Writing a Letter
Purpose
Letters are still used for formal and informal purposes. Not everything is done by email, although the letter format can be used in an email if wanted.
Examples of each type of letter:
How
Every letter usually has the following parts:
Name and address of person letter is to at top left (may want to include phone number or email address if it’s important)
Date letter was written
Greeting:
- More informal for friends and family: Hi, Hey, etc.
- More formal for work colleagues or acquaintances: Dear (first name or last name), To (first name or last name), etc.
Message (body of letter):
- For formal letters, use the typical paragraph format with a topic sentence, 2 or 3 supporting sentences, and a closing sentence
- For informal letters, no need to follow paragraph convention at all
Closing:
- More informal for friends and family: cheers, take care, best wishes, talk soon, have a great day, thanks so much, etc.
- More formal for work colleagues or acquaintances: sincerely, regards, thank-you, respectfully, etc.
Signature of person who wrote letter (this can be an electronic signature):
- For formal letters, sign first and last name
- For informal letters, just first name will do
See it in Action!
Watch:
Writing informal and formal letters
Mark explains how to write English Letters. After watching this video, you should know how to write a good letter on any topic.
