How to write a Letter?

Just like an essay, aspirants appearing in a subjective English language paper are more than likely to be asked to write a letter.

Though nowadays, we no longer use letters as much in our personal or professional communications. That’s because in this technological era, we prefer to use emails, messaging apps, and social media more.

However, whether we write a matter on a piece of paper or through some electronic medium, the basics still remain the same to a large extent. You can call it letter writing, or email writing.

Moreover, letters are still a prominent mode of communication in many government organizations (even private organizations). Chances are that you will definitely have to write a letter or two in your life, apart from exams too. So, it’s a good idea to add letter-writing to your skill-set.

Though most of us are already aware of what a letter is, let’s define this term.

What is a Letter?

Letter is a written message that is sent by one person to another, or to an organization, or by an organization to another.

So, letter is a part of written communication – one of the most important skills that you need to be a successful professional or businessman.

Essays are generally written to be printed in some magazine or newspaper, or to be published on some website. They are for mass consumption. On the other hand, a letter is directed to a particular person or someone holding a particular post.

Types of Letters

Letters may be of many types, ranging from informal letters written to your family, friends or someone you admire, to formal letters written for the purpose of job, for resigning, to some administrative authority etc.

So, broadly there are two types of letters you will be asked to write in an examination.

Informal letters
Formal letters, or Applications

In most of the competitive examinations, you are more likely to get a formal letter to write, rather than an informal letter.

A formal letter needs to be more structured, and you need to follow certain protocols. That’s why we will focus more on formal letter writing in this article. Though we will mention a few points regarding informal letters too here and there.

Writing a Formal Letter

Here are the parts that you need to have in a formal letter.

Sender’s Address

You need to put in your full address at the top left-hand corner of the page. You need to include:

Full Name
House Number
Colony/Society name
Street Address
City, State
ZIP Code

However, in exams do not write your real name and address. Just use some random name and address as placeholders or use XXX, YYY etc.

In certain exams, you may even be disqualified if you write your real name, address or phone number in the exam sheet. So, check the rules of the exam you are planning to take.

Some people prefer to write this part at the top right-hand corner of the page.

Date

It’s one of the smallest, but one of the most important parts of a written formal correspondence. You should write the date on which the letter is being written, under the sender’s address. Leave a line between the two.

Recipient’s address

Skip a line after the date, and on the left-hand side of the page write down the address of the intended receiver of the letter.

You need to include:

To, (it may be skipped)
Recipient’s Name
Recipient’s Post or Job Title, e.g. HR Manager, District Magistrate, Chief Financial Officer etc.
Recipient’s Organization Name, e.g. Perot Systems, Water Utility Department, etc. In informal letters, there’s obviously no need to write the job title or the company name of the concerned person.
Address of the Organization

For example:
To,
Mr. C. P. Sharma,
Additional District Judge,
Prayagraj District Court

We may not write this in an email. That’s because, in case of email, we just need to write the email address of the recipient, and not his/her full address.

Salutation

Now, skip another line and on the left-hand side of the page write a salutation or greeting, so as to address the recipient of the letter in a humble manner. This is done to kickstart the letter on a positive and cheerful note.

Just like in verbal communication we use greetings like hello and namaste, we use salutations in written communication too.

In formal letters we use: Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs. Last name and then a colon, e.g. Dear Mr. Sharma:
In informal letters we use: Dear First name and then a comma, e.g. Dear Mayank,

Using a colon in formal letters is not necessary though. You may just add a comma, whether it’s a formal letter or an informal one.

Body of Letter

Again, skip a line, and start the body of the letter.

Structure your message into paragraphs. Leave a blank line between two paragraphs. Just like an essay, you may also distribute your letter body into:

First paragraph – It is like an introduction, where you highlight the reason why you are writing, i.e. the subject of your letter. Generally, people in offices do not have much time to spare, so it’s always a good idea to clear our aim first hand.
Middle paragraphs – Now dive into the details.
Closing paragraph – Here, you may summarize your message, re-state the purpose of your letter, request a follow-up action, or ask questions, e.g. “Please let me know if you would like to discuss the details over the phone.” It’s also a good practice to thank the recipient at the end, e.g. “Thank you for your time and consideration”. We may also end a letter on a positive note, e.g. “Looking forward to hearing from you.”

The language you use in a formal letter should always be formal/professional, and polite, even if you are complaining about something. Also, keep these things in mind while writing a formal letter:

We should use technical terms or industry jargons only if you are sure that the concerned person will understand that. For example, while writing to a senior software engineer you may use terms like CSS, HTML, DBMS etc. He will understand all these terms, but probably not the HR Manager.
We should also avoid use of contractions, e.g. isn’t, aren’t etc. Though we can use these in informal letters.
Be short, clear, precise and unambiguous. Include only essential details. Also, it’s absolutely essential that your message or its tone is not misunderstood.

While in informal letters, we can even use a bit of slang (but not swear words) or colloquial terminology. And our tone can be less serious, more humorous, and conversational.

Complimentary Close

Now, skip a line and write a closing line, using words such as: Sincerely, Regards, Yours Truly, Best Wishes etc.

You must add a comma after these words, whether it’s a formal letter or an informal one. After that you may write your full name and maybe your job title too. Write these on separate lines.

For example:
Regards,
Mayank Sharma
Senior Software Engineer

If you have to add your signature too, then leave around three lines above your full name and then sign there.

Enclosures

If there is any attachment with your letter, then skip a line and write Enclosure.
If there are many enclosures, then write Enclosures and then the number of attachments in parentheses, e.g. Enclosures (3).

In informal letters, we can also add a post-script (P.S.) at the end of the letter. Skip a line at the end, and write in on the left-hand side of the paper.

P.S. is:

something that you might have forgotten to write in the body of the letter,
something that does not fits well with the theme of the letter, or
just something that you want to add for extra emphasis or effect.

Extra Books and Tools

If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.

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Last updated on Apr 8, 2023