Formal Letter
A formal
letter will encompass many things and is related to the business letter. To put
this into perspective, all business letters are formal letters but not all
formal letters are business letters. The term formal letter can be used to
entail any written letter for a formal purpose, whether that be a
recommendation letter, an invitation letter, a complaint letter and so on.
Formal Letter Format
The layout for
a formal letter resembles the business letter format with any differences
solely occurring in the content of the letter. All formal letters will include
the following aspects, not in this order as they may be arranged in individual
preference:
Contact
details: addresses at the top, email and phone number at the start or end
of the letter (optional).
Date: when the
letter was written, most formal letters will be archived and if there are
several exchanges then it is important to keep order by dating each letter.
Salutations: both at the
beginning and the end, need to be appropriate, see business letter salutations.
Main body: this is all
upto the writer of the letter, how much detail you want to include, what
details you want to include, what point you are putting across, if you want to
include a suggestion or solution etc.
Printing: hand signature
for printed letters, sometimes placed in envelopes if going in the post, more
commonly now they are sent as emails but still may be printed by the recipient
to be kept on file depending on the purpose.
Taking a look
at some business letter samples or formal letter samples that could give you a
better picture. Also, have a look at how to write a formal letter for more
specific information.
Example of Formal Letter
Invitation Letter
A letter of
invitation includes information about the host, the location of the event, time
and date of the celebration and attire desired at the party. The letter should
also include details about the occasion, such as a person's age for a birthday
celebration or the number of years worked when a person is retiring and hosting
a retirement party.
Example of Invitation Letter
