Writing formal letters in English – Definition, types, formats and writing samples

A person working in the corporate sector should know about letter formatting. A formal letter is a type of letter in which a certain level of formality and seriousness is maintained. It is one of the mandatory things that everyone should know if they are involved in a study or work context.

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What is a formal letter in English? Definition?

Formal letters are letters written in a specific format. It is also known as business letter or professional letter. A formal letter addressed to (or received from) public or private institutions or organizations, academic, political, or business settings. It is used to discuss some official news or updates about the organization or any professional work. Formal letters have strict rules and specific formats. It uses formal language because it seeks to express information clearly and concisely to some type of authority. Additionally, this type of document must meet a predetermined format and allow for maintaining a form of communication. If you want to learn how to write a formal letter, you should continue reading this note.

The goals of formal letters are wide and varied. It focuses heavily on making your letter sound like a request. What makes them recognizable are the following characteristics-

It represents official treatment towards the recipient. It contains address forms such as Mr./Mrs., Mr./Mrs., Dr./Dra., etc.
The word form “I” is not used in formal letters. If used, be very careful. Also, avoid vulgar and colloquial words.
As a rule, a formal letter has a subject that explains the letter
All information shown is relevant.

Types of formal letters

There are types of formal letters that are often used according to needs such as-

Business letter
reservation letter
sales letter
Letter of complaint
Referral
Resignation letter
Dismissal letter
Letter received
Authorization letter and more.

Format of formal letter

To write a formal letter in English, a predetermined format is needed. This is the basic format for writing formal letters in English.

title: Formal letters begin with the title. It contains a bunch of information located at the top.

The recipient’s full name begins with a formal letter like Mr. Vijay Sharma. Additionally, you can also enter the position or position that the person holds in the organization such as Principal, manager, etc. If the letter is not addressed to a specific person then the name of the department or department part will be placed in its place.
Now, the recipient address or agency name, company, organization, etc
Date and Place, where your letter was written and the date the letter was written.

Greeting: Now, write your greeting to the recipient in just one line. Greetings should be polite and formal (Dear Dr. Aditya Jain, Dear Mr. Rayance Jatt, etc.). The greeting ends with a comma.

Subject: The subject is the reason or explanation of the formal letter in just 1-2 sentences. It is mandatory in official letters.

Body: This is the longest part of the letter, it introduces and develops the issue. The writer can write every detail in the body of the article. It contains the purpose of the letter.

Closing declaration: The closing sentence is the conclusion of the letter. The closing statement is combined with the greeting written at the beginning of the letter. The greeting and ending used for each letter situation are more or less fixed, so please refer to the example sentences summarized in the next section.

Signature: The signature conveys to the recipient who the author (or sender) of the said letter is. This form can be supplemented by including the signer’s phone number, email address, or even job title.

Formal letter sample

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

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[Your email address]

[Your phone number]

[Date]

[Recipient’s Name]

[Recipient’s Title and Position if applicable]

[Recipient’s Company if applicable]

[Recipient’s Address]

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

[Subject]

[Body Paragraph]

[Closing statement]

[Sender’s Name]

[Sender’s Signature]

Example of writing a formal letter

In the following example, you can refer to how to write a formal letter according to the topic-

Sample 1: Formal request letter

Dr. John, Professor of Ancient History

Mumbai National University

Mumbai, April 10, 2024

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Dear Professor Dr. John,

I am contacting you to request a review of my History exam, which took place on March 12, 2024.

The reason for this request is to indicate that I am not satisfied with the score received, because in the last question (“Developing the theme of medical wars”) you rated it with a score of 2 out of 4. I think I answered without noticeable flaws and I developed it according to the knowledge gained in class.

For this reason, I request a review of this test, especially the aforementioned question to verify any errors that may have occurred during the debugging process.

Without further ado, please accept my cordial greetings,

Rohit Verma

Sample 2: Formal complaint letter

Customer service department

Wowmax Equipment

Delhi

January 20, 2023

Dear gentlemen:

The reason for this letter is to present a complaint regarding order 12345 issued on January 10 of this year.

This order was made through their online store and I purchased a SONTI brand microwave, model 5000 HF, gray. Yesterday, January 19, my order arrived, but the same model microwave was white.

Therefore, I request that the microwave collection be sent out and the requested sample (mentioned above) must be delivered within five days. Otherwise I will be forced to take legal action.

I am waiting for your response.

Received a warm welcome,

Mohit Sharma

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