E-TEXTBOOK

TOPIC : FORMAL AND INFORMAL LETTERS

PREPARED BY :
Richard Gangte
PGT(English)
DBHSS

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 CONTENT
1. FORMAL LETTERS
2. INFORMAL LETTERS

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 What is a Formal Letter?
 A formal letter is written for official purposes.
 The tone of the letter is formal and structured. The agenda is to
send across official information.
 Formal letters may be written to institutions, government
departments, business letters, etc.

Types of Formal Letter

The formal letter is of various types and is used in all
organizations (Government or Private) as a means of
communication. Formal letters are used for internal as well as
external communication. The types of formal letters are
mentioned below.
 Letter of Enquiry
 Order Letter
 Letter of Complaint
 Reply to a Letter of Complaint
 Promotion Letter
 Sales Letters
 Recovery Letters

The tone of a formal letter is professional and serious and most of

the sentences are generally complex and add specific meaning to
the writing, and meant for the understanding of the reader. The
format of a formal letter is standard and applies to all, therefore,
The main intention is to send an official message to the receiver.
it is important that you follow the format mentioned below!
A formal letter comprises of following elements:
1. Address (Sender’s/Receiver’s)
2. Date
3. Salutation
4. Subject
5. Body Text
6. Ending
1) Format of Formal Letter – Address
Senders’ Address – Always write your address on the left-
hand corner, you need to mention your street address, city, state,
pin code, and your contact number.

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 Receiver’s Address – Always mention the receiver’s address in
the right-hand corner just below the date.

2) Format of Formal Letter – Date & Salutation

Date – The date should always be placed just below the sender’s
address with a line gap.
Salutation – “Dear Sir/Madam” suffices, if you know the name of
the person, address them directly ensure that you address them
formally using “Rev.”, “Dr.”, “Mr.“, “Mrs.“, or “Ms.“, and include
their full name.

3) Format of Formal Letter – Subject & Body

Subject – Subject is the agenda or purpose of writing the
letter. Write the subject of the letter, keep it brief, and if possible
in one line only.
Body Text – Always organize the writing into paragraphs, the
writing should include sophisticated vocabulary, standard
spellings, and punctuation. the reason behind using paras is to
keep the reader interested and to separate one point from
another, its always about giving as much clarity as possible to the
reader.

 The 1st paragraph also known as Introduction should be short and

on point, mention the purpose of the letter in the first paragraph
itself so that the reader is clear about your intentions behind writing
the letter.
 The paragraphs in the middle are also called the body of the letter
and it should contain some relevant details with reference to the
purpose stated in the 1st para.
 The last paragraph also known as conclusion should talk about the
action you expect the recipient of the letter to take. Maintain a
requesting tone in the last paragraph as much as you can.

4) Format of Formal Letter – Ending

Ending of a formal letter – Sign off with an appropriate closing
statement followed by your signature and full name, the most
preferred salutations are – Yours Faithfully, Your Sincerely, etc.
Signing off with an appropriate statement signifies that you hold
the receiver in high regard.
Type-wise Format of Formal Letter
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Below, we have mentioned in detail all the types of formal letters,
their purpose, and their respective examples. Go through them
carefully, understand how all the letters are different from each
other
• Letter of Enquiry
The agenda behind writing this letter is to collect information
about something or someone. Here you should mention why you
expect the sender to give you particular information.
Format of Formal Letter: Collecting Information
Points To Remember:
– Always start with a brief introduction about yourself
– Try including the name of the concerned organization
– Mention relevant details about the area of inquiry
– Include deadlines by which you need the information(Including
deadlines signifies the urgency)

Example:
Ajmer Road,
Jaipur – 26
October 13, 20xx
The Director
ABC Classes
Ajmer− 25
Dear Sir,
Sub.: Enquiry about GMAT Coaching Classes.
This is with reference to your advertisement in the ‘The Times of
India’ for GMAT Coaching classes. I have cleared my engineering
with Computer Science as the main subject. I am interested in
joining your institute for the coaching classes.
Kindly let me know about the procedure of applying for the
qualifying criteria and exam date (if any). I would also like to
enquire about the duration of the concerned coaching program,
the duration and the number of classes per week along with the
available mode of classes. It would be great if you could share the
information about the fees payable and the study materials.
I would like to enroll as soon as possible. Early response will be
highly appreciated.

Thanking you.

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With kind regards
XYZ

• Order Letter
Order letters are basically the purchase order letter, where the
sender is ordering a particular commodity. Purchase order letters
are usually drafted by the purchasing department of any
organization.
Format of Formal Letter: Booking Orders.
Points To Remember:
– Details of the order must be stated clearly including complete
information like the quantity of the goods, model number (if
available), etc.
– Mention proper information related to the shipping like the
mode of shipping, shipping location and the desired date for the
goods to be shipped must be clearly stated.
– Payment Related inquiries must also be stated clearly including
the mode of payment, date of payment or terms and conditions
regarding payment.

Example:
Ajmer Road,
Jaipur – 26
October 13, 20xx

The Manager
Epitome Furniture
Ajmer− 25

Dear Sir,

Sub.: Order for furniture.

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As per our telephonic conversation, on behalf of our company I
would like to place an order for the supply of the following set of
furniture.
Model No. Name of the Item Quantity
2356 Sofa 25
4568 Coffee Table 12
1256 Table 34
8907 Chairs 68
According to our last discussion, we are sending a demand draft
of Rs. 50,000 as an advance payment for this order. The rest will
be paid at the time of delivery. Kindly ship the above order at the
above-mentioned address.
Kindly adhere to the terms of the agreement. We hope to receive
the order in four working days.

Thanking You.

Yours truly
XYZ
HR

• Letter of Complaint
Letter Of Complaint is usually written to make the receiver aware
of the issues that you are facing and how you expect him/her to
resolve those issues as early as possible.
Format of Formal Letter: Registering Complaints
Points To Remember:
– Use polite yet assertive words regarding complaint issues.
– Mention the complaint in detail, the reader should be fully aware
about the issue n order to address it.
– Specify the action you want the recipient to take, it would
signify that you are just not pointing out the problem, you are
providing a solution to it.
– Provide order information including the date of arrival, order
number, or the details of the previous complaint (if any)
– Specify the expected response time, if you keep deadlines, it
signifies the importance of the issue.
– Attach a copy or a specimen of the invoice or any other receipt

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Example:
Ajmer Road,
Jaipur – 26
October 13, 20xx
The Manager
Epitome Furniture
Ajmer− 25
Dear Sir,
Sub.: Complaint against Order No. ET098654.
This is with reference to Order No. ET098654 place on Oct 4,
20xx. The order consists of office stationery and business cards.
As per the agreement, we were hoping to receive the order latest
by Oct 8, 20xx. First of all the order did not reach in time. Also,
the quality of the papers is questionable and the design of the
business cards is not matching with the selected one.
We have faced a lot of inconvenience due to this.
Kindly ensure that the order will be replaced latest by Oct 20,
20xx, failing which payment will be stopped or the order will be
canceled from our end. I request you to look into the matter and
do the needful as soon as possible.
Thanking you.
Yours truly
XYZ
General Manager

Informal Letter Writing

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A Letter written for an informal purpose is called an Informal letter. It is written for a
casual purpose.

Let us discuss the types of informal letter -

Types of Informal letter

1.Letter to parents
2. Letter to siblings
3. Letter to friends
4. Letter to classmates
5. Letter to neighbours

For complete details please see Informal letter Format, Examples, Topics. What is an
Informal Letter?

Informal Letter Format

The following points need to be followed while writing an Informal letter-
a) An Informal Letter does not strictly follow the prescribed Format.
b) The language of an Informal Letter must be friendly and casual.
c) An Informal Letter can have extra information.
d) The Subject line is not required in an Informal Letter.
The Informal Letter Format is as follows –
1. Address: The address of the sender is followed by that of the receiver.
2. Date: The date is written below the address after leaving one line.
3. Salutation / Greeting (Dear / Hi / Hello)
4. Body: The matter of the letter is written here. It is divided into 3 paragraphs as follows
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a) Paragraph 1: beginning
b) Paragraph 2: Main content.
c) Paragraph 3: ending
5. Sender’s name and signature.
Address
Date

Salutation

Body of the letter

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Sender’s Name and signature

Related - Report Writing Format

Sample Letters - Letter Writing

Here are some solved questions on Letter Writing

1. Write a letter to the Mayor of your city seeking a solution to the problem of water
logging in your area. You are Raj / Rani of Dharma Colony, Ramgarh.

14 / 8, Dharma Colony
Ramgarh.

Date: 23 August 2018

The Mayor
Ramgarh

Subject: Complaint regarding the problem of water logging in Dharma Colony

Sir / Madam

I am Raj, a resident of Dharma Colony. The residents of the area are facing a lot of
problems due to water logging.
Every year in the monsoon season, the area gets filled with water as the drainage
system gets choked. We have requested the area committee many times, but the
situation is still the same. The residents’ lives have become miserable as many water -
borne diseases have spread. All the houses are submerged, and we are facing a tough
time.
Please consider the issue as serious and find a solution at the earliest.

Yours Sincerely

Raj

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2. You are Garima / Gaurav. Write a letter to your friend Sanjana / Sanjay, inviting her /
him to your birthday party. Give details regarding the day, time, venue, etc. Add
interesting details like theme, dress code, etc.
45, Jan Marg
Delhi.
33, Khan Gali
Delhi.
Date: 21 August 2018

Dear Sanjay

Hi! You are invited to my birthday party on 25th August.

The party will be at Archie’s Place, Nehru Park from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. As the party is
based on the ‘Spiderman’ theme, please wear a dress in red / black color combination.
It will be fun as I have arranged a Mask game, a ‘Spidey’ web game, and a never –
seen – before neon light and music show. I am very excited as I will wear a special
Spidey costume designed by my sister. Please come as it will be good to have your
company. Also, bring your brother Saurav.
Waiting for your confirmation.

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