If you need to write a formal letter either in business or in personal circumstances to businesses you may be dealing with getting

the correct format is vital to have the recipient read it. Here are some tips and templates to help you. Business letters are important for example if you need to request action to an inquiry or need confirmation of something make a complaint or maybe to confirm an appointment so you can use this formal letter template to help you get the results you need. When searching for how to write a formal letter online there are some example layouts and structure and these all follow a certain format which is generally required. So how do you get your letter read and acted upon ? Tips for writing formal letters

The one thing you want as an outcome of sending your letter is for it to get to a person who can action it. So that means finding out a real name of a person rather than just sending it to a department or to a company hoping that it will get somewhere. So find a name and address both the letter and the envelope to this person and the department or section of the company concerned. When writing your letter it should be quite direct and come to the point quite quickly. A long rambling letter may be put to one side to be actioned at a later date so it should be factual in content especially if you are making a letter of complaint. Get to the point fast. At the end of the letter summarize again your main points and what action you want to take place. This can be to confirm they have received your letter for example or to telephone you. Whatever state of mind you are in especially if you are writing a formal letter of complaint you should leave all emotions out of the letter and just stick to the facts. If not, a few days later after you have calmed down you may wish you have never written it in the first place ! Formal letter template Here is a template you can use for writing formal letters. We have added examples within this but the main structure remains the same. Your exact street address Your state and zip code Todays date The name of the person you are writing to (first name and surname) Their company name Company department Company address and zip code Dear salutation (this can be Dear Mr. Smith if you have the name of the person just put Dear (surname) and dont include their first name) or Dear sir First paragraph in the first paragraph make it short at maybe one or two sentences. This should summarize exactly why you are writing to the person concerned. Letter Body this will have additional facts and information about your letter and why you are writing. Closing paragraph This should summarize the letter and have a call to action which would be you telling the person what you would like them to actually do now they have read your letter. If you want a telephone call then you need to leave your number.

Sign off - Usually this would simply be Yours sincerely or simply Sincerely if you have addressed a real persons name in the Dear Mr x or Yours faithfully if you have addressed the letter as Dear sir Formal Letter Example Heres an example of a formal letter to give you an idea of what its all about. Daniel F. Baker, 116 Main Street, Boston, Suffolk MA 02119 October 19th, 2010 Mr. B Johnston, ABC Company Ltd, 452 Sommerset Street, Wayne, IN 47992 Dear Mr. Johnston, I am writing to you to lodge a complaint against the quality of food and service we received in your restaurant on Thursday last when we dined with you that evening. We have been dining with you for the past 5 years and have always received a great welcome and wonderful food but on this occassion the food was only luke warm when it was received and the whole service took nearly three hours in total from arriving to settling the bill. When we mentioned this to your staff member Mr Standston he was rude to myself and other guests and refused to acknowledge our complaint. We wish to return to your restaurant for future evenings but are reluctant after out experience. I would therefore like to request a refund of that evenings meal cost of $87.93 and have enclosed the receipt issued. I look forward to receiving a check to this amount and dining with you again in due course. Yours sincerely, D. Baker. As you can see there is no emotion in the letter and it gets to the point very quickly, lays out the facts of the issue and closes with the required action the letter writer is looking for. We hope this formal letter template and example helps you if you have any additional tips or help needed please let us know below.