How to start a formal letter

Write a Formal Letter in Five Easy Steps

Knowing how to write a formal letter is important for your academic and professional career. We’ve made formal letter-writing easy. All you have to do is follow the steps below.

Writing a formal letter is easy if you follow these steps.

Writing a Formal Letter Is Simple

What Is a Formal Letter?

A formal letter is a letter—or correspondence—written for a professional or academic setting.

Types of formal letters include:

As you can see, there are several reasons you may find yourself writing a formal letter. If you don’t know how to write one, don’t panic. Below, we’ll go over the five easy steps of writing a formal letter.

How To Write a Formal Letter

Formal letters are easy to write, all you have to do is follow these steps:

1. Write Your Name, Contact Information, and Date.

To start your formal letter, write your name, contact information, and date on the left-hand side of the paper. Skip a line before the date so that it looks like this:

Always start your formal letters with your name, contact information, and date.

2. Write the Recipient’s Name and Contact Information.

Add another space, and then the recipient’s name and contact information.

In formal letters, there should be a space before and after the date.

3. Write the Greeting and the Body.

After writing the date and the recipient’s contact information, open with a greeting. Formal letters begin with “Dear” and the name of the person receiving your letter. If you don’t know the name, write the job title or department. Only use “To Whom It May Concern” as a last resort.

The most common formal letter format is block style: single space and left justify each paragraph.

Note that the comma comes after the name.

When writing the body of a formal letter, remember to be brief and stick to the point, avoid contractions, and proofread your text. Regardless of what type of formal letter you’re sending, the last thing you want to do is send one riddled with errors.

Quick Tip:

If you want to be certain your writing is free of spelling and grammar mistakes, LanguageTool’s online editor can check your writing as well as offer stylistic improvements and formatting suggestions.

4. End Your Letter With a Complimentary Close, Your Name, and Signature

You’ll want to end your formal letter with a complimentary close. The most common complimentary close for a formal letter is “Sincerely.” Other closes include:

The comma comes after the complimentary close, and only the first word is capitalized. After the complimentary close, leave a space for your signature, and then type your name below it.

5. Send Your Letter

You can send your formal letter in multiple ways. One, by folding the letter into a stamped and addressed envelope and sending it in the mail. Or two, by sending it as an attachment in an email. Keep in mind that you may follow these same steps to write the letter as a formal email instead, without including the date and contact information.

How you send your formal letter depends on you and the recipient.

Writing Formal Letters

There’s no way around it. Knowing how to write a formal letter is important. When the time comes, and you find yourself having to write one, just follow these steps to write an excellent formal letter.

Share on Social Media

Unleash the Professional Writer in You With LanguageTool

Go well beyond grammar and spell checking. Impress with clear, precise, and stylistically flawless writing instead.

Works on All Your Favorite Services

We Value Your Feedback

We’ve made a mistake, forgotten about an important detail, or haven’t managed to get the point across? Let’s help each other to perfect our writing.

How To Write a Good Thesis Statement in Five Steps

Writing a thesis statement can be intimidating, sure, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Below, we’ll go over five steps that can help you write an effective thesis statement.

Writing an Outline in Five Steps

We’ll review why writing an outline is beneficial and give you five easy steps that will help you write one.

Sorry for Writing an Apology Letter

Admitting you’re wrong is hard. But writing an apology letter? Even harder. We’ll show you five easy steps that’ll make the process easier.

Format of a Formal Letter

Help with formatting formal and business letters. A summary of writing rules including outlines for cover letters and letters of enquiry, and abbreviations used in letters.

There are times in life when you will probably want to write a formal letter instead of an informal letter or email. These include cover letters for job applications, letters of enquiry, letters of resignation, legal correspondence and many more. In these situations it’s important that you follow the expected letter format.

How to Write a Formal Letter

Jump to:

Use a formal letter format

The example letter writing format shown below shows you a general outline for a formal or business letter. Further information about each part of a formal letter can be found after the image.

Follow a formal letter format when writing formal letters

In English there are a number of official letter format conventions that should be used when formatting a formal or business letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Remember not to use informal language like contractions.

1) Include your name and contact information

The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of a formal letter. This will usually your address, but could be any other address to which a reply should be sent.

2) Include the recipient’s name and address

Add the address of the person you are writing to. The recipient’s address should be written on the left, often starting below your address. If you are going to print and post the letter using a windowed envelope, make sure you align this address with the clear plastic window.

3) Include the date

Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You can write this on the right or the left on the line after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

4) Use the right salutation

The tip to starting a formal English letter is to greet the person you’re writing to in the correct way. This is known as the Salutation. If you know the name of the person you’re writing to then use ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ here, otherwise write their full name, including their title. Remember, try not to be too informal or casual.

Examples:

a) If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use the following form (it is always advisable to try to find out a name):

Dear Madam,
Dear Sir,
Dear Sir or Madam,

b) If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the family name only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for both married and single women.

Dear Mr Jenkins,
Dear Ms Hamers,
Dear Mrs Hutchins,
Dear Miss Davis,
Dear Dr Green,
Etc.

5) Create the body of your formal letter

Write the body of your letter in formal language. Be direct and try to keep it as brief as possible, often between three or four paragraphs in total.

The first paragraph should be kept short and is designed to introduce you and to state the purpose of the letter- to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.

The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter. Most letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.

The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you expect the recipient to take- to refund, send you information, etc.

6) Close the letter with a formal sign-off

Just as there are conventions about creating the salutation for your letter, there are also rules about how you close or sign-off your letter. If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter using ‘Yours faithfully’. If you know the recipient’s name, use ‘Yours sincerely’.

7) Add your signature

Sign your name, then print it underneath your signature using capital letters (or type it). If you think the person you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put your title in brackets after your name. Optionally, it can also be helpful to include your phone number and email address.

8) Proofread your letter

Now that you’ve completed the first draft of your letter, read if over from start to finish and check for any errors in grammar and spelling. Make sure it reads well and that the recipient will understand what the letter is about.

If you want more help with how to write formal or informal letters please feel free to ask us in our Letter Writing forum. Our teachers will be able to help answer any questions you might have. Ask us a Question

Download our free formal letter template:

Abbreviations Used in Letter Writing

The following abbreviations are widely used in formal letters:

Outline: A Covering Letter

A covering letter is the one that accompanies your CV when you are applying for a job. Here is a fairly conventional plan for the layout of the paragraphs.

Opening Paragraph
Briefly identify yourself and the position you are applying for. Add how you found out about the vacancy.

Paragraph 2
Give the reasons why you are interested in working for the company and why you wish to be considered for that particular post. State your relevant qualifications and experience, as well as your personal qualities that make you a suitable candidate.

Paragraph 3
Inform them that you have enclosed your current CV and add any further information that you think could help your case.

Closing Paragraph
Give your availability for interview, thank them for their consideration, restate your interest and close the letter.

Outline: A Letter of Enquiry

A letter of enquiry is when you are approaching a company speculatively, that is you are making an approach without their having advertised or announced a vacancy.

Opening Paragraph
Introduce yourself briefly and give your reason for writing. Let them know of the kind of position you are seeking, why you are interested and how you heard about them.

Paragraph 2
Show why their company in particular interests you, mention your qualifications and experience along with any further details that might make them interested in seeing you.

Paragraph 3
Refer to your enclosed CV and draw their attention to any particularly important points you would like them to focus on in it.

Closing Paragraph
Thank them, explain your availability for interview and restate your enthusiasm for their company and desire to be considered for posts that might as yet be unavailable.

How to start a formal email with examples

Learn how to start a formal email with our guide on starting formal emails, including examples of formal email greetings and opening lines for different situations.В

Table of contents

Starting a formal email in English can be tricky as it involves following some strict rules and conventions. Unless you’re familiar with them, deciding how to start a formal email can be confusing – but it doesn’t need to be.В

This detailed article will explain how to use the correct formal email greetings, salutations, and opening lines. By the end of this post, you will know how to start writing a formal email in your personal and professional life.В

What is a formal email?В

Formal emails are those written in the correct format. Formal emails follow a tried and tested formula that all readers will understand.В

A well-written, professional and polite email can start a successful and productive relationship. Conversely, a poorly written email can damage relationships, confuse and even upset recipients in some circumstances.

Every formal email should consist of:

Formal emails are respectful, using polite terminology to address the recipient. They are written in a simple-to-understand format that’s clear about what you want and why.

The English language is used worldwide by businesses, but there are cultural differences in how we communicate. Formal emails reduce the likelihood of any misunderstanding or miscommunication.

In most cases, poorly written emails won’t damage your career, says Jeff Su in the Harvard Business Review. In contrast, “writing professional emails will affect how competent you are perceived to be in the eyes of your colleagues.”

In your personal life, when contacting a school, for example, you’ll want to ensure your communications are clear, professional, and polite. In this context, formal emails are essential.

We’ve delved deeper into the details of what makes a great formal email in our guide, so check that out if you want to learn more.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the fundamentals of how to greet in a formal email.

The formal way to start an email

We’ve already covered how to start a professional emails in previous posts, but in this time, we’re going to delve deeper into the two critical things you need to know when starting a formal email in English:В

We address both parts in detail before applying them to a series of examples later.

Formal email greetings and salutations

The first thing you need to know about greeting in a formal email is using the correct salutation.В

It can appear confusing as the appropriate formal way of greeting in email changes, depending on whether you know the person you are writing to or not. The first rule is: if you know someone’s name, address the person directly using their full name.В

In the past, you’d use what’s called an honorific – such a Mr and Mrs – with a surname. However, we must be conscious of the risks of whatВ Harvard calls “misgendering”.В

Unless we know someone’s gender for sure (and even in those cases where we think we know, we should never make assumptions), we should avoid using gendered terms.В В

Instead, use a person’s full name where possible. This is both professional and respectful.

How to Write a Formal Letter in English

Kelsey Krahn

You need to compose formal letters in English for business, general school, and university applications, which goes to show that the art of composing a formal letter still thrives!

Therefore, it’s vital to understand how to write a formal letter in English. Don’t know how to write it out? I’ll take you through the step-by-step process—it’s simple, I promise.

Are you ready to learn how to write a formal letter? Let’s get into it.

General Rules to Follow When Writing a Formal Letter in English

English-speaking culture may seem like it encompasses a lot of informal practices, but people dealing with applications or queries will listen to a well-written, properly formatted formal letter that follows the rules over an informal, lackluster online note. What are some general rules to follow? Let’s take a look at how to write a letter:

1. Avoid slang, everyday language, and contractions

When you use slang words and contractions in a formal letter, the recipient won’t take you as seriously. Here are some examples of contractions:

I’m, it’s, can’t, it’ll, you’d, I’d, you’ll

What can you use instead?

I am, it is, cannot, it will, you would, I would, you will

Littering your letter with slang words and everyday, common language, like contractions, can make your letter sound more informal rather than formal. It’s essential to avoid using words such as good, nice, awesome, sweet, legit, cool, fresh, bad, lame.

Basically, if your letter sounds like a conversation with a friend, you may need to rewrite it. I will get more into the details and logistics shortly!

2. Use appropriate greetings

Try not to start your formal letter with “What’s up?” or a Joey-Tribbiani classic, “How you doin’?” The recipient will likely chuck your letter in the trash. Instead, you can choose from a few salutations.

If you don’t know the name of the recipient you can begin your letter with:

To Whom It May Concern:

However, if you know the recipient, avoid using this salutation!

If you know the gender, but don’t know the name, you can write:

Dear Sir or Dear Madam,

If you know the name and the gender you can state:

Dear Ms. Jones or Dear Mr. Jones,

It’s important to note that Americans add a period after Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., whereas British English-speakers don’t add the period after.

If you’re writing to a doctor, and this includes professors with PhD’s, you can say:

If you don’t know the gender, you can write out the full name of the recipient:

Dear Rylie Jones,

Did you notice that there’s a comma following each salutation? But a colon after To Whom It May Concern? Be sure to keep this tiny, minuscule detail in mind.

3. Sign off politely

Signing off your letter with “Peace out, dude!” won’t work so well in a formal letter. Your letter may consist of a dignified tone of voice and beautifully strung together sentences, but a poor sign off will prompt your recipient to toss your letter to the side. So how can you sign off the letter politely, in a way that will please the recipient?

The Balance Careers claims that you can choose from a variety of options!

If you don’t know the recipient you can choose one of these generic, but formal endings:

Sincerely, Regards, Yours truly, Yours sincerely, Thank you for your time, Respectfully

If you’ve exchanged emails or met briefly at some point, you can use these endings:

Cordially, Yours respectfully, Best regards, Kind regards, Kind wishes

Endings to avoid:

Take care, Cheers, See you later, Peace out

When you sign off your letter, the first word begins with a capital letter, while the second word starts with a lowercase letter. And don’t forget to attach a comma to the end of the second word!

4. Only write one page

To put it blankly: your recipient won’t care to read thirteen pages about you. Therefore, as a general rule, it’s vital to keep your letter to one page, unless he or she asks for more.

A one-page letter forces you to get your point across in a simple, straightforward way. Before you write, I advise you to make a list of everything you want to communicate to make sure you get your point across!

5. Pay attention to the technical structure

When you format your letter, you need to ensure that you use a simple font like Times New Roman or Ariel. It’s advised to write with either a 10 or 12 font size!

It’s also essential to use single spacing.

When you finish a paragraph, you can press enter on your keyboard once. You should also have a space between the date, your address, the return address, the greeting, and basically every new idea—you’ll see how it looks in a letter format below!

Let’s Write a Letter in English

Before we go over the general outline of a letter, I want to show you an example of a formal letter.

Here’s the scenario:

Kara King, a 28-year-old from Canada, wants to apply to teach English to ESL students in America! She has worked as an online English teacher, a nanny, a soccer instructor, and as a freelance writer. (I may or may not have borrowed snippets of my previous jobs for this «fake» cover letter.)

Okay, let’s take a look at how to write a formal letter. And don’t worry, we will get into the logistics afterward!

Kara King’s cover letter

September 3rd, 2019

Kara King
123 Cool Street
Beautiful City AB 607 10th Ave SE
Canada
karak@email.com

ESL Teaching Company
456 Teaching Avenue
New York, NY 10011, USA

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Kara King, and I am 28 years old. Two years ago, I graduated from The Best University with my Bachelor of Arts: English Major, where I learned the importance of proper grammar, creativity, and expression.

I am passionate about teaching children of all ages and have been for a very long time. I have experience working as a nanny, an online English teacher, and a soccer instructor. Working as a soccer instructor allowed me to learn the importance of structuring soccer lesson plans based on the age and development stage of each class. As a result, I now encompass the ability to recognize how to structure my lesson plans to coincide with young age groups.

Over the last three years, I have worked as a freelance writer and as an online English teacher. Both positions have helped to elevate my grammar-related knowledge. When I compose articles, I ensure that every sentence, every detail, every word seamlessly flows together. My ability to string together sentences paired with my understanding of intricate grammar-related details will undoubtedly benefit ESL students.

I believe the potent combination of my English Major degree, my writing experience, and my previous teaching and coaching experiences will work to enhance the overall learning environment and total English-learning experience for every student in your Young ESL Learners program.

I am very interested in teaching part-time for you.

The Outline for an English Formal Letter

Kara’s letter contained all of these important features:

Do you think you can recognize how to write a formal letter in English now? It’s not too difficult, right? However, there is one more thing that you need to do before you send your letter off—proofread!

General Proofreading Tips

It’s so important to proofread before you seal your letter or finish your email and send it off. The thought of proofreading something you’ve spent so much time on may seem boring, but it’s 100% necessary. And when I say proofread, I don’t mean to quickly scan your letter. I mean read out loud word-for-word, which brings me to the first tip!

1. Read your letter out loud

Quickly scanning your letter won’t do you any justice. You may miss tiny, embarrassing errors like accidentally writing and twice in a row or misspelling a common word. When you read your letter out loud word-for-word, you will catch easily adjustable mistakes!

2. Set the letter aside for a couple of hours

Once you finish writing, you may be tempted to send the letter right away, but I suggest putting the letter aside for a few hours. It helps to let your brain breathe for a while so that you can come back to the letter with a fresh mindset.

3. Let someone else read your letter

You may hate the idea of someone reading your letter, but someone else can catch mistakes that you may have missed. You can even advise your friend or relative to read the letter out loud to ensure that there are no errors.

Scared that your writing skills won’t meet the employer’s standards? Feel free to check out our informative article on simple writing techniques!

In conclusion

There you have it! Now you know how to write a formal letter in English. It may seem like you have to follow a lot of rules, but in the end, following the step-by-step process closely may help to land you the job of your dreams.

Speechling is a nonprofit app and website that combines human coaching with technology to improve your foreign language speaking.

10 grammar tips for Chinese beginners

Every one who has tried to learn a new language has probably experienced the frustration of wanting to say something, knowing all the right words, but just not being able to put them together in the right way. Chinese is no exception with rigid grammar structures and words like 了

How to Start Speaking Brazilian Portuguese in 2 Weeks or Less

You really can learn to speak Brazilian Portuguese in just two weeks or less. But you must use the right methods and have a sensible game plan. You’ll find both in this article.

How to Answer the Phone in English

Phone calls. Love them, hate them, you have to admit: even the biggest texter needs to make a phone call at some point. You’ve surely done it a bunch—you often need to use the phone for: Doctor’s appointments Technical support Interviews Customer service requests Making reservations And so much more.

How to Write a Power Packed Formal Letter?

Simon, just like any other student, ignored the basic rules and format of writing a formal letter. He thought it to be the same as writing other letters. The real trouble came on the next day he submitted the letter for final checking. The letters that his classmates wrote were far different compared to the one he wrote. On top of that, he had no idea of how to format the letter appropriately. If you also don’t want to end up like Simon, you can read this blog thoroughly for future reference.

We will help you understand what formal letter is actually and how to structure it properly. We also have a few tips for you that will help you write the letter easily.

When you are writing a formal letter, the tone should be serious and formal. Students are mostly required to write formal letters for their curriculum.Often times, they wonder “how to write a formal letter”.

Formal letters are generally written to various authorities, dignitaries, collegaues and seniors. When you are writing a formal letter, you need to be concise and make sure it’s not too personal. It should be direct to the point. Tell them exactly what you need them to know and share directly. It needs to be informative and explain in coherent manner.

Formal letters are a necessary part of any academic life. You might need to write one to your teacher or complain about something to authorities, or request something, or make a formal statement.

How to write the Perfect Subject line?

One of the most integral parts of a formal letter is coming up with a perfect subject line. A formal letter heading or subject line should not be too long. Most of us prefer writing the subject line after writing the letter, and that is the right decision. After writing the actual letter, the main idea of it will become clear to you, so it will be easier for you to draft the subject line ( which specifies the topic of the letter).

Students who have problems coming up with the perfect subject line can take help of the following tips

Your subject line should be straightforward and to the point. Be specific while you are writing the letter. Precisely state the main purpose of writing the letter in the subject line.

A subject line written in the question format tends to sound better as well as perform better. However, consider understanding your recipient’s interest, need while you are writing it.

Avoid making your subject line too long and complicated. It should be short and crisp. Try keeping it within 50 characters.

Your recipient probably gets 100 emails or letters every day. So try writing the subject line in a way that it easily attracts the recipient’s attention. Be direct while writing the main issue of the letter. This way, the recipient can easily understand the main purpose of the letter.

Some examples of good subject line for formal letters are

The subject line can also be a bit detailed

Understanding how to write a subject line is as important as knowing the right formal letter format. We have broken down each section in the formal letter to help you understand the details you need to provide while writing the letter.

How to Write a Formal Letter?

Students who are new to this letter writing format can take the help of the following details.

Here are the details you need to add in the top right corner

The left-hand side of the paper must include the following details

The introductory line should begin with the following details

The opening paragraph should have the following

Main body

Closing statement

Signing off

Are you still worried about how to start and end your formal letter properly? We understand this is the most crucial area in a formal letter. You are not the only one who has the same concern. Both the introduction and conclusion are the vital areas of writing a formal letter. But don’t worry as we will help you understand how to deal with them.

How to start a formal letter?

Begin your formal letter by addressing the recipient “Dear Sir/Madam”. You need to decide how formal your letter should be by considering your recipient.

There are various levels of formality that you need to understand according to the recipient and the context in which you are sending the letter.

The first paragraph of the formal letter should tell the purpose of the letter directly. Get straight to the point without beating around the bush.

How to end a formal letter?

At the end of the formal letter, place your thoughts regarding what kind of solution you would like from the recipient. You need to thank the recipient for giving his/her time out of the busy schedule. You need to respect as well as persuading by including a line like “I hope you consider my leave” to show your interest in their response.

On the right side of the paper you would require the writer either “Yours faithfully”, “Yours sincerely” or “Yours truly”.

What is the format of writing a formal letter?

Now that you are aware of the basic structure let’s understand how to format your formal paper. We will present to you the actual format you would require to following while writing it.

Here is the format of your format letter:

Full address
Today’s date
Email
Phone number

Full name
Title of the
Company name

Dear/Respected (recipient’s name)

(Write the main context of the paper)

Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully/ yours truly

Here is a formal letter example for you:

876 Widget Street

Miami, Florida 45899 04/01/2020

Subject: Leave application

It is for your kind information that I will have to take leave from 1st January to 6th January since I will have to attend my brother’s wedding.

I wouldn’t have asked for the leave if it was not necessary. I assure you that I would complete the deficit amount of work once I return from the holiday.

I hope you consider my leave. I am looking forward to your approval of my holiday.

Whenever you face trouble regarding how to write your formal letter, you can refer to this example. Formal letter is most used in the academic and professional field. As a first-timer, if you have just started to write your formal letter, these tips will definitely help you.

Here are a few formal letter writing tips for you:

Tips for writing a formal letter

While writing a formal letter you will not be using your everyday language. It needs to sound professional and always to the point. Avoid using any kind of slang or flowery language. Always be polite and respectful when you are attempting a formal letter.

Don’t beat around the bush when you are writing a formal letter. Come straight to the point in the beginning only. Your first paragraph should give the purpose of writing the letter. Try keeping it short and simple as much as possible for you.

The recipient will not take you seriously if the formatting of your paper is not right. You must adhere to the standard structure of the formal letter. Give your attention to the format of the paper and make sure everything is well presented.

Proofreading is a necessary step if you want a flawless work. Revise it thoroughly to get a power compact formal letter at the end of the day. Read your paper again and again t see if you can use an even better choice of words than the ones you’ve used before.

However, students often are too pressurized when they are given multiple tasks at once. If you seem to be having problem managing time for your formal letter you can look for professional help. MyAssignmenthelp.com is one of the best online writing services that will offer you a load of services and offers to you. You can easily rely on them for your letter when you are placing an order with us.

How MyAssignmenthelp.com will help you write your Formal Letter?

MyAssignmenthelp.com has been considered as the top writing service for helping students with the finest quality of services. We give all the credits to our expert writers who work 24/7 to create a unique paper for you.

Formal letters can be a bit complicated to write if you are unaware of the standard format. We understand the value of your paper. Thus, our writers always help you get an A+ formal letter. You will get unmatched quality paper from us. If you don’t believe our words, then take a look at the kind of services we offer:

Stop wasting time by staring at the blank paper. Place your order now to get ultimate relief from all the stress. We guarantee that you will not find anywhere the kind of services we offer here.