Formal Letter Format | How to Write a Formal Letter, Types, Topics and Formal Letter Examples

What is Formal Letter? How to Write a Formal Letter | Formal Letter Format and Examples

What is Formal Letter?
Video Explanation of Formal Letter Writing
Learn how to Write
Formal Letter Types
Formal Letter Format
Difference Between Formal Letter and Informal Letter

What is a Formal Letter?

Formal letters are official letters written to people in their official capacity or written to a firm. They are formal in nature. Nothing in such letters should be personal or intimate. with subjects such as inquiry, orders, transfer of money, reference, request, booking complaints, loss, and apology. What matters is setting out your letter correctly, keeping to the point, and maintaining the formal tone.

Letter to the Editor
Order Letter
Letter to the Principal
Job Application Letter

See Video Explanation of Formal Letter Writing

Learn How to Write | Letter to the Editor

Write a letter to the editor of a National Daily, expressing your opinion and views on the increased human dependence on technology. Right from a small child to an adult, or even an old man, everyone wants gadgets only-cell phone, I-pod, laptop, etc. This also has a negative effect on social relationships.

230 C.O.D. Colony New Delhi
15th May 2020
The Editor The Times of India New Delhi
Subject: Human Dependence on Technology.
Sir,

Through this letter of mine, I wish to draw the attention of everyone towards the increased dependence of humans on technology. We use the internet for any type of information which we find only a click away. Everyone, whether a child or an adult, wants gadgets like cell phones, I-pod, laptop, etc. No doubt, technology is a boon to mankind and has a great future ahead. But in my opinion, we should not depend on it as an excess of everything is bad. It is making everyone lazy. On the other hand, cyber crimes are also growing. The keyword for this is caution.
We must make judicious use of technology and should not totally depend on it. We must believe in natural and simple living.

Order Letter

How to Write Order Letter – You are Neha Singh, computer in charge of DIPS. Your school wishes to buy 20 computers and computer accessories from Apple Inc., Nehru Place, New Delhi, Write a letter placing order giving all the specifications of the product and its quality.

DIPS
Rohini
New Delhi 1100XX
20 January 20XX
The proprietor
Apple Inc.
126, Nehru Place
New Delhi 1100XX

Dear Sir
Subject: Placement of an order for computers and their accessories

This is to inform you that our school management has decided to place an order with your company for the supply of computers and computer accessories. The list of items is given below. All the products should be genuine. The price quotation submitted by your agents has been approved and. the institutional discount of 10% offered by you has been accepted.
Kindly make it convenient to send the delivery within 15 days of the issue of this letter. I am sure the proper packing of the computers will be taken care of and any responsibility for the damage caused during transportation shall rest with you. I hope future repairs and maintenance of the items will also be provided by you promptly and satisfactorily. The payment will be made through a crossed cheque to your agent within a month of delivery.

No. of Items
25
15
20
18
Yours faithfully,
Neha Singh
(Head of Computer Department)

Letter to the Principal

Letter to the Principal
Varsha
ABC School,
6th Sector, 7th Road,
Banglore-500001
23rd January 2019

To the Principal,
ABC School,
6th Sector, 7th Road,
Banglore-500001
Subject: Application for leave for two days.
I am Varsha from Class VI-B and I am writing this letter to inform you that I will remain absent for the next 2 days on account of my sister’s marriage.
My sister’s wedding ceremony will begin from 24th Jan to 25th January 2019 and as a younger sister, my presence at the wedding ceremony is unavoidable. As a sister, I have so many duties to be carried out at the wedding and also, I am responsible to look after the arrangements for the wedding ceremony.
So, I kindly request you to grant me a 2 days holiday that is on 24th and 25th of January. The wedding card is attached herewith for your perusal.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Varsha
[Signature]

Job Application Letter

Joseph Q.
123 Main Street
Anytown, CA 12345
555-212-1234
josephq@email.com

July 20, 2020
Jane Smith
Director, Human Resources
Fit Living
123 Business Rd.
Business City, NY 54321

Dear Ms. Smith,
I’m writing to apply for the position of Social Media Manager for Fit Living, as advertised on your website careers page. I have three years of experience as a Social Media Assistant for Young Living, and I believe I am ready to move up to the manager position.
In your job posting, you mention that you want to hire a Social Media Manager who understands the Internet and social media trends. During my time at Young Living, I was given the responsibility of increasing follower numbers on Instagram. I explained to my manager that I would be happy to do so and that I would also work hard to increase follower participation because engagement has become an important metric.
Within six months, I increased our followers by over 50% and increased engagement by 400%. I’m very proud of that accomplishment. Currently, I’m working to build a following with the best influencers in our niche.
When I saw the job opening, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to offer you both my social media marketing skills and people skills. I’ve included my resume so you can learn more about my educational background and all of my work experience. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Please feel free to email me at josephq@email.com or call my cell phone at 555-555-5555. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Joseph Q.

Also, see – Job Application with Biodata For Class 12, Format, Topics, Examples

Formal Letter Types and Formal Letter Topics

Business Letter
Resignation Letter
Cover Letter
Complaint Letter
Letter of Recommendation
Interview follow up letter
Offer letter
Sales letter
Letter of Commendation

Business letter

A business letter is a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients, or other external parties – A business letter is sometimes useful because it produces a permanent written record, and may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other forms of communication.

Resignation letter

A resignation letter officially gives notice to your boss or head of the organization that you’re leaving the job and someone else will need to be hired to replace you and take on your responsibilities.

Cover letter

Cover letters accompany your application when applying for a new position.The cover letter is a tool to help introduce yourself in a memorable, personal way during a job application. A well-crafted cover letter goes over information on your resume and expands this information for the reader, taking them on a guided journey of some of your greatest career and life achievements.

Complaint Letter – Letter of Complaint

A Complaint Letter is a type of letter written to address any type wrong doing, offence, grievance, resentment arising out of a product, service etc

Letter of recommendation

A letter of recommendation is a letter written by someone who can recommend an individual’s work or academic performance. It’s typically sent to a hiring manager or admissions officer who is deciding whether to employ or admit a candidate.

Interview follow-up letter

After a job interview, it’s both polite and advantageous for your job search to send a thank-you email or letter. Your follow-up note is an opportunity to reinforce your strengths as an applicant, affirm your interest in the position and, if necessary, respond to any concerns that came up during the interview.

Offer letter

An offer letter is a letter given by a company to a potential employee that provides key terms of the prospective employee’s employment.

Sales Letter

A sales letter is a piece of direct mail that is designed to persuade the reader to purchase a particular product or service in the absence of a salesman. … It is typically used for products or services which, due to their price, are considered purchases at a medium or high value.

Letter of commendation

Letters of commendation or commendation letters are messages written to express gratitude and general recognition for a special deed. They are usually unsolicited. In some cases, they offer rewards for the action being recognized, such as a promotion or pay bonus.

Formal Letter Format

A formal letter must adhere to the prescribed format. The letter writing format of a formal letter is as mentioned below:

Sender’s address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject
Salutation
Body of the letter
Complimentary closure
Signature line: sender’s name, signature and designation

Sender’s address: One of the most essential components, also known as the return address. It is the mailing address of the sender. The address and contact details of the person sending the letter are written here.
Date: Immediately after the sender’s address comes the date on which the letter is written. Candidates, while writing the letter in the exam, can follow any of the formats to write the dates: DD/MM/YY OR MM/DD/YY.
Receiver’s address: The corresponding address, i.e. the address of the recipient of the mail is written here. Candidates must start with the receivers’ designation followed by the name of the organization and then the full address, Pincode and country (if the information is known).
The subject: This highlights the aim of writing the letter. The subject of the formal letter should be very brief (6 to 8 words) and must be preceded by the word ‘Subject’. The receiver, through the subject, understands the purpose of the letter at a glance.
Salutation: This is a customary greeting to the recipient of the letter. If the name of the recipient is known, the salutation starts with ‘Dear’ followed by Mr/Mrs/Miss, etc. If the person is unknown or even the gender is not known the recipient can be addressed as Dear Sir/Dear Madam.
Body: The most important element of any letter. It furnishes the reason behind writing the letter. For formal letters, candidates should use short, clear, logical paragraphs to state the subject matter. The body of the letter is generally divided into 3 paragraphs:
Introduction that states the main point.
Middle part: Supporting points and details to justify the need and importance of letter writing.
Conclusion: Request for some action or what is expected.
Complimentary Closure: This is to end the letter with respect in a polite manner such as ‘Yours faithfully’, ‘Yours sincerely’, etc.
Signature Line: This is the last part where the sender of the letter signs off with his first or last name. The signature line may also include a second line for the title or designation of the sender.

Candidates writing formal letters in the exam must remember the following pointers.

Use of colloquial words, short forms, slang language and abbreviations are restricted.
The letter must be to the point, precise and clearly indicating the message.
The subject line is very important in Formal Letters.

Difference between Formal Letter and Informal Letter

Formal letters are usually written for official reasons. A formal letter, also known as an official letter, and it is written in a formal language with a specific structure and layout.

An informal letter is a personal letter, you may want to ask for something, or communicate with a friend far away.
(Please see chart below)

Formal
Informal
Beginning
End
Dear Sir/Madam
Dear Ms Johnson
Yours Sincerely
Yours faithfully
Dear David, Good morning Tom

Warm / Best wishes

Reason for
writing
I am writing to apologize for/ enquire
about/ thank you for/ express my
dissatisfaction with/ I am writing in
answer to your letter/ advertisement/
inquiry about…/following our meeting/telephone conversation I am writing to…/I was referred to you/given your name by…who suggested you you might be able to help us

I am sending this message to apologize/ask about/say thanks for/complaining about
Answering your message, let me tell you that…
As we spoke/agreed in our call
I have to tell you that…
Mr Thompson gave me your name so that…

The background
As you may know, Thames Ltd is an electronics manufacturer based in …
As you will recall, three weeks ago we…
Recently we….
As you probably know, our company is ….
I suppose you remember that 3 weeks ago…

The result
As a result of this, we have had to ….
Consequently/ we would like to…
The result of this is that…

That is why we had to….
Because of that….

The next step
What I propose is that ….
In order to resolve this matter, I propose that….
Now it is necessary to…
I think we should….
I would need you to…
To fix this you would have to….

Further communication
Please don’t hesitate to contact me/ us if you wish to discuss any of the above..
I would look forward to hearing from you/ receive..
You can contact me if you need more help /information
Hope to hear from you..

Signing off
Thank you for your custom/ interest/ understanding
Once again, my apologies for the delay/ misunderstanding/error/
I hope you find this solution satisfactory
Thanks for your message
Let me say sorry again for…
I hope a solution is OK for you

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