Formal letter format: A formal letter is generally a document or a letter of specific concerns to be submitted at a formal platform citing impersonal details. It has a very simplified professional language and it follows a certain distinct pattern. Format for letters is fixated and generally, for any official allusion, these letters come into purpose. A dignified pattern has to be maintained in its formatting. The style of the letter should be very formal and professional.
Formal Letters are accepted on various platforms and for myriad purposes, such as to apply for a leave in the school to the principal, to communicate official business to the managers in a workspace, as job applications, request service at a bank, convey concerns to authorities of a particular organisation, or any other. A resignation letter is also considered a type of formal letter.
Even though the purpose and the recipients can be exclusive and different for distinctive letters, the writers have to follow one single format for all the types and purposes of formal letters. Additionally, schools teach writing letters and applications in order to educate the students regarding the same. The following article will provide insights into the Formal Letter Format. A detailed guide has also been mentioned subsequently on how to write an impersonal letter, its format, language, style, and more. Read further to obtain perfect guidance on How to write a Formal Letter.
Formal Letter Format
Formal Letters are usually submitted at a professional or non-personal organisation. These letters come with certain limitations. These are generally like world limit or the length of the content, words used to express your concern, style of the language, mannerisms of writing the body of the letter, precision, straightforwardness, and much more. A letter also serves as proof and a document of official purpose in many places. Thus, it always has to be written with that pertinent intent. You can require to write a formal letter in order to express your concerns and complaints, or maybe appreciate the recipient.
Additionally, these letters can be used to request a service at a bank or any other consumer support office. You can also write a letter to request leave at school or offices which is generally known to be Leave Application. There can be myriad reasons and purposes to write a letter. As mentioned previously, whatever the reason can be, nevertheless, the format and writing pattern are fixed.
Formal Letter Writing Topics
- Sick Leave Application
- Resignation letter
- Appointment letter
- Job offer letter
- Leave Application
- Complaint letter
- Business letter
- Request Letter
- Business Letters
- Official Letters
- Experience Letter
- Offer Letter
- Social letter
- Circular letter
- Leave Letter
- Resignation letter
- Invitation letter
- Complaint Letter
- Salary Increment Letter
What is the Format of a Formal Letter?
The language of the letters is generally maintained to be English but at various government jobs, where Hindi is the official language of the particular state or has to be addressed to a Central Government Authority, these letters are written in Hindi. Additionally, in distinctive states, the language can also be the regional language. As in, Telugu for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, or maybe Punjabi for Punjab, and more. Any notices and displays are also processed in the relevant language of the region or organisation. These letters are actually educated within the minds of the students from the beginning in their schools. Education Boards are also very particular to an extent that they have advised these letters in their syllabus in order to train the students into writing formal and professional letters or applications for official purposes.
Subsequently, we have provided a step-wise meticulous guide which shall assist in writing a very promising impersonal letter.
Step One
As we come across the purpose of writing a formal letter, we need to observe that the writer has to be familiar with the format. Thus, you must check the format particularly to skip committing any formatting blunder which could prove to be rather inappropriate. It does not matter what the content or the reason might be but writing a letter while incorporating the wrong format could rather leave a very negative impression.
Step Two
While writing a formal letter, it is of utmost importance that the address or the location of the sender is mentioned where the letter is intended address. The address of the representative, identity, or organisation who is writing the application or letter must be maintained as the very first part of the letter.
Step Three
Post that, you must write the date in a complete format where you write the date and the year in numerical but the name of the month in the fully spelt-out alphabet. For example, “16 January 2024.” This shall be the format of the date.
Step Four
Once the Sender’s Address is done with, the sender must address the organisation or the authority to whom the letter has to be potentially sent. This makes the letter extremely specific. Further, since an organisation or institution is comprised of distinctive positions, it will be extremely beneficial for the candidates if they are highly specific and precise with their address.
Step Five
In many organisations, the authorities do not have the time to check the entire letter. Additionally, to check if the letter is actually of concern, a subject is required. This is basically a 10-word liner where the sender needs to address the theme of the letter or basically give a brief of the purpose. Thus, this will only ease the entire process and will make the letter more readable. Thus, it is of utmost importance that the writer of the letter addresses the concerns very specifically and in simple language.
Step Six
In a professional field and setting, you must learn to be very specific and precise. Therefore you must not employ fanciful, metaphorical, and poetic language in order to elaborate on the concerns. You have to be very simple in writing the application or letter. Your concentration must be to be highly straightforward and very to the point. Brevity along with concise paragraphs is what one should maintain while framing the letter content.
Step Seven
Keep the letter short and simple. Try not to be elaborate, disrespectful, or sarcastic in any circumstance. The tone should be very soft and humble and your focus must be to not bat around the bush in any situation. There are various kinds of formal letters. One should choose what kind they are writing as per the purpose of the letter. You have to restrict your letter as per the position and seniority of the authority or the recipient. The respect that the dynamic you share with the receiver has to be reflected in the letter very appropriately.
Step Eight
Complete the other formalities such as by concluding the purpose of the letter by reflecting positivity.
Step Nine
Enter the salutations and carefully express that you are highly thankful. These salutations have to be:
- Thanking You
- Yours Sincerely/ Faithfully/ Truly
The salutations play a very vital role in the letter as it is reflecting of respect and greetings.
Step Ten
The last step is to put the signature and write the name under it in Block Letters. This will authorize the application and make it more of an official document as it intends to be.
Format or Template of an Impersonal Letter
Name of the Sender,
Position of the Sender,
Sender’s Official Address.Date of Submission of Letter in the format: Date Name of the Month Year (ex. 14 January 2024).
Name of the Recipient,
Position or Title of the Recipient,
Recipient’s Official Address.Subject
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
Introduction to the purpose of the letter.Body of the Letter or Content: List out the details for writing this letter and other relevant information in a very specific and to-the-point tone.
Conclusion or a line to sign off.
Thanking you,
Yours thankfully/sincerely/faithfully,
Signature of the Sender
Name of the Sender in Block Letters
Sample of a Formal Letter
The following is a sample of a formal letter which intends to address the Municipal Corporation to talk about the water shortage and relatively other problems in the locality. Since this letter has to be sent to a Government authority, hence you have to be very specific with the format of the letter. Follow the guidelines of a formal letter in order to address the concerns. The following sample is a very appropriate insight into what the language must sound like, how the aforementioned format has to be incorporated into the content and the method of referring to the problem without losing the professional boundary of the application.
Abhay Gaur,
11, EC Road,
Arya Nagar,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand,
India.
16 January 2024.
To,
Municipal Commissioner,
Municipal Corporation or Nagar Nigam,
Tehsil Chowk,
Paltan Baazar,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand,
India.
Subject: Address the water shortage and other relative issues in our locality.
Dear Sir,
With due respect, I would like to bring your attention towards the grave problem of Water Shortage and other relative issues pertinent to our locality. It has nearly been a month since our region, and our colony in specific has been facing an acute shortage of water. The water is available only for a very short duration of 25 to 30 minutes in the morning and only 20 minutes in the evening. Multiple residents have reported that the tanks are only half full until the water facility stops. This has caused a considerable difference in the availability of drinking water and the quality of the water has also been observed to go down in this duration.
Initially, we as a locality, compromised with the situation while holding an optimism that the situation will get better. However, since it has been a very inconvenient circumstance, we are unable to be able to deal with the unavailability, deficient purity, and uneasy timings of the water. Recently, we had to bring in tankers on a working day in the morning which caused a lot of locals to get late for their daily chores. One of the financially imbalanced families who cannot afford Reverse Osmosis systems faced cases of illness due to the poor quality of fresh water. We humbly request you to kindly consider our problems and find a solution to this intense situation.
We are extremely confident that you shall revert extremely affirmatively to our concerns and take prompt action on your part. Expecting a very positive response from your side.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
(Signature)
ABHAY GAUR
Example: Invitation Letter to Parent for a School Function
Abhay Gaur,
Class Teacher,
Class 7-A,
Convent Of Jesus and Mary,
EC Road,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand,
India.
14 January 2024.
To,
Mr Rakesh Juneja,
11 EC Road,
Arya Nagar,
Kapoor Nagar,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand,
India.
Subject: Invitation Letter for School Annual Function
Dear Sir,
With due respect, I would like to humbly invite you to the Annual Function that is to be held at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Dehradun on 25 January 2024. Your daughter, Tara Juneja is also participating and performing in various activities of the day. Your presence will not only provide you with an opportunity to be able to witness the outcome of her hard work but will also motivate her.
The event will sharply commence at 12 PM. It will be highly generous of you if you could attend the ceremony punctually as the seating is allocated on a timely entrance basis. Furthermore, you are requested to carry the invitation card for the purpose of entry. This card politely allows entry of 2 persons. I hereby request you to kindly grace the event with your presence as it shall be highly encouraging to not only your daughter but all of our students.
Expecting a positive response from your side.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
(Signature)
ABHAY GAUR
Difference between a Formal Letter and an Informal Letter
Formal Letter | Informal Letter |
Official or Professional purpose | Personal purpose |
Addressed to an official acquaintance | Addressed to a personal relative or friend |
Acts as an official document, notice, announcement or display from or to an official organisation | It has no official boundaries and is completely a non-official content |
A specific and fixed format is followed | There is room for creativity |
One particular language has to be adhered to | You can write in as many languages as per the understanding of the receiver |
Content has to be short and to the point | Content can be long and extended |
The style of the language is direct, specific, precise, and highly formal | Use of extremely personal language, poetic style of writing, or slang is permitted |
Avoid the use of idioms and metaphors | Can use of idioms and metaphors |
You have to be grammatically correct at any cost | Minor grammatical errors are not much of a concern |
FAQs
A formal letter is a document or precisely an application written with precision in a conventional language in order to target a specific official or professional purpose. It is highly formal in nature and restricts the sender to mention any personal details.
There is a very specific format which has to be followed while writing a formal letter. check the subsequent format that is generally followed while writing such letters.
Sender’s Name, Position, and Address
Date
Receiver’s Name, Position, and Address
Subject
Salutation,
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Yours thankfully/sincerely/faithfully,
Signature of the Sender
Name of the Sender in Block Letters
There are many types of formal letters. Some of the important ones are Appointment letters, Resignation letters, Experience letters, Leave Applications, Legal Notices, Complaint Letters, School Letters, and much more.
All the details and content have to be written on the right side of the format letter. The senders’ address comes right at the beginning of the letter and is followed by the date in the correct format and then by the receiver’s address.
In a formal letter, the format of the date is, “23 January 2023”.