DATE: 25.01.

2021

FORMAL AND INFORMAL CORRESPONDENCE PART 1

Introduction

When we talk about preparing a letter or an email, it is important to differentiate between formal and
informal.

Letter writing is the oldest form of communication as people use this medium to communicate with
each other. Today, with the advent of e-mail and modern technology, the concept of writing letters has
taken aback seat but the style still persists and people use it while writing e-mails. While writing
correspondence people need to be very careful about what they write before sending it to their near
and dear ones. There are certain rules and procedure that are to be followed and observed while writing
a correspondence.

Formal letters as the name suggests, include business letters, official letters, applications, complaints,
letter to the editor and letters written to people to whom we want to convey certain important
information.

Informal letter include personal letters, letters that are written to our family and friends.

Element of a good letter:

The most important element of writing a good letter is your ability to identify and write to your target
consumers. Use a normal, genuine and easy to understand language which makes our purpose clear.
The next element is that you present your objective in a concise and clear manner. Do not be vague
about your objective, most people will not have the patience to sit and guess the meaning of you long-
winded letter, just get to the point without going into unnecessary details.

Letters: A brief

. The context of letter writing is very much different from any other kind of writing.

. Letters going to long distance needs to have the complete address and codes.

. Always make sure to write the date in indexed form. For example: December 25,2021;

25th December,2021; 25th Dec. 2021; 25 December 2021. ( Most writers skip a line between the
address and the date.)

. Formal letters always require a subject line which clears the purpose of the letter. Example:

Sub: Application for the post of Manager.

 Or

Sub: Statement of Account for the year ending.

. Always avoid slangs , jargons or vague words which may confuse the reader of the letter.

. Make the letter correct as much as possible - avoid spelling mistakes, errors and poor grammar in your
letter.

. Emphasize your points, so that the letter commands the attention from the recipient.

.A good letter will have a salutation which is customary as well as polite wherein you can greet the
recipient in some way or the other.

A letter in general, consists of the following five parts:

1. The Heading

2. The Greeting

3. The Body

4. The Complimentary Close ( The Subscription)

5. The Signature Line

We are going to discuss the above points separately in details for different types of letter.

Correspondence should carry Headlines such as: Dear Sir., Sir., Sirs., Dear Sirs., Ms., Mrs.

Informal letters or e-mails to family and friends do not need the above mentioned headers, just a
greeting and name: Dear Sam, Dear Mother, etc.