How to Write a Letter

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Knowing how to write a letter, whether business or personal, is a skill we all need. Sometimes, these
letters will be short and informal emails. Other times, they'll be highly polished for corporate
correspondence. Below, we'll lay out the specific steps for letter-writing, explore some general tips, and
review two specific types of letters.

Writing a Letter
Let's tackle how to write a letter in proper order, from top to bottom. These steps will mostly be
directed toward a formal letter. The good news is that an informal letter is even easier. You can dial
back or remove a few of the elements we're about to discuss when writing an informal letter.

To start, place your full address -- including your full name, street address, city, state, and zip code -- in
the upper left-hand corner.

Skip a line and include the date.

Skip a line and place the recipient's full address. Here, you'll want to include the company name, the
recipient's name and title, and mailing address.

Skip one more line to insert the greeting. This is called the salutation. In a formal letter, you can use a
generic, "To whom it may concern:" or, "Dear Mr. Henry:" Formal letters tend to require a colon after
the greeting, and informal letters take a comma.

Skip a line and begin the letter. In the body of your letter, separate your thoughts into paragraphs. You
never want to draft one big block of text. For each new set of thoughts or ideas, begin a new paragraph.

Skip one of your final lines to include a complimentary close. The closing can be as simple as, "Sincerely,"
"Yours truly," or "Gratefully." This should end with a comma.

Skip three lines (where you'll insert your handwritten signature), and type your full name. You may also
include your title on the next line.

If you're including any attachments with your letter, skip one more line and type "Enclosure." If there's
more than one attachment, indicate how many there are in parentheses, as in "Enclosure (4)."

For a few more pointers, check out our article on Business Communication Letter Writing.

A Few More Writing Tips

With this general formula in mind, let's review a few final tips before we take a look at a sample letter:

Know your audience. Only use technical terms or jargon if you are sure the reader will understand.
Be clear and to the point. Do not write two pages if one will do. Leave out unnecessary details. As you
re-read your letter for accuracy, ask yourself if anything in there is unnecessary information.

Remain professional. Do not include any threats or slander in your letter, even if you are writing a
complaint letter or a letter of resignation.

Sample Letter
Keeping the above formula and tips in mind, here's a sample letter that illustrates each section. Below
the sample text here, you will find a fully editable PDF that you can use as a template for drafting your
own letter.

Abigail LeJeune
Branding Ambassadors, Inc.
4568 Highway One
Makeup, CA 12709

September 14, 2019

Mr. David Henry

Chief Marketing Officer
Consulate of Branding
328 Plainway Road
San Samon, CA 12808

Dear Mr. Henry:

This past weekend, I met one of your staff members, Cody Abercorn. He was manning your company's
booth at the Cincinnati Trade Show. Since our booths were adjacent to one another, we had the
opportunity to get to know each other rather well.

I must say, his professionalism and welcoming attitude toward your visitors was highly encouraging.
Visitors were welcomed into your company's booth as if they were entering his home for a Friday
evening dinner party. Every guest became a fast friend. Beyond that, they left the booth highly informed
on your product line.

How often do we receive congratulatory letters, in a sea full of complaint letters? I wanted to make sure
you began your week with a highly complimentary letter. I would say you spend a lot of time training
your staff and Cody has certainly reaped those rewards.

As President and CEO of my own marketing firm, Branding Ambassadors, I wonder if you might consider
teaming Cody up with us for a social media marketing campaign? Perhaps we can partner up on a short
campaign where we sponsor one another in two to three posts.
With over 1.5 million followers, I believe we can join together and support each other's endeavors very
effectively. What do you say? Will we take over the Internet and create a marketing movement that is
mutually beneficial to our growing companies?

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,

[Signature here]

Abigail LeJeune
President and CEO
www.brandingambassadorsinc.com

View & Download PDF

Types of Letters
Letters can be either informal or formal. An informal letter doesn't need to abide by all the above
standards. That is, they don't require a formal address at the top and "To whom it may concern" in the
greeting. Rather, you can get straight to a "Dear Mary" greeting.

Informal letters can also indulge in slang or colloquialisms. Typically, in business or professional reports,
we steer clear of contractions. You might want to hold formal letters to the same standard. Informal
letters, however, can loosen up a little with contractions and other forms of "loose" writing.

As for formal letters, cover letters will be an important part of your life. Informal or personal letters may
come in the form of email today, but the premise remains the same.

Cover Letters
To learn how to write a letter to accompany your resume, you'll need to use a standard business format.

Your one-page letter should consist of approximately three body paragraphs.

The first paragraph explains why you are writing, what position you want, and why you want it.

The second outlines why you are the best person for the job and summarizes your skills and experience.

The closing paragraph mentions your resume and asks for an interview. You need to be strong and
upbeat in this paragraph so the reader will want to interview you. Thank the person for his time and
include contact information.

For more, here's how to Write a Creative Cover Letter.

Personal Letters
It is also important for everyone to know how to write a letter of a personal nature. Personal letters are
not as formal as business letters and can be handwritten or typed.

Feel free to include the date in the upper left-hand corner of your letter.

Jump straight to an informal salutation, ending with a comma in lieu of a colon.

In the body, the first paragraph is usually an introduction and a summary of the reason you are writing.

The next paragraphs go into more detail.

The closing paragraph summarizes what you've had to say. You may want to thank the recipient or ask
questions.

The closing comes after two skipped lines and can also be informal.

If you want to add a P.S. or P.P.S. to your personal letter, just skip a line and start the P.S. on the left
hand side of the paper.

Written Communication Skills

Written communication is an important skill to list on a resume. And, in order to include that, letter
writing should be in your wheelhouse. For other important attributes, check out the Best skills to list on
a resume. There, we'll explore soft skills, such as adaptability and creativity, and hard skills, such as
computer programming and web design.

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In English there are a number of conventions that should be used when writing 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.

Addresses:

1) Your Address
The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.

2) The Address of the person you are writing to

The inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address.

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.

Salutation or greeting:

1) Dear Sir or Madam,

If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always advisable to try to
find out a name.

2) Dear Mr Jenkins,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname 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 married and
single women.

Ending a letter:

1) Yours Faithfully
If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

2) Yours Sincerely
If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

3) Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to might
not know whether you are male of female, put you title in brackets after your name.