FORMAL LETTER

Guidelines for Writing a Formal Letter:

1. Your address should appear on the
left-hand corner. (senders
address)
2.

A horizontal line across the page

separates your address from the
recipients address.

3. Address of the person to whom you

are writing (recipients address)
a. The recipients address should
be below your address.
b. The postcode and name of the
town should be underlined.
4. Date
a.

The date is written on the

right along the same line as
the last line of the
recipients address.
b. The month should be spelt out
(i.e. it should be in words, not
numbers). It must be written
in full (do not use
abbreviations such as Sept)
and in CAPITAL LETTERS.

5. Salutation/Greeting
a. If you know the name of the
recipient, then do use his
surname (Dear Mr Tan)
b. If you do not know the name
of the person to whom you are
writing, then use Dear Sir or
Madam,
6. Subject heading
a. The subject heading gives the
reader an idea what the letter
is about.
b. Write the subject heading
directly below the salutation
and it should be underlined
7.

The body of the letter

a. The body of the letter refers to
the contents of your letter.
b. It should be divided into
short and clear paragraphs.
c. All paragraphs should be
numbered except for the first
and last paragraphs.

i. In the first paragraph,

you should state the
reason for writing
(whether it is to inform,
to complain, to invite
etc).
ii. From the second
paragraph onwards, you
should include
information that is
deemed necessary,
depending on what you
are writing about. The
number of paragraphs
depends on what you
are writing.
iii. In the last paragraph,
state what you expect
from the recipient. This
is usually in the form of
an action or
response. It is a
common practice to end
a formal letter with
phrases such as I look
forward to hearing from
you or I hope prompt
action will be taken to
solve this problem. A
note of thanks is usually
included (Thank you.)

d. Remember to organise the

information in a clear and
logical manner.
e. Also, do not write lengthy
paragraphs.

8. Ending
a. You can end the letter by
writing Yours faithfully,.
b. In practice, we usually use
Yours sincerely, if we know
the recipient but for exam
purposes I would advise you to
use only Yours faithfully.

9. Signature
a. Do not forget to sign the
letter and write your NAME
below it in CAPITAL LETTERS
with in brackets ( ).

Sample question:
You are the Secretary of the Residents Association in your housing estate. Write a letter to the
director of the local municipal council to complain about the problems you and the other
residents are facing.
In your letter, include the details below:
rubbish not collected
causes terrible stench
stray cats and dogs scatter rubbish
clogged drains
breeding ground for mosquitoes
increase in cases of dengue fever
street lights not working
cause accidents at night
increase in crime playground not wellmaintained
overgrown grass
playground equipment damaged

When writing your letter, you should remember to:

set it out in the correct format

include all the points given
address the letter to the director of the local municipal council

Rajvind Gill,
10, Jalan Jujur,
Taman Jayadiri,
68000 Ampang,

Selangor
_________________________________________________________________________
The Director,
Ampang Jaya Municipal Council,
Bangunan Mentari,
Ampang Jaya,
68000 SELANGOR.
15 SEPTEMBER 2009
Dear Sir,
Poor Maintenance of Taman Jayadiri
I am writing this letter on behalf of the residents of Taman Jayadiri to complain about the dismal conditions we have
been putting up with for the past three months. (reason)
2. One of the main grouses of the residents concerns uncollected rubbish (point 1). Initially, rubbish was collected
three times a week. However, since June this year the garbage collectors have only been coming once a week. Our
litter bins are always filled to the brim and we have no choice but to leave our bags of rubbish next to the bins. The
rotting waste causes a terrible stench (point 2). Worse still, stray cats and dogs scatter the rubbish (point 3) while
looking for food. This is not only unpleasant but also unhealthy.
3. Most of the drains in Taman Jayadiri are clogged (point 4) with rubbish resulting in the water becoming stagnant. It
is not uncommon to see plastic bags, bottles and dry leaves in these drains. There is an urgent need to clear these
drains as the stagnant water is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes (point 5). The residents are worried as there
has been a sharp increase in dengue cases (point 6) in the last two months.
4. The street lights along several roads are also not working (point 7). This has caused several accidents at night
(point 8), mostly involving motorcyclists as they are unable to see in the dark. Unfortunately, the dark streets have
also led to another problem an increase in crime (point 9). Several residents, especially women, have fallen victim
to snatch thieves.
5. The one and only playground in our area is also not well-maintained (point 10). The grass is overgrown (point 11)
as it has not been cut for almost three months. Besides, the playground equipment is damaged (point 12). Many of the
see-saws and swings have been spoiled by vandals.
I hope the council will look into our complaints and take prompt action to solve our problems.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
.
(RAJVIND GILL)