receiver is aware of what all are documents are enclosed by you.
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