Nikhil Sinha 06

English
Formal and Informal Letter Writing
1. What are they?
Formal Letter: A formal letter is a professional letter, which is written
in formal language, in a prescribed format and in the stipulated
format. This letter is mainly used for professional communication.
Informal Letter: An informal letter is a personal letter, which is
written in a friendly manner to someone familiar. This letter is mainly
used for personal communication.
2. The formats:
Formal Letter:

Address of the sender

Address of the receiver
Date

Subject
Salutation
Paragraph 1 (Introduction about yourself and a brief introduction of the
topic)

Paragraph 2 (Body paragraph, main content lies here, often in 3 paragraphs)

Paragraph 3 (Conclusion, call for action, thanking you etc.)

Complimentary closing / signoff

Name of the sender
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Informal Letter:

Address of the sender

Date

Salutation
Paragraph 1 (Ask about well being, state why you are writing briefly)

Paragraph 2 (The body paragraph, main content lies here)

Paragraph 3 (Conclusion)

Signoff
Name of the sender

3. Features:
Formal letter:
 Language used must be formal and professional
 Simple, everyday language
 Avoid use of jargon
 Avoid using abbreviations
 Usually written in 1st or 3rd point of view
 Concise and to the point
 Consider the receiver and use language appropriately
 Passive voice is used usually
 It should be complex and thorough, keeping conciseness in mind
 The receiver has to be always respected; The letter has to be
polite
 There shouldn’t be any grammatical or spelling errors
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Informal letter:
 Informal, personal language can be used
 Abbreviations and jargon can be used
 Can be written in any point of view
 Does not have to be concise but usually better to keep it
concise
 Active voice is used usually
 Figures of speech can be used to enhance writing
 Grammatical and spelling errors should be avoided as much
as possible
 It does not have to follow a specific format
4. Things to be kept in mind while writing both:
 It is crucial to consider who you are writing to in both types.
Language must be chosen accordingly.
 You should adhere to the subject of the letter given in the
question.
 You must address all the annotations given in the letter.
 Usually, address is omitted from letter questions in IGCSE,
the first few words are usually given in the question, and
these have to be used.
 It is crucial to use appropriate language for formal and
informal letters respectively.
 Spelling, punctuation, grammar, and tense are very important.
 In body paragraphs, transitional words can be used to
maintain a flow in the writing.
 Adhere to the word limit specified in the question, usually
250 - 350 words.