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English Letter Project

Formal letters are used for professional communication and follow a prescribed format including sender and receiver addresses, date, subject line, introduction, multiple body paragraphs, conclusion, and signature. Informal letters are more personal and can omit some elements like addresses. Formal letters use formal language while informal letters can use abbreviations and a casual tone. Both should avoid errors and consider the recipient when choosing language and style.

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Nikhil Sinha
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4K views3 pages

English Letter Project

Formal letters are used for professional communication and follow a prescribed format including sender and receiver addresses, date, subject line, introduction, multiple body paragraphs, conclusion, and signature. Informal letters are more personal and can omit some elements like addresses. Formal letters use formal language while informal letters can use abbreviations and a casual tone. Both should avoid errors and consider the recipient when choosing language and style.

Uploaded by

Nikhil Sinha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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
Nikhil Sinha 06

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
Nikhil Sinha 06

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.

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